A study comparing efficiency of insect capture between Stinger electric zapper and Mosquito-deleto at varying locations and heights in northern Michigan.

In the attempt to reduce biting insect populations, the general public has relied on many methods to kill mosquitoes and other biting insects. Presently, the most commonly used device, the electric zapper, utilizes ultraviolet light and electricity to lure and electrocute the targeted insects. Science has demonstrated that electric zappers do not catch as many biting insects as they claim; they also are harmful to beneficial, non-biting insects. A new, alternative technology uses carbon dioxide, heat, and octenol (a derivative of mammalian body odor) to attract biting insects. The study was run at two sites (a lakeside and a forested hilltop) in northern Michigan for five nights (20:00-23:00) with relatively similar weather. Two Stinger?zappers were raised to two feet and nine feet in order to compare heights, and one Mosquito DeletoTM was used to compare the insect lure methods. The experiment produced a total insect catch of 11, 078 insects; mainly from five predominate operational taxon units (Ichneumonidae, Noctuidae, Culicidae, Chironomidae, and Coleoptera). A relationship was shown to exist between total number of insects caught and each location, but height was shown as a significant variable (x2 = 759.17, df = 1, p