WEBVTT - Are Bug Zappers a Bad Idea?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, there are many ways

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<v Speaker 1>to catch a fly. A sticky strips of paper, sprays, swatters,

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<v Speaker 1>or a handy pair of chopsticks. If you're really looking

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<v Speaker 1>for a challenge, can all do the trick. It turns out, however,

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<v Speaker 1>that one of the most popular tools for staying bug

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<v Speaker 1>free may do more harm than good. I'm talking about

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<v Speaker 1>bug zappers. They obliterate flies and other critters by emitting

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<v Speaker 1>a UV light that indiscriminately attracts flying insects, and then

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<v Speaker 1>electrocuting any winged object that comes into their path. There

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<v Speaker 1>are a number of reasons that backyard grillers and chillers

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<v Speaker 1>should ditch zapping machines. For the article this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on House to Forks, spoke with Jonathan Day, associate

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<v Speaker 1>professor of entomology with the University of Florida's Institute of

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<v Speaker 1>Food and Agricultural Sciences. Back then, they estimated that seventy

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<v Speaker 1>one billion non target insects are slaughtered by these devices

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<v Speaker 1>in the US alone every year. Most of these were

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<v Speaker 1>pollinator moths and beneficial beetles, ants and midges, along with

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<v Speaker 1>parasitic wasps, which control other insect pests. Several other studies

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<v Speaker 1>from that same time period, including one from the University

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<v Speaker 1>of Delaware, found similar results. With the drop in insect

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<v Speaker 1>populations that's being observed around the world, indiscriminately zapping bugs

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<v Speaker 1>is bad environmental policy. Day still maintains that the biggest

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<v Speaker 1>threat from zappers is what he calls this non target impact.

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<v Speaker 1>The UV lights that the devices used to lure mosquitoes

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<v Speaker 1>and flies in are also likely to attract a number

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<v Speaker 1>of other bugs. Day said mosquitoes are a very small

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<v Speaker 1>part of the population attracted to bug zappers. Furthermore, when

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<v Speaker 1>an insect is zapped, the devices send bug bits and

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<v Speaker 1>any bacteria and viruses that they may be carrying flying

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<v Speaker 1>into the immediate area. According to a study conducted in

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<v Speaker 1>the year two thousand by researchers at Kansas State University,

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<v Speaker 1>a bacteria that bugs pick up on the surface of

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<v Speaker 1>their bodies or accumulate in their digestive canals aren't killed

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<v Speaker 1>by zapping. Instead, they survive on the small particles of

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<v Speaker 1>an electrocuted bug body that go hurtling through the surrounding

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<v Speaker 1>area and what goes flying into the air has to

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<v Speaker 1>land somewhere, right, So there are a couple of reasons

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<v Speaker 1>to ditch zapping machines, though, really the health threat of

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<v Speaker 1>having a bug incinerated onto your burger while completely on

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<v Speaker 1>appetizing is actually at the bottom of the list. And

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<v Speaker 1>they said, I think that's a very minor concern with

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<v Speaker 1>bug zapper usage. That event is going to be a

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<v Speaker 1>very rare one. It requires the bug zapper to be

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<v Speaker 1>hung over your picnic table and an infected fly to

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<v Speaker 1>come into that bug zapper at the same time that

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<v Speaker 1>your sandwiches sitting within range. It's probably a lot more

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<v Speaker 1>dangerous for you to have a fly walking over your food.

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<v Speaker 1>The good news is that backyard enthusiasts have a number

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<v Speaker 1>of other options for combating mosquitoes and other bugs, where

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<v Speaker 1>athletic clothing that bugs can't bite through, use a decent repellent,

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<v Speaker 1>and turn on the fan. Day said, mosquitoes are poor flyers.

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<v Speaker 1>There's nothing more effective than a fan. So the next

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<v Speaker 1>time you invite your friends over for a cook out,

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<v Speaker 1>you may want to reconsider how you go about warding

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<v Speaker 1>off bugs. A wise fellow once said something about using honey.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article are Bugsapper's bad

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<v Speaker 1>News on house toffworks dot com. Written by Chris Optor.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is a production of iHeart Radio in partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with HowStuffWorks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang.

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