I read this about Bug Zappers:
Bug Zappers are Harmful, Not Helpful
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Guide viewed: 2139 times Tags: beneficial insects | flies | mosquitos | organic gardening | pest control
Bug Zappers are Harmful, Not Helpful
Insect electrocuter light traps, also known bug zappers have been extensively marketed for the past several years with claims they can provide relief from the annoyance of biting mosquitoes and other pests in your back yard. Their effectiveness has been widely doubted and a few studies have shown they are very poor at killing mosquito females -the sex that bites-.
Now comes another study indicating black light traps are not only useless for mosquito, they are potentially harmful to the environment -and not just to the sensitive ears of neighbors trying to sleep next door-. Results of a survey of insects caught in an electrocuter black light trap in Newark, Delaware indicate that nearly all of the insects caught are either harmless or beneficial. Pests, and especially biting pests, do not end up in the traps.
According to an article by Timothy Frick and Douglas Tallamy of the University of Delaware published in Entomological News 107: 77-82 only 31 insects out of 13,789 trapped and counted -0.22percent -in a suburban setting over the course of an entire summer were biting flies. Biting flies, includes both female mosquitoes and biting gnats.
The largest number of insects -6,670 = 48.4 percent- were harmless, non-biting aquatic insects from nearby rivers and streams. These insects, of course, are a vital part of the aquatic food chain and are valuable fish food. Another important group unfortunately caught in the traps were predators and parasites, that is, biological control organisms such as ground beetles and parasitic wasps that help keep insect pest populations naturally low. Predators and parasites accounted for 13.5 percent of the insects caught -1,868-.
So how good are bug zappers? This study would indicate they are worst than worthless because of the large number of harmless and beneficial insects they kill. Extrapolations calculated by the authors indicate that 4 million bug zappers -4 years worth of approximated sales in the U.S.- operating for 40 nights each summer, would destroy in excess of 71 billion non-target insects each year. And the number of mosquitoes would still be the same as before.
Prepared by Donald Lewis, Department of Entomology
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.
AND MORE!!!!!!!!
I'll Have a Hot Dog With Mustard and . . . Mosquito Legs? According to a recent study, the sizzling flash of a bug zapper may do more than kill bugs. James Urban, a microbiologist at Kansas State University, has found that zappers placed near food may spread bacteria from the insects to the tasty treats nearby. Urban and Alberto Broce, a Kansas State entomologist, sprayed flies with bacteria, then released them in a room with a bug zapper. They determined that when bugs are zapped, parts of their bodies can land at least six feet from the zapper. Says Urban, -I think our study shows that a reasonable and prudent person should not feel comfortable with a bug zapper hanging over a condiment table, a take-out window, a barbecue grill, or even where baby toys are stored.- --Amy Erikson
My neighbors got a bug-zapper 2 years ago, I garden organically and since they've been using the bug-zapper my beneficial insects have declined dramatically! Please dont use these things and inform others of the effects they are having on our Good Insect population!
