Holiday Outings
With the holiday weekend coming up, I know that a lot of people will be planning cookouts and lots of outdoor activities. As with most summers, one of the largest irritants (other than the blazing Texas heat) is the incessant drone of mosquitoes in your ears and flies swarming your hamburger.
My family always kept a bug zapper outside when I was a kid. I always thought that it was so cool to hear that ‘zzt’ as the pesky critters got fried to oblivion. As it turns out, bug zappers really aren’t that efficient at killing mosquitoes and may cause more harm than good, especially if used where people are eating or drinking. As found by Kansas State researchers, as the bugs are zapped they shower the surrounding areas with microorganisms (including viruses) that can land on food and in drinks.
Additionally, some research has shown that bug zappers actually kill more beneficial insects than actual pests. In fact, researchers have estimated that only 0.22% of bugs zapped are pests, while 13% are insect predators and parasites.
Kansas State
University of Florida
Mosquito News
mosquitoes, bug zapper, hoildays, bbq, hamburgers, insects, bugs
March 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
[...] Brilliant! As Oregon can be a bit damp, and standing water is commonplace, why not have Mother Nature provide us with natural, non-chemical-based mosquito catchers? [...]