# Can a loud sound kill a bug? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 23, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-loud-sound-kill-a-bug/446545 "2008-04-23T14:26:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-loud-sound-kill-a-bug/446545/1 "2008-04-23T14:26:24Z")
There was this little fruit fly or gnat or something flying around my office. It kept on bothering me while I was trying to eat my protein bar. It was very quick and I couldn’t seem to shoo it away. So I tried to clap my hands together and kill it, but kept missing. It was very quick. Finally, I tried again and missed again. However, this thing just fell straight to the floor, dead. I know I missed it completely, but got pretty close. The only thing I can think is that the loud sound of my clap killed it. Is this possible? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-loud-sound-kill-a-bug/446545/2 "2008-04-23T14:53:45Z")
Yes - or stunned it - because at that close range, the sound of the clap is in fact quite a sharp shock wave. It’s a pressure gradient that did the trick, but ‘sound’ is not an incorrect way to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-loud-sound-kill-a-bug/446545/3 "2008-04-23T16:29:51Z")
A loud enough sound can kill _you_. IIRC, at around 190 dB, the SPL gets high enough to be lethal, by rupturing your inside squishy bits.