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The Kitchen Table

Bug Zappers

16 years ago

Does anyone here own one of those Bug Zapper things? I am thinking of buying one. I know they zap mosquitoes but do they zap flies and gnats?

SamKaren

your resident DJ

Featured Answer

User

16 years ago

Trouble is there are so many "good" bugs which you will also kill..My beloved honey bees, lady bugs, praying mantises,lightening bugs . Plus I could not stand listening to the carnage zapping every night. There are better ways of killing mosquitoes like encouraging bats by building houses for them. They consume many thousands a night as do birds and toads. .

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Comments (7)

Mystical Manns
16 years ago
We have bug zappers, samkaren ... they zap anything and everything that is attracted to the light and flies into it. It doesn't solve the buggy problem, but does help.
azzalea
16 years ago
We have a couple of the bug zappers you plug in and hang like a light. When we use them, the next morning there's an actual pile of carcasses underneath. Yes, they will get a number of different kinds of night bugs.

We also have some of the hand-held zappers (look like a tennis racket, but they have batteries in them, and the 'strings' are actually electrified wires). Those things are amazing. I've gotten rid of literally hundreds of carpenter bees with them. We even have a similar product taht has a long pole, so you can get things near the ceiling.

I'd recommend having all those products. We get good use out of all of them every summer. And I like that they don't involve using toxic chemicals around my family and pets
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Creative?? Possibly but concerned is a better word. The loss of a 24 inch Koi is distressing to many ponders. Montalvo, Wiki states in it's first paragraph on the Pipevine Swallowtail that the butterfly is absolutely poisonous due to the diet it had as a Caterpillar. I had no idea! Thanks for the warning even though I doubt I have any in this area. I wonder what other surprises Mother Nature has like this. " The Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)[1][2] is a swallowtail butterfly found in North and Central America. The butterflies are black with iridescent blue hind wings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests.[3] The black or red caterpillars feed on Aristolochia species, making them poisonous as both larvae and adults, while the adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers." It is doubtful the large butterfly could manage to get inside the surrounding grid to get zapped. I remember being very concerned about a Luna Moth that clung to a Zapper all night and the next day. It flew away only after I unplugged the Zapper. Zappers don't usually attract much during the day and for mosquitoes you have to add on a bait packet. Another thing to consider is that butterflies don't fly at night the way moths do. Or am I mistaken? I've never seen one or heard of one that does.
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Good luck on the skeeters ..... you may want to look around your property and drain anything that will hold water that is not intended to hold water --- just a small amount will become a breeding ground for these little buggers ---empty the bird bath at least weekly and any planters that hold water for a length of time --also water can accumulate in your gutters ---- you may be fighting an uphill battle if your neighbor has a stagnant pool/pond and in that case try a good spray --- i have to and am vigilent about standing water ---- one more thing to try is a plant called the "mosquito plant"---smells just like citronella ---- good luck
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well, you can use them indoors jsut fine. changing the bulb would be hard to find a replacement in white or clear. no need to plug the hole, they will come up the bottom as well. the biggest concern would be that the smell and smoke from them french frying. i have seen folks use a bug zapper indoors, always with unpleasent results.
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What is it about cats and them wanting to tamper with plants? I say he got his just desserts. Have a little poodle and she rarely bothers any of the house plants. Now the vegetable garden outside is another story. Caught her helping herself to the cherry tomatoes more than once!
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bee0hio
16 years ago
We used to have one, many years ago. I've since read that they aren't all they're cracked up to be. Like Lily says they zap good bugs too. And I don't think they're actually that great for reducing populations of mosquitoes. Why don't you do a search & see what the latest thoughts are from entomologists, environmentalists, etc before you buy?
sjerin
16 years ago
Is it possible to get a bug with the hand-held one that is on a wall? I'm thinking of dd3 who has a morbid fear of all bugs. Our June bugs decided to come out in July as we had such a cool spring and they make her nuts. She might really enjoy such a toy!
hale_bopp
16 years ago
If you get one, do NOT put it near your house. The vaporized bugs get into the air and it's not good for you to breath. (This from our bug man) Also, keep it AWAY from your house, like way out in the yard. It attracts bugs from far away so you'll have even more bugs flying through than normal- you'll make your neighbors very happy with one of those things since it rids THEIR yards of insects. Ha!

Blessings,
Haley
cate52
16 years ago
You might want to do a search for mosquitoes control, seems like there are some that work with odor attraction principles - but I do agree with Lily316 -- put up a couple of bat houses. Forget the martin houses... the skeeters come out mostly at night when all the birds have roosted. You're just sooo sweet that they just love you the most!

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