Every evening, a mass assassin stalks the darkness of America’s suburbs. An eerie blue glow lures hapless victims from their homes. The doomed souls, mesmerized by the light, throng to their deaths in sizzling blasts of electricity. I’m talking about the bug zapper. Many individuals use the gadget to rid themselves of mosquitoes and different pests. "Kill flies, mosquitoes, gnats, and wasps," touts Black and Decker. Flowtron will help eradicate flying pests over up to "2 acres" for just $315. Another advertises itself as an "eco-friendly" strategy to "instantly kill" mosquitoes. The issue? None of these claims are true, scientists say. In actual fact, backyard summer comfort bug zappers make it extra likely you’ll be bitten by mosquitoes while sitting in your yard. "When it comes to mosquitoes, bug zappers don’t work," says James Fordyce, an entomologist at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Bug zappers are exceptional killers of bugs - simply not the ones that bite you. Among the 1000's of insects these units electrocute every evening, almost all are harmless.

One study estimated even a fraction of the bug zappers offered within the United States kill more than 70 billion insects annually - with no discernible affect on mosquitoes or backyard summer comfort other biting insects. This pointless slaughter of native insect populations could also be hastening the decline of species, the insect apocalypse. I talked to specialists about why bug zappers are a extremely unhealthy concept to do away with mosquitoes - and what works as a substitute. Bug zappers purport to work by attracting mosquitoes, usually utilizing a lightbulb that emits ultraviolet light, or sometimes carbon dioxide or chemical bait. Yet research present virtually no mosquitoes or backyard summer comfort different biting insects ever enter a zapper. In 1997, the University of Florida’s medical entomological laboratory tallied the demise toll from one bug zapper over a single night: 10,000 insects. Just eight had been mosquitoes. Similar studies mirrored these findings. Around the identical time, researchers on the University of Delaware used a bug zapper to entice 13,789 insects over a backyard summer comfort time.

Only 31 - 0.22 p.c - have been biting insects equivalent to mosquitoes and gnats. What did it kill? Beneficial bugs, largely. Roughly half the victims - 6,670 insects - have been harmless aquatic species from nearby rivers and streams, fish meals within the aquatic food chain. Many of the others had been parasitic wasps and backyard summer comfort beetles that naturally prey on mosquitoes. Mosquitoes usually are not fooled by zappers because, together with other bloodsucking insects, they've developed to residence in on animals’ exhaled carbon dioxide, not ultraviolet mild, scientists say. Even if mosquitoes are drawn in by a bug zapper, they will immediately redirect their attention to their favourite foods: warmblooded mammals, particularly humans. And Colorado State University’s extension service has reached the same conclusion: "No controlled scientific research has shown that these units reduce mosquito killer biting charges outdoors," it states on its web site. None responded with materials supporting their claims after a number of inquiries.

Black and Decker referred all inquiries to a contract manufacturer, which additionally didn't respond. These claims not only mislead buyers by ignoring scientific proof, but they could create a false sense of security for individuals who use these units to guard in opposition to mosquito-borne diseases within the United States, Fordyce mentioned. "If one would like to keep away from being bit, a repellent is the solution," he says. "Even if zappers worked … The FTC, while not commenting on the companies’ marketing statements, famous that it had investigated misleading statements and security issues up to now issuing warning letters and filing cases towards manufacturers of different varieties of pest control, comparable to ultrasonic units. FTC officials really useful the public submit any complaints by means of their website. What does repel mosquitoes? Bug zappers are simply one among many suspect merchandise promising to eliminate biting insects: ultrasonic gadgets, propane-fired CO2 traps, and pesticide misters are among these that do not work, or do more hurt than good, in keeping with Texas A&M.