A bug zapper, more formally referred to as an electrical discharge insect management system, electric insect killer or (insect) electrocutor lure, is a system that attracts and kills flying insects which can be attracted by gentle. A mild supply attracts insects to an electrical grid, where they're electrocuted by touching two wires with a high voltage between them. The name comes from the characteristic onomatopoeic "Zap Zone Defender USA" 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 often housed in a protective cage of plastic or grounded metal bars to stop people or bigger animals from touching the high voltage grid. A mild source is fitted inside, often a fluorescent lamp designed to emit each visible and ultraviolet light, which is visible to insects and attracts a variety of them. Newer models now use long-life LEDs to supply the light. The light supply is surrounded by a pair of interleaved bare wire grids or helices.

The gap between adjacent wires is often about 2 mm (0.079 in). A excessive-voltage energy provide powered by wall power is used, which may be a simple transformerless voltage multiplier circuit made with diodes and capacitors which may generate a voltage of two kilovolts or extra. This is high enough to conduct by the physique of an insect which bridges the two grids, however not excessive enough to spark across the air gap. Enough electric current flows by the small physique of the insect to heat it to a high temperature. The impedance of the facility provide and the association of the grid is such that it can't drive a dangerous present by means of the physique of a human. Many bug zappers are fitted with trays that acquire the electrocuted insects; different fashions are designed to permit the debris to fall to the bottom beneath. Some use a fan to help to entice the insect.

Bug zapper traps could also be put in indoors, or outdoors if they're constructed to withstand the effects of weather. A examine by the University of Delaware showed that over a period of 15 summer nights, 13,789 insects have been killed amongst six devices. Of these insects killed, only 31 have been biting insects. Mosquitoes are drawn to carbon dioxide and water vapor within the breath of mammals, not ultraviolet gentle. However, there are actually bug zappers that emit carbon dioxide or use an external bait, corresponding to octenol, to higher attract biting insects into the trap. Research has shown that when insects are electrocuted, bug zappers can spread a mist containing insect components up to about 2 metres (6 ft 7 inches) from the gadget. The air across the bug zapper can become contaminated by micro organism and viruses that can be inhaled by, or settle on the meals of people in the instant neighborhood. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises that the bug zapper shouldn't be put in above a food preparation area, and that insects ought to be retained throughout the system.

Scatter-proof designs are produced for this function. Battery-powered bug zappers are manufactured, typically within the form of a tennis racket, with which flying insects will be hit. Low-cost variations could use a regular disposable battery, while rechargeable bug zappers may use a lithium-ion battery. In its October 1911 issue, Popular Mechanics magazine had a chunk showing a mannequin "fly trap" that used all the elements of a fashionable bug zapper, including electric light and electrified grid. The design was implemented by two unnamed Denver males and was conceded to be too expensive 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 interior with meat. In line with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the first bug zapper was patented in 1932 by William M. Frost.

Separately, William Brodbeck Herms (1876-1949), a professor of parasitology on the University of California, had been engaged on giant commercial insect traps for mosquito zapper over 20 years for the protection of California's necessary fruit trade. In 1934 he launched the electronic insect killer that turned the mannequin for Zap Zone Defender USA all future bug zappers. Anthony, Darrell W. (1960). "Tabanidae Interested in 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 (eleven July 2001). "Bug Zappers". Horticulture and Home Pest News. IC-475 (15). Iowa State University. Density and Diversity of Nontarget Insects Killed by Suburban Electric Insect Traps"". Urban, James E.; Alberto Broce (October 2000). "Electrocution of House Flies in Bug Zappers Releases Bacteria and Viruses". FDA Food Code 2009: Annex 3. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Does Electrifying Mosquitoes Protect People From Disease? Windsor, H. H., ed. October 1911). "An electric dying lure for the fly".