Fly trap

It may not go ‘bzzzzzzt’ but it does kill bugs -- with less potential harm to the environment and people than traditional bug zappers.

An environmentally friendly bug trap designed in part by University of Florida engineering undergraduates uses battery-powered LEDs flashing at different frequencies to attract house flies. The flies make their way through slots in the trap toward the lights, only to become immobilized on a sticky glue strip in a disposable plastic cartridge.

‘The combination of the different frequencies of light and the ultraviolet wavelengths is what does it,’ said Hans Yeakel, a UF senior in industrial engineering. ‘They see that, and they want to come into the trap.’

Yeakel is one of six engineering seniors who designed the trap as part of the UF College of Engineering’s Integrated Product and Process Design Program. The program pairs student teams with corporate or government sponsors for yearlong design projects.

The problem with conventional bug zappers is that they blow up bugs into millions of tiny particles, said Yeakel and other team members. Research at Kansas State University and the University of Wisconsin has shown that these particles can hang around in the air for four days or more. The research has also shown that the particles can contain tiny bits of metal – also blown away when the bugs hit the zapper – and sometimes harbour live colonies of bacteria, Yeakel said. Both are a health concern, considering the common use of the zappers near homes, restaurants and businesses.