A bug zapper, more formally referred to as an electrical discharge insect control system, electric insect killer or (insect) electrocutor trap, is a system that attracts and kills flying insects which are attracted by gentle. A light supply attracts insects to an electrical grid, the place they're electrocuted by touching two wires with a excessive voltage between them. The identify comes from the characteristic onomatopoeic "Official Zap Zone Defender" sound produced when an insect is electrocuted. How Does a Bug Zapper Work? Inside Poundland's electric fly zapper bat. Do bug zappers really work? Bug zappers are normally housed in a protective cage of plastic or grounded steel bars to prevent folks or larger animals from touching the high voltage grid. A mild supply is fitted inside, typically a fluorescent lamp designed to emit both visible and ultraviolet gentle, which is seen to insects and attracts a wide range of them. Newer models now use long-life LEDs to provide the sunshine. The sunshine supply is surrounded by a pair of interleaved naked wire grids or helices.

The gap between adjoining wires is typically about 2 mm (0.079 in). A excessive-voltage energy provide powered by wall power is used, which could also be a easy transformerless voltage multiplier circuit made with diodes and capacitors which may generate a voltage of two kilovolts or more. This is excessive sufficient to conduct by way of the body of an insect which bridges the 2 grids, however not excessive sufficient to spark across the air hole. Enough electric current flows by way of the small physique of the insect to heat it to a excessive temperature. The impedance of the ability supply and the arrangement of the grid is such that it can not drive a harmful current by way of the body of a human. Many bug zappers are fitted with trays that accumulate the electrocuted insects; different fashions are designed to permit the debris to fall to the bottom beneath. Some use a fan to help to lure the insect.

Bug zapper traps may be put in indoors, or outdoors if they are constructed to withstand the results of weather. A study by the University of Delaware confirmed that over a period of 15 summer nights, 13,789 insects had been killed among six gadgets. Of those insects killed, only 31 had been biting insects. Mosquitoes are drawn to carbon dioxide and water vapor within the breath of mammals, not ultraviolet mild. However, there are actually bug zappers that emit carbon dioxide or use an external bait, similar to octenol, to better attract biting insects into the trap. Research has shown that when insects are electrocuted, bug zappers can spread a mist containing insect elements as much as about 2 metres (6 feet 7 inches) from the gadget. The air across the bug zapper can grow to be contaminated by bacteria and viruses that may be inhaled by, or settle on the food of people within the fast neighborhood. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that the bug zapper should not be installed above a meals preparation space, and that insects should be retained inside the machine.

Scatter-proof designs are produced for this goal. Battery-powered bug zappers are manufactured, typically within the shape of a tennis racket, with which flying insects may be hit. Low-cost versions could use a normal disposable battery, whereas rechargeable bug zappers may use a lithium-ion battery. In its October 1911 concern, Popular Mechanics magazine had a bit showing a mannequin "fly lure" that used all the weather of a trendy bug zapper, including electric mild and electrified grid. The design was carried out by two unnamed Denver males and was conceded to be too costly to be of practical use. The system was 10 by 15 inches (25 by 38 cm), contained 5 incandescent gentle bulbs, and the grid was 1⁄16-inch (1.59 mm) wires spaced 1⁄8-inch (3.17 mm) apart with a voltage of 450 volts. Users have been presupposed to bait the inside with meat. In line with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the primary bug zapper was patented in 1932 by William M. Frost.

Separately, William Brodbeck Herms (1876-1949), a professor of parasitology at the University of California, had been engaged on giant industrial insect traps for over 20 years for the safety of California's vital fruit business. In 1934 he introduced the electronic insect killer that turned the model for all future bug zappers. Anthony, Darrell W. (1960). "Tabanidae Attracted to an Ultraviolet Light Trap". The Florida Entomologist. Forty three (2): 77-80. doi:10.2307/3492383. Insect Vision: Ultraviolet, Color, and LED LightMarianne Shockley Cruz Ph.D. Freudenrich, Craig (11 July 2001). "Bug Zappers". Horticulture and Zap Zone Defender Home Pest News. IC-475 (15). Iowa State University. Density and Diversity of Nontarget Insects Killed by Suburban Electric Insect Traps"". Urban, Official Zap Zone Defender James E.; Alberto Broce (October 2000). "Electrocution of House Flies in Bug Zappers Releases Bacteria and Viruses". FDA Food Code 2009: Zap Zone Defender Annex 3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Does Electrifying Mosquitoes Protect People From Disease? Windsor, H. H., ed. October 1911). "An electric dying entice for the fly".