4 ms·

Note that bug zappers do nothing to mosquitos but take lots of food out of the chain.

autoexec 3y ago
I understand why people like bug zappers. The are no alternatives that provide instant visual and audio feedback that they're working. Poison repellents smell bad and aren't good for humans or animals, ultrasonic devices are basically scams, and traps are hit/miss and need maintaining/cleaning/replacement. Zappers have a ton of problems too (like aerosol sprays of fly guts) and I wouldn't recommend them, but I get why they are popular with the masses. What we need are affordable laser zappers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser) with an option for an audio alert on each kill.
- lproven 3y ago
  We do not need another ludicrously over-engineered solution. The world is drowning in them. Mosquito nets work and are cheap and environmentally neutral.
  - autoexec 3y ago
    They are a massive fire hazard though. If I were in an area with a ton of malaria it might still be worth it, but those nets are typically soaked in poison and I wouldn't expect everybody to feel that way (https://observer.ug/news/headlines/62350-mosquito-nets-fuelling-school-fires-police https://observer.ug/news/headlines/62350-mosquito-nets-fuell...)
    - lproven 3y ago
      And robots with frikkin' laser beams aren't?!
      - autoexec 3y ago
        Not so far? Maybe once people start using them in large numbers or buying cheap knockoffs of mass produced laser zappers on amazon we'll see a bunch of fire deaths or other injuries (lasers in the eyeball?), but in theory they would be safer.
  - dieselgate 3y ago
    A mosquito net solves a different problem than a bug zapper
  - arp242 3y ago
    > Mosquito nets work and are cheap and environmentally neutral. Yes, as evidenced by their usage to eradicate malaria... :-/ Many countries also use nets with insecticides, not "just" nets, so they're not even environmentally neutral. This is because mosquito is and remains key to malaria control. You can't live your life inside a net.
    - lproven 3y ago
      I'd dispute that. Currently, the countries where malaria is a big problem are poor and suffer from lack of education, literacy etc. But on the one hand, global warming is pushing the Anopheles mosquito range into richer educated countries. That might result in greater and better use of nets. On the other hand, the tropical countries' demography is changing and education and so on is improving, overall, so that might help, too. On the gripping hand, global warming and ecological collapse is driven by the size of the human population and so more infectious disease and more plagues would be good for the planet and therefore good for humanity in general. (Just not the people who die from it, obvs.) So it all balances out. But appropriate technology is more important than the sort of fancy elaborate tech that HN commenters favour, like AIs with frikkin' lasers.
- not_the_fda 3y ago
  A strong fan gets rid of mosquitos. They are weak fliers. Keeps them off of you on the porch and does no additional harm.
mattgeo_j 3y ago
The rusty cogs attempting to be spun in your average (at least American) person’s brain when you say this

I understand why people like bug zappers. The are no alternatives that provide instant visual and audio feedback that they're working. Poison repellents smell bad and aren't good for humans or animals, ultrasonic devices are basically scams, and traps are hit/miss and need maintaining/cleaning/replacement. Zappers have a ton of problems too (like aerosol sprays of fly guts) and I wouldn't recommend them, but I get why they are popular with the masses. What we need are affordable laser zappers (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser) with an option for an audio alert on each kill.

lproven 3y ago
We do not need another ludicrously over-engineered solution. The world is drowning in them. Mosquito nets work and are cheap and environmentally neutral.
- autoexec 3y ago
  They are a massive fire hazard though. If I were in an area with a ton of malaria it might still be worth it, but those nets are typically soaked in poison and I wouldn't expect everybody to feel that way (https://observer.ug/news/headlines/62350-mosquito-nets-fuelling-school-fires-police https://observer.ug/news/headlines/62350-mosquito-nets-fuell...)
  - lproven 3y ago
    And robots with frikkin' laser beams aren't?!
    - autoexec 3y ago
      Not so far? Maybe once people start using them in large numbers or buying cheap knockoffs of mass produced laser zappers on amazon we'll see a bunch of fire deaths or other injuries (lasers in the eyeball?), but in theory they would be safer.
- dieselgate 3y ago
  A mosquito net solves a different problem than a bug zapper
- arp242 3y ago
  > Mosquito nets work and are cheap and environmentally neutral. Yes, as evidenced by their usage to eradicate malaria... :-/ Many countries also use nets with insecticides, not "just" nets, so they're not even environmentally neutral. This is because mosquito is and remains key to malaria control. You can't live your life inside a net.
  - lproven 3y ago
    I'd dispute that. Currently, the countries where malaria is a big problem are poor and suffer from lack of education, literacy etc. But on the one hand, global warming is pushing the Anopheles mosquito range into richer educated countries. That might result in greater and better use of nets. On the other hand, the tropical countries' demography is changing and education and so on is improving, overall, so that might help, too. On the gripping hand, global warming and ecological collapse is driven by the size of the human population and so more infectious disease and more plagues would be good for the planet and therefore good for humanity in general. (Just not the people who die from it, obvs.) So it all balances out. But appropriate technology is more important than the sort of fancy elaborate tech that HN commenters favour, like AIs with frikkin' lasers.
not_the_fda 3y ago
A strong fan gets rid of mosquitos. They are weak fliers. Keeps them off of you on the porch and does no additional harm.

mattgeo_j 3y ago

The rusty cogs attempting to be spun in your average (at least American) person’s brain when you say this