A flyswatter (or fly-swat, fly swatter[1]) usually consists of a small rectangular or round sheet of a lightweight, flexible, vented material (usually thin metallic, rubber, or plastic mesh) around 10cm (4in) across, attached to a handle about 30 to 60cm (1 to 2ft) long made of a lightweight material such as wire, wood, plastic, or metal. The venting or perforations minimize the disruption of air currents, which are detected by an insect and allow escape, and also reduces air resistance, making it easier to hit a fast-moving target.
A flyswatter is ideally lightweight and stiff, allowing quick acceleration to overcome the fast reaction time of the fly (six to ten times faster than a human),[2] while also minimizing damage caused by hitting other objects. The flyswatter usually works by mechanically crushing the fly against a hard surface, after the user has waited for the fly to land somewhere. However, users can also injure or stun an airborne insect mid-flight by whipping the swatter through the air at an extreme speed.
History
The abeyance of insects by use of short horsetail staffs and fans is an ancient practice, dating back to the Egyptian pharaohs.[citation needed][disputed–discuss] The earliest flyswatters were in fact nothing more than some sort of striking surface attached to the end of a long stick. An early patent on a commercial flyswatter was issued in 1900 to Robert R. Montgomery who called it a fly-killer. [3] Montgomery sold his patent to John L. Bennett, a wealthy inventor and industrialist who made further improvements on the design.[4]
The origin of the name "flyswatter" comes from Dr. Samuel Crumbine, a member of the Kansas board of health, who wanted to raise public awareness of the health issues caused by flies. He was inspired by a chant at a local Topekasoftball game: "swat the ball". In a health bulletin published soon afterwards, he exhorted Kansans to "swat the fly". In response, a schoolteacher named Frank H. Rose created the "fly bat", a device consisting of a yardstick attached to a piece of screen, which Crumbine named "the flyswatter".[5]
Fly gun
A fly gun
The fly gun (or flygun), a derivative of the flyswatter, uses a spring-loaded plastic projectile to mechanically "swat" flies. Mounted on the projectile is a perforated circular disk, which, according to advertising copy, "won't splat the fly". Several similar products are sold, mostly as toys or novelty items, although some maintain their use as traditional fly swatters.[citation needed]
Another gun-like design consists of a pair of mesh sheets spring loaded to "clap" together when a trigger is pulled, squashing the fly between them. In contrast to the traditional flyswatter, such a design can only be used on an insect in mid-air.[6]
Fly bottle
Three fly bottles from Central Europe, beginning of the 20th century
A fly bottle or glass flytrap is a passive trap for flying insects. In the Far East, it is a large bottle of clear glass with a black metal top with a hole in the middle. An odorous bait, such as pieces of meat, is placed in the bottom of the bottle. Flies enter the bottle in search of food and are then unable to escape because their phototaxis behavior leads them anywhere in the bottle except to the darker top where the entry hole is.[7]
A European fly bottle is more conical, with small feet that raise it to 1.25cm (0.5in), with a trough about a 2.5cm (1in) wide and deep that runs inside the bottle all around the central opening at the bottom of the container. In use, the bottle is stood on a plate and some sugar is sprinkled on the plate to attract flies, who eventually fly up into the bottle. The trough is filled with beer or vinegar, into which the flies fall and drown.[8] In the past, the trough was sometimes filled with a dangerous mixture of milk, water, and arsenic or mercury chloride.[9]
Variants of these bottles are the agricultural fly traps used to fight the Mediterranean fruit fly and the olive fly, which have been in use since the 1930s. They are smaller, without feet, and the glass is thicker for rough outdoor usage, often involving suspension in a tree or bush. Modern versions of this device are often made of plastic, and can be purchased in some hardware stores. They can also be improvised from disposable plastic drink bottles.
Disposable fly traps
Disposable fly traps are small “use and throw away” fly traps. The traps are disposable plastic bags containing some attractant, generally made of flavoring agents that are non-toxic. Water and direct sunlight are used to activate the attractant, which emits a smell to lure the flies. Insects enter the trap and drown in the water inside.
Glue board
A glue board is a capture device with a strong adhesive. A small card covered in sticky adhesive is situated in an enclosure so that when the flies come into contact with it, they stick to it and die. A reusable glue board may be renewed through the use of vegetable oil, and then the removal of the oil with dishwashing detergent and a rinse of water. Alternatively, the card is disposed of and completely replaced periodically.
Flypaper (also known as fly paper, fly sticker, fly strip, fly ribbon, or fly tape) attracts flies to adhesive so that they can be trapped. The exposed adhesive strip makes it more stick-prone than an enclosed glue board. To avoid accidental entanglement with humans, the strips are often hung in relatively inaccessible spaces, such as near ceilings. One type of fly strip is packaged in a small cardboard tube with a pin on the top. It is used by pulling the pin off the top (usually covered with wax), removing the adhesive "fly strip" and using the pin to attach it to a ceiling, with the tube dangling below as a small weight. Flypaper is not reused, but is replaced when it loses effectiveness.
Flypaper is often impregnated with a slightly odorous chemical to attract more flies. The attractiveness of flypaper to other insects (such as mosquitoes and biting midges) is sometimes enhanced by shining a small portable electric light on the sticky surface.
Bug vacuum
A bug vacuum (bug vac or aspirator)[10] is a type of small but powerful portable vacuum cleaner, usually with internal batteries. The motor starts quickly and generates strong suction, trapping the flying insect inside the device. The insect may be captured on an adhesive internal surface, or simply held inside the device until it dehydrates and dies.
Some bug vacuums feature non-lethal designs which keep trapped insects inside, but do not otherwise harm them, allowing their later release. These devices are popular with entomologists and persons who wish to avoid the killing of insects.[10]
A related device powered by mouth suction is called a pooter, and is used by entomologists and students to capture small organisms for study.[11][12]
Fan-based trap
This design uses a continuously running electric fan to suck in flying insects (especially mosquitos and gnats, which are weak fliers), which are then trapped by a fine mesh grid or bag. Unable to escape the constant airflow, the insects quickly dehydrate and die.[13] Some variant designs use carbon dioxide, ultraviolet light, or chemical scent to attract insects to the trap.[13][14] Other designs rely on the natural carbon dioxide or scents emitted by people, pets, or livestock to attract pests, and simply collect flying insects as they wander close enough to be sucked in.[15][13] In addition, the continuous breeze produced by a common electric fan has been found to discourage mosquitos from landing and biting, even without trapping or killing the insects.[16]
A bug zapper electric grid (fly zapper) kills insects by electrocution from high voltage on adjacent metallic grids. Bug zappers are generally small appliances intended for use in a fixed location, as distinguished from hand held electric flyswatters.
Electric flyswatter
An electric flyswatter
An electric flyswatter (sometimes called mosquito bat, racket zapper,[17] or zap racket) is a battery-powered, handheld bug zapper that resembles a tennis racket invented by Tsao-i Shih in 1996.[18] The handle contains a battery-powered high-voltage generator. The circuit is a minimalist self-oscillating voltage booster, that is small, low-cost, composed of very few components, and continuing to operate when the battery is depleted to a fraction of its original voltage, a so-called Joule thief circuit.[19]
The flyswatter generates a voltage of between 500 and 3,000 volts (V) when a button switch is held down; the voltage is applied between two grid or mesh electrodes. When the body of a fly bridges the gap between the electrodes, a current passes through the fly. A capacitor attached to the electrodes discharges during the spark, and this initial discharge usually stuns or kills the fly. If the button is kept depressed, the continuous current will rapidly kill and incinerate a small fly.
In some swatters, an inner expanded metal or wire grid mesh is sandwiched between two outer arrays of rods, designed so that fingers are not able to poke through and bridge the electrodes, while small insects can. Other swatters have an array of rods, with high voltage between any rod and its neighbor.
Most electric flyswatters conform to electrical safety standards for humans:
A limit on the net charge stored in the capacitor: A discharge of less than 45 microcoulombs (µC) is considered safe, even in the unlikely scenario that the current from a flyswatter would be flowing from one arm to the other arm, partly through the heart.[20] For example, the capacitor of a 1000 V flyswatter should be less than 45 nanofarads (nF). Due to this precaution for human safety, the initial shock is usually inadequate to kill larger insects, but will still stun them for long enough that they can be disposed of.
A limit on the current after the initial discharge: The maximal continuous current of most flyswatters is less than 5 milliamperes (mA). This current is safe, even when flowing from one arm to the other arm of a human.[21]
An advantage over conventional flyswatters is that the electrical models do not have to crush the fly against a surface to kill it, avoiding the smeared mess this can create.[22] Electric swatters kill insects when airborne, not resting on a surface. Insects on a surface will start flying as the swatter approaches, so it can strike them.
Three layer grid close up: mesh and rods oppositely charged
Closeup view of single layer grid: odd and even rods oppositely charged
Maximum charge: 45 µC
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fly swatters.
Cathode rays or electron beams (e-beam) are streams of electrons observed in discharge tubes. If an evacuated glass tube is equipped with two electrodes and a voltage is applied, glass behind the positive electrode is observed to glow, due to electrons emitted from the cathode. They were first observed in 1859 by German physicist Julius Plücker and Johann Wilhelm Hittorf, and were named in 1876 by Eugen Goldstein Kathodenstrahlen, or cathode rays. In 1897, British physicist J. J. Thomson showed that cathode rays were composed of a previously unknown negatively charged particle, which was later named the electron. Cathode-ray tubes (CRTs) use a focused beam of electrons deflected by electric or magnetic fields to render an image on a screen.
A vacuum tube, electron tube, valve, or tube, is a device that controls electric current flow in a high vacuum between electrodes to which an electric potential difference has been applied.
Space charge is an interpretation of a collection of electric charges in which excess electric charge is treated as a continuum of charge distributed over a region of space rather than distinct point-like charges. This model typically applies when charge carriers have been emitted from some region of a solid—the cloud of emitted carriers can form a space charge region if they are sufficiently spread out, or the charged atoms or molecules left behind in the solid can form a space charge region.
A spark gap consists of an arrangement of two conducting electrodes separated by a gap usually filled with a gas such as air, designed to allow an electric spark to pass between the conductors. When the potential difference between the conductors exceeds the breakdown voltage of the gas within the gap, a spark forms, ionizing the gas and drastically reducing its electrical resistance. An electric current then flows until the path of ionized gas is broken or the current reduces below a minimum value called the "holding current". This usually happens when the voltage drops, but in some cases occurs when the heated gas rises, stretching out and then breaking the filament of ionized gas. Usually, the action of ionizing the gas is violent and disruptive, often leading to sound, light, and heat.
An ignitron is a type of gas-filled tube used as a controlled rectifier and dating from the 1930s. Invented by Joseph Slepian while employed by Westinghouse, Westinghouse was the original manufacturer and owned trademark rights to the name "Ignitron". Ignitrons are closely related to mercury-arc valves but differ in the way the arc is ignited. They function similarly to thyratrons; a triggering pulse to the igniter electrode turns the device "on", allowing a high current to flow between the cathode and anode electrodes. After it is turned on, the current through the anode must be reduced to zero to restore the device to its nonconducting state. They are used to switch high currents in heavy industrial applications.
The krytron is a cold-cathode gas-filled tube intended for use as a very high-speed switch, somewhat similar to the thyratron. It consists of a sealed glass tube with four electrodes. A small triggering pulse on the grid electrode switches the tube on, allowing a large current to flow between the cathode and anode electrodes. The vacuum version is called a vacuum krytron, or sprytron. The krytron was one of the earliest developments of the EG&G Corporation.
A mesh is a barrier made of interlaced strands of metal, fiber or other flexible or ductile materials. A mesh is similar to a web or a net in that it has many interwoven strands.
In entomology, an aspirator, also known as a pooter, is a device used in the collection of insects, crustaceans or other small, fragile organisms, usually for scientific purposes.
An electrostatic precipitator (ESP) is a filterless device that removes fine particles, such as dust and smoke, from a flowing gas using the force of an induced electrostatic charge minimally impeding the flow of gases through the unit.
A bug zapper, more formally called an electrical discharge insect control system, electric insect killer or (insect) electrocutor trap, is a device that attracts and kills flying insects that are attracted by light. A light source attracts insects to an electrical grid, where they are electrocuted by touching two wires with a high voltage between them. The name comes from the characteristic onomatopoeic "zap" sound produced when an insect is electrocuted.
Insect traps are used to monitor or directly reduce populations of insects or other arthropods, by trapping individuals and killing them. They typically use food, visual lures, chemical attractants and pheromones as bait and are installed so that they do not injure other animals or humans or result in residues in foods or feeds. Visual lures use light, bright colors and shapes to attract pests. Chemical attractants or pheromones may attract only a specific sex. Insect traps are sometimes used in pest management programs instead of pesticides but are more often used to look at seasonal and distributional patterns of pest occurrence. This information may then be used in other pest management approaches.
A window screen is designed to cover the opening of a window. It is usually a mesh made of metal, fibreglass, plastic wire, or other pieces of plastic and stretched in a frame of wood or metal. It serves to keep leaves, debris, bugs, birds, and other animals from entering a building or a screened structure such as a porch, without blocking fresh air-flow.
Flypaper is a fly-killing device made of paper coated with a sweetly fragrant, but extremely sticky and sometimes poisonous substance that traps flies and other flying insects when they land upon it. Fly paper is considered a pest control device, and is subject to regulation in many countries. In the United States of America, the device may be subject to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act.
Plasma activation is a method of surface modification employing plasma processing, which improves surface adhesion properties of many materials including metals, glass, ceramics, a broad range of polymers and textiles and even natural materials such as wood and seeds. Plasma functionalization also refers to the introduction of functional groups on the surface of exposed materials. It is widely used in industrial processes to prepare surfaces for bonding, gluing, coating and painting. Plasma processing achieves this effect through a combination of reduction of metal oxides, ultra-fine surface cleaning from organic contaminants, modification of the surface topography and deposition of functional chemical groups. Importantly, the plasma activation can be performed at atmospheric pressure using air or typical industrial gases including hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen. Thus, the surface functionalization is achieved without expensive vacuum equipment or wet chemistry, which positively affects its costs, safety and environmental impact. Fast processing speeds further facilitate numerous industrial applications.
In electrical engineering, earth potential rise (EPR), also called ground potential rise (GPR), occurs when a large current flows to earth through an earth grid impedance. The potential relative to a distant point on the Earth is highest at the point where current enters the ground, and declines with distance from the source. Ground potential rise is a concern in the design of electrical substations because the high potential may be a hazard to people or equipment.
The housefly is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha. It possibly originated in the Middle East, and spread around the world as a commensal of humans. It is the most common fly species found in houses. Adults are gray to black, with four dark, longitudinal lines on the thorax, slightly hairy bodies, and a single pair of membranous wings. They have red eyes, set farther apart in the slightly larger female.
A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are a sampling technique, mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to escape. This is a form of passive collection, as opposed to active collection where the collector catches each animal. Active collection may be difficult or time-consuming, especially in habitats where it is hard to see the animals such as thick grass.
A bottle trap is a type of baited arboreal insect trap for collecting either prized or harmful frugivorous beetles, especially flower beetles, leaf chafers and longhorn beetles as well as wasps and other unwanted flying insects.
A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than solid-state capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries. It typically stores 10 to 100 times more energy per unit volume or mass than electrolytic capacitors, can accept and deliver charge much faster than batteries, and tolerates many more charge and discharge cycles than rechargeable batteries.
Moth traps are devices used for capturing moths for scientific research or domestic pest control.
References
↑ "fly, n.1", OED Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved 2020-04-08
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