The short answer is Yes and No. Bug zappers undoubtedly do kill a lot of insects. Unfortunately, the vast majority are not mosquitoes. Even worse many of the insects they indiscriminately kill are beneficial.
How Do Bug Zappers Work?
Standard bug zappers attract insects using ultraviolet light. The insects are then electrocuted when they land on an electrified mesh screen. This provides the characteristic ZAP that gives them their nickname. Although they are efficient at attracting and killing flying insects they aren’t especially effective in attracting mosquitoes. Carbon dioxide attracts more mosquitoes than ultraviolet light. So if they have a choice between a bright light or a living, breathing human, they’ll choose you every single time.
What the Research Says
Notre Dame researchers conducted a zapper efficiency study in 1982. They tallied the kills from bug zappers in backyards in South Bend, Indiana, where mosquito populations were moderate to high. In an average night, a single bug zapper killed 3,212 insects, but only 3.3% of the dead insects were female mosquitoes.
A similar study in 1996 by the University of Delaware showed that over a period of 15 summer nights 13,789 insects were killed among six devices. Of those insects killed, only 31 were biting insects. Less than 1/4 of 1%!
Research by the UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach showed that thousands of beneficial insects, not mosquitoes, were the main victims of the zappers. During the one night study only eight out of some 10,000 insects killed by one bug zapper were mosquitoes.
Drawbacks of Using Bug Zappers
- They often kill more beneficial insects than pests. Bug Zappers can kill innocent bystanders like moths that help pollinate flowers and other plants. Zappers also kill a large amount of beetles which serve as a food source for birds and other animals.
- The electrified death traps also end up spreading bacteria and virus. When the insect is zapped it can create a mist of insect particles up to 7’ away. This mist can contain dangerous bacteria and virus that were carried by the insect. For this reason zappers should never be placed where children play or where food is prepared or served.
- Zappers need a power source to operate. To keep zappers safely away children and away from where you hang out you might need to install a power supply source or run an extension cord.
- They can be pretty nasty to operate and clean. You’ll need to remove hundreds if not thousands of fried insect carcasses to keep the area sanitary. Keep in mind zappers attract bugs and bugs attract curious kids.
- Noisy, unless you find the sound of bugs exploding comforting.
- Not effective on day-feeding mosquitoes.
Conclusion
We believe in most cases the cons outweigh the benefits of using a bug zapper as your primary means of controlling mosquitoes. However, the newer models that incorporate octenol (which mimics exhaled carbon dioxide) or a lure can be a part of your overall strategy to fight the pesky blood-suckers.
If you can’t resist the sound of snap, crackle and pop and have problems with other bugs like flies and gnats we would recommend this model. It has features that make it more effective on mosquitoes than the standard bug zapper.
Another option would be a hand-held zapper. These are electrified versions of the common fly-swatter. They allow you to be selective in what you zap and keep your backhand in top form. Game-Set-Match mosquitoes!
For tips and a comprehensive step by step guide to controlling mosquitoes read our article here.