D-i-y mozi zapper - ideas?

[dave]

Wonder what it needs to make one of these...

|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1683|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50A UV light, oscdillator, and a diode/C ladder voltage triple/quadrupler maybe? I *guess*the idea with these things is that a pair of bare wires are wound in a spiral (0V, HT), so the bug has to span the wires to be zapped. (?). I'd like to target mozzies as they target me :-)

Like to build rather than buy - before the bug*ers bite me any more (in the shed) :-)

I have the diodes, I have the (hv) C's - but er um no lamp. Does it have to be "UV"? I have some blue HB led's, maybe they would do?

Any fellow bug zappers tried any of this...? zzzzzzzzzzzzzz......zzzzzz.....

[Matty F]

|39%3A1|72%3A1683|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50>> A UV light, oscdillator, and a diode/C ladder voltage

I've heard that lights including UV do not attract mosquitoes, although excellent for most other insects. To attract mosquitoes you'll need to pump some CO2 out. To hell with global warming :)

[Owain]

The type of light output of the lamp depends on what insects you want to attract.

Neon sign transformer?

Owain

[NT]

I made bug zappers years ago. One thing I found is there's no need for the fancy tubes, a halogen capsule lamp is about as effective.

Next thing I found is that there's no need for the HT grid either, with a bare halogen capsule, its so hot that touching it kills the flies immediately. I was catching house flies, not mosquitoes.

NT

[Matty F]

"A frequently cited study, Frick, T. B. and D. W. Tallamy. 1996. Density and diversity of nontarget insects killed by suburban electric insect traps. Entomological News. 107(2): 77-82, found that blacklight traps do a poor job of attracting biting flies like adult female mosquitoes and biting gnats, and, in fact, attracted and killed many more beneficial insect species."

[Andrew Gabriel]

Yes, they home in on CO2 (breathing out) and body heat. Won't be slightest be interested in that bug zapper.

[dave]

Yes that's the trouble. End up zapping moths etc which I don't wont to do. Mosquitoes are the sods I want to target :-)

[Fredxx]

I suppose one alternative is to have 2 meshes, through which the mozzis and smaller can get through and sandwiched inn between, an electrified set of stretched wires with sufficient potential that it'll incinerate anything trying to fly through? That way the moths and larger insect remain unscathed.

[Jules]

Human bait? :-)

The dragonflies seem to be doing a good job around here - except in the garage (lots of gaps for the mozzies to get in, and the dirt floor in there's always slightly damp, which they seem to like)

[Reentrant]

Mozzies are why I don't worry too much about cobwebs around the house this time of year.