h a l f b a k e r yClearly this is a metaphor for something.
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Mosquitoes are not one of nature's best features. They
are
disease vectors of extraordinary efficiency and worst of
all,
the bites are itchy to the point of self-mutilation.
Finding
yourself trapped alone in a dark room with one will
reveal
it's own personal high-pitched terror weapon
as it
advertises your inevitable victim-hood.
Human strategies against mosquitoes vary from the
ineffective to indiscriminate. Pondering the irritating
little
biting b@$tards flying around my back yard I did a little
research.
Mosquitoes require water to lay eggs. They lay them on
the
surface, they develop into larvae that attach to the
underside of the water surface, often piercing the
surface
tension layer with a syphon with which they breath air.
Some simply lie closer and parallel so they can stick their
head through, but ultimately they all breath air. This is
why fast moving water is unsuitable, the water-air
interface is not stable and they drown. The egg-to-adult
cycle is variable and temperature dependent, but seems
to
have an absolute minimum of 4 days, so we will use that.
So, my device. The first component is a 5-gallon bucket
full of nice tempting water. These are cheap, near
ubiquitous and heavy enough to be stable in most
weather
conditions. The second component is a circular plastic
mesh*. This sits a few inches above the surface of the
water most of the time, attached to a central shaft
which
anchors to the bottom of the bucket with suction cups**.
Most of the time, the mesh sits above the lip of the
bucket
acting as a debris/sun shield leaving a good sized
opening
for egg bearing mosquitoes looking for a small, still patch
of water for their evil plans. They lay the eggs, the eggs
develop into larvae and it looks like the mosquitoes have
another victory, but oh no! What's this? 4 days later a
tiny
motor whirs and the mesh begins a slow descent. The
mesh
passes through the water's surface and forces all the
unfortunate air-breathing larvae down, down, down to
Davy Jone's locker.
The mesh stays under water for the required larvae-
drowning period before it winds back up and resets.
Power
is from a little waterproof solar panel in the center
attachment of the mesh component. You could probably
keep a couple of guppies or similar in there to clean up
any
larvae-corpses.
*chosen to be smaller than mosquito larvae, obviously.
** the type that are practically impossible to remove, not
the fall off every 3 minutes type, these are the only two
kinds of suction cups.
Inside-out mosquito net
Inside-out_20mosquito_20net
Prior Art [8th of 7, Jul 12 2020]
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Previous to my salivary glands dripping in anticipation of
the baking of this idea I simply put a few drops of oil in any
nearby standing water. Easier, but not nearly as diabolical. |
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A daily cycle would suffice to assure no larva survive despite differing laying times. |
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But... but, this leaves the reproductive skeeters fornicatin at will leaving masses of welps every which place. |
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Whatcha need see, is an attached bottle-neck side container full of CO2 but open at the top.
Skeeters are attracted to carbon dioxide and will suffocate when they enter, which the females are sure to do when feeling depleted by larvae production and instinctively looking for their next meal. |
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/Exactly how long IS "the required larvae-drowning period"/ |
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We can determine this experimentally, it might be good
fun. |
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/the possibility that the entire brood might not all hatch at
the same time?/ |
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You just need to make sure the cycle is shorter than the
minimum laying to adult time period. Brief research
suggests this is about 4 days, so that's a reasonable starting
point. |
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/Skeeters are attracted to carbon dioxide and will suffocate
when they enter,/ |
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It can't just be a simple CO2 gradient, otherwise they'd all
fly into the nearest fire. What would be fantastic is
generating the all-round most tempting mosquito target
possible, just the right amount of heat/CO2 water vapor
etc. This would be fantastic as a diversion alone, but if it
could also me made to trap adults by the million, you get
rid of pests and you have found a good source of fertilizer
all in one. |
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There are prolly lots of mechanisms that can be employed to disturb the surface tension, from periodically dropping stones, blowing bubbles, or making waves. But maintenance is always a pain. When was the last time I filled it with water? (Or put a drop of oil - whatrock). Would a drop of water suffice (from some height)? Said bucket (or birdbath), refilled by a periodic drop of water. |
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Apparently any copper breaking the surface of the water also inhibits larvae growth, (which is why graveyard flower vases were once all copper), but it still only removes one breeding ground. |
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There's an old hb idea where it was determined that the cost of a fraction of a pennys' worth of copper running around the inside periphery of car tires would save hundreds of thousands in mosquito related illness costs every year. |
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>save hundreds of thousands in mosquito related illness costs every year. |
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And it would only cost a few million in implementation costs per year! |
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I thought it would be something more insidious, like pheromones-laced
water ponds, with chemistry specifically toxic to mosquito larvae, so they
lay eggs larvae for death. |
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What specific proteins could be toxic to larvae, but not to others? Maybe
exploring their surface proteins may give a hint, but, just like there are
sugars that are toxic to dogs, but not people (e.g., xylitol), so maybe there
are things that would be toxic to those larvae, but not to other living things
around... Cause, all we need, is a sexy insecticide. |
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/save hundreds of thousands in mosquito related illness costs every year./ |
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//And it would only cost a few million in implementation costs per year!// |
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Only in the USofA would it cost millions to incorporate a thin inner band of copper to each tire during the manufacturing process.
Why curb malaria and west-nile-virus when you can profit from their effects right? |
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Hey... has anybody made sure that American mosquitoes can't cross north of the border?
They're all flying just like a stones throw away, but too fast to hit with a rock. What are us Canuckleheads to do? |
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// What are us Canuckleheads to do? // |
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Nothing; the hummingbird-sized mosquitoes that infest the muskeg in such horrendous profusion will sieze any wimpy southern immigrants in their razor sharp talons, devour their contents, then hang the severed heads up on the tribal lodge as trophies. |
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Considering that the little buggers not only somehow get through metal mosquito screens but will actually chew their way through a corrugated iron roof to get to a Fresh European Tourist, seeing off the occasional errant bloodsucker from the US is more of a sport activity; they probably have a bag limit. |
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I think the issue with the original copper-doped tire is the
very toxicity itself. Copper is non-specific, piles of tires
would leach concentrations of copper toxic to all
invertebrates. Killing mosquito larvae is one thing,
finishing off all shrimp/snails will mess an ecosystem right
up. Which is ultimately likely to end up favoring the
mosquitoes. |
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Perhaps a biological solution, killifish are a group of
seasonal fish that survive in river systems that flood/dry
up through the year. Their eggs survive relative
dehydration for long periods, so, add some eggs to the
inside of tires, if the tire fills with water, boom! fish
hatches and gobbles all available larvae. |
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//I think the issue with the original copper-doped tire is the very toxicity itself. Copper is non-specific, piles of tires would leach concentrations of copper toxic to all invertebrates.// |
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Interesting. I was unaware of copper toxicity. If it would be so harmful to line tires with a copper strip why are all our water lines made of copper? |
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Why... in one of my incarnations we had Lead pipes, and we liked it!
Oh the times we had. You young souls have no idea... |
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//killifish// sound like something invented by J K Rowling
when she was running short of not-quite-Latin phrases: |
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"How awful; the Slytherins have started putting killifish in
the horse troughs and betting on how many house elves get
bitten!" |
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//Canuckleheads// I'm so glad I dropped in for the sole reason
to see that. I love it. |
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I want a nickle every time somebody says it... |
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/What would be fantastic is generating the all-round most tempting mosquito target possible,/ |
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Mosquito Magnet™ - a very low propane flame generates the CO2 and H2O vapor trail equivalent to a breathing mammal. Mosquitos fly up the vapor plume, where a pulsed vacuum sucks them in, like a runner gulping air and mosquitos through the mouth. |
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// pulsed vacuum sucks them in // |
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Now that sounds good ... mosquito-incinerating miniature pulsejet ! |
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It could be made to look like a model V-1, launch ramp and all; the gas supply could be in the fuselage. |
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// I want a nickle every time somebody says it... // |
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Hey, if three people say it you'll have enough cash to buy Manitoba outright, and still have a nickel to buy gum with ... |
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If I couple that with the royalties from my IP I'll have a Klondike bar before the decade is out! |
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