A very common question and concern regarding bug zappers, is do they work? To find an answer, we will take you to the University of Delaware. So, before you spend good money on a zapper for mosquitoes, you need to know this. Read on.
Research
The Department of Entomology and Applied Ecology at the University of Delaware spent 10 weeks analyzing many types of mosquito and bug zappers. Their goal in this study was focused on investigating the effectiveness of zappers on mosquitoes. During the 10 weeks they zapped over 13,000 insects. So what did they find out?
Results
Once the mosquitoes were separated out from the rest of the insects. They found that less than .25% or less than a quarter of 1% were actually mosquitoes. That means that out of the 13,000 insects that were zapped, only 32 were mosquitoes. The other 12,968 zapped insects were beneficial to our ecosystem.
Reality
In conclusion, based on the results of their study, zappers are killing beneficial insects like beetles and moths. This can have a negative effect on local ecosystems.
To answer the question, do zappers work on mosquitoes? We now know that less then a quarter of 1% of the bugs zapped are mosquitoes.
Based on collected data including similar studies, The American Mosquito Control Association along with the experts at Colorado State University Extension have concluded that bug zappers are not effective at controlling biting mosquitoes and they have the unintended consequence of killing beneficial insects.
Why mosquitoes are not Attracted to Bug Zappers?
This is the big question. We attempt to target the female mosquito that is in search of blood. She uses the protein in blood for reproduction. she is able to sense smells, odors and the C02 that we exhale. They are able to detect people from far away. When they get close, a combination of C02 and body odor will confirm they have found a source for blood. All other mosquitoes feed on nectar so they are not interested in bug zappers.
There are bug zappers that omit C02, however there is no odor or chemistry to confirm it is a blood source.
So much information I had not even heard of thank you ever so much . Quite informative. Saving all this!!
You are very welcome. I will be publishing a post soon explaining their role in the eco system.
Keep your eye out for it.