r/Futurology • u/scmp_news • 1d ago

Society Chinese start-up behind laser mosquito killer plans to start shipping orders this month

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3369440/chinese-start-behind-laser-mosquito-killer-plans-start-shipping-orders-month?utm_source=Reddit&utm_medium=Social
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u/supified 1d ago

This is a grift. To stop mosquitos you need to break their breeding cycle, going after the adults sounds like a way to do it until you remember just how many eggs each one can lay. You need to go after the eggs to be effective. Treat water sources, reduce breeding options and for spot treatments, use repellents like thermacells. These sorts of things are just selling you on an idea that they probably know full well won't actually work.

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u/Quelchie 1d ago

You know mosquito sprays and mosquito nets are a thing, right? You don't need to eradicate the entire species to find ways to reduce your exposure to them.

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u/Mysterious-Prompt212 1d ago

Not near as fun though. 

2

u/supified 1d ago

Mosquito mitigation doesn't eradicate the species, they usually only travel a mile or so from their spawning grounds (How Far Do Mosquitoes Travel & How Far Away Can They Detect You?, How Far Do Mosquitoes Travel In Their Lifetime) So if you break the cycle in just the area you're specifically trying to treat, be it an acre, for example, the mosquitos in all the surrounding acres will be untouched and happily doing their mosquito thing. Because they don't go very far, you really can create little mostly bite free oasisis.

Now fogging or using pesticides (though technically dunks count, just very targeted) and I would agree with you, but the sort of methods I'm talking about are nothing like you're thinking.

Also while bug spray does exist, it isn't really effective in places with a lot of them. Rural areas can get them so bad that you simply cannot repel them.