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From: miket@brspyr1.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.bio,sci.misc,misc.consumers.house,rec.gardens
Subject: Bug zappers
Keywords: A royal scam?
Message-ID: <3637@brspyr1.BRS.Com>
Date: 2 Jun 88 21:24:15 GMT
Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 57
Posted: Thu Jun  2 17:24:15 1988



Following a spirited argument with a friend, I'm interested in learning about
the relative value, or lack of value, of electronic insect killers, commonly
referred to as "bug zappers" or "bug lights."  The manufacturers have done a
pretty good job of convincing us all that the ultraviolet light of these
zappers attracts nasties from all over your yard, which are then nicely fried
by some God-awful amperage.

The question arises: are these zappers a big scam?

Possibilities raised (conjecture only):

A.  The zappers actually make the situation worse.  Although many insects are
attracted by the light, only a small percentage get close enough to be 
terminated.  Insects are complex creatures of many differing species, with
widely differing habits.  Many may be mildly interested in the light and may
drop by for a casual visit with no intention of actually getting close to the
light, and may be easily distracted by the presence of some nice tasty human.
This seems to be borne out by the astonishing variety and diversity of the
insect world.

B.  Insects that we normally think of as outdoor "pests" (that is, those that
bite) are not attracted by ultraviolet light.  The only insects that are fried
are those that are harmless anyway--moths, mayflies, June bugs, and the like.
In particular, some biting insects may only be attracted by carbon dioxide
(exhaust from animals), heat from animal skin surfaces, or animal scents.
This seems to be borne out by examination of the zappers and examination of the
habits of mosquitoes, black flies, punkies, etc., which don't seem to care one
way or the other about lights of any type.  

B (1). Many of the insects obliterated may actually be beneficial insects in
some ways, and could even be species that prey on those very insects we are
trying to eliminate.  No real evidence to back this up.

C.  Although the constant sound of zapping may be very gratifying to the owner,
the number of insects terminated represents about 0.0001% of those in the
immediate area.  This seems to be borne out by simple statistics.


I'd like to see some hard evidence confronting this topic.  Have there been any
serious studies made?  Do entomologists break out in laughter when anybody
mentions a bug zapper?  My apologies if this has been discussed before.

Let's see some serious information on this from those who know.  If anybody has
any good, solid, empirical data, please e-mail me a summary.  Although a
sprited discussion of this on the net would be lots of fun, my access to the
net is severely restricted and I probably would see very little of it. 
Go ahead and discuss it on the net if you wish, but please e-mail me the best
information.  I'm not interested in receiving e-mail theories or
diatribes--just the facts, ma'am.

-- 
Michael Trout (miket@brspyr1) =-=-=-=-=-=-= UUCP:brspyr1!miket
BRS Information Technologies, 1200 Rt. 7, Latham, N.Y. 12110  (518) 783-1161
         .    . . .... .........:.::::.:::::::::.:::::::::::::::::::::::::::o
"By and large, I was only trying to fool Mr. Trout." -Dan Rather