# Shooting down mosquitos, with freaking lasers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 13, 2010, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821 "2010-02-13T04:45:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/21 "2010-02-13T18:36:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I call bullshit on this claim. > **[Raised houses reduce mosquito bites - Malaria Journal](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1475-2875-2-45)** > > Background In many parts of continental Africa house construction does not appear to impede entry of malaria vectors and, given their generally late biting cycle, the great majority of transmission takes place indoors. In contrast, many houses in São... > [@](#): > > In many parts of continental Africa house construction does not appear to impede entry of malaria vectors and, given their generally late biting cycle, **the great majority of transmission takes place indoors.** I would not be surprised that overall most bites do happen outdoors, but I was concentrating on Malaria. However, for many in cities, the bites take place close to home or when one is sleeping. ---
**Author:** ![Generally\_Giap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Generally\_Giap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Generally_Giap)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/22 "2010-02-13T18:37:20Z")
Mosquitoes going down in smoke. Link from CNET: [http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852\_3-10452992-71.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave](http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10452992-71.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave) Link to Youtube: [http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOxXJdX3eY4&feature=player\_embedded#](http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOxXJdX3eY4&feature=player_embedded#) ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/23 "2010-02-13T18:40:50Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > but most people are attacked by mosquitoes when they are in their houses. > [@](#): > > I call bullshit on this claim. It depends on the mosquito species. The mosquitoes that transmit dengue virus (_Aedes aegypti_) in the Americas and Asia, and the mosquitoes that transmit the bulk of malaria in Africa (_Anopheles gambiae_) are co-evolved to live with humans and live for the most part in the home/hut. This is why residual spraying of DDT on the walls of the huts was so effective at reducing malaria transmission - it targeted the mosquitoes feeding on people that were responsible for the bulk of transmission. In the developed world (USA) you don’t really have these species and are more likely to be fed on by others that are more generalist and feed outside. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/24 "2010-02-13T19:00:45Z")
Indeed **mozchron** , and thanks for that bit. Over here in the USA there are more worries about the West Nile virus, so the Aedes albopictus mosquito (also known as the Asian Tiger Mosquito) would be the main target. In this case outdoor activities at dusk are one of the best chances to get bitten, but this still does not mean that indoors or close to home we should avoid using other tools besides bed nets, repellents and insecticides. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/25 "2010-02-14T01:20:46Z")
Mine must be able to do house-flies. If they can have an option to get the fly to explode with a little _pop_, I’ll pay extra. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/26 "2010-02-14T05:43:27Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > It depends on the mosquito species. The mosquitoes that transmit dengue virus (_Aedes aegypti_) in the Americas and Asia, and the mosquitoes that transmit the bulk of malaria in Africa (_Anopheles gambiae_) are co-evolved to live with humans and live for the most part in the home/hut. To back up, aedes is a problem in Singapore and the local health board has to keep reminding people about clearing stagnant waters and spraying insecticide into drains. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/27 "2010-02-14T05:47:26Z")
And to think people said A) Star Wars would never work and B) There would be no civilian spin offs from that program. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/28 "2010-02-14T12:32:00Z")
Cool, but I still like my idea of using tiny little SAMs to shoot down mosquitoes at home. Now if only I could find investors for the R&D… ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/29 "2010-02-14T16:50:43Z")
Looking at the way slowed-down video really gives ya a mosquito’s perspective. To them it isn’t an instantaneous zap, it’s several moments of agony. Insects feel pain when they’re overheated. Also look at how their wings continue to flap after the laser pulse ends - at least some part of them is still alive when they start to fall (in fact it looks to me like all the laser is doing is destroying their wings). This isn’t pesticide, it’s brutal torture! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/30 "2010-02-14T17:48:25Z")
Great, I’m all for it! Only thing that would be better is if they could waterboard the little vampires. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/31 "2010-02-14T17:50:37Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > Looking at the way slowed-down video really gives ya a mosquito’s perspective. To them it isn’t an instantaneous zap, it’s several moments of agony. Insects feel pain when they’re overheated. Also look at how their wings continue to flap after the laser pulse ends - at least some part of them is still alive when they start to fall (in fact it looks to me like all the laser is doing is destroying their wings). > > This isn’t pesticide, it’s brutal torture! ☹ And I. Don’t. Care. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/32 "2010-02-14T18:33:17Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > And I. Don’t. Care. 🆒 There’s something to be said about the mentality of inflicting suffering on another lifeform, no matter how insignificant, and not giving a flying fuck. All I’m saying is for goodness sake smash or poison the little bastards but don’t burn their wings off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/33 "2010-02-14T18:38:50Z")
Or to use an example, if a large rabid dog were threatening your (hypothetical) young child, and you concluded that the only solution was to kill the dog, would you do so quickly and humanely or would you burn the animal alive? ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/34 "2010-02-15T06:31:18Z")
[Not original, I know.] WANT! Preferably free from a corn or soybean seed supplier on one of their stylish caps. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/35 "2010-02-15T07:03:21Z")
You could have one fitted above every door and window and then you could do away with screens. In a hot and humid place like where I live, that would be fantastic because screens cut down on airflow notably. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/36 "2010-02-15T12:34:56Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > There’s something to be said about the mentality of inflicting suffering on another lifeform, no matter how insignificant, and not giving a flying fuck. All I’m saying is for goodness sake smash or poison the little bastards but don’t burn their wings off. 🙂 There is nothing to be said. I want 'em dead. Write is off as a difference in philosophy if ya want. They find me too yummy. I hate having to dose up on DEET if I want to BBQ dinner. West Nile virus sucks. Ask me how I know. Nuke 'em from space, it’s the only way to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/37 "2010-02-15T12:48:34Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > Looking at the way slowed-down video really gives ya a mosquito’s perspective. To them it isn’t an instantaneous zap, it’s several moments of agony. Do the math. The video you saw was incredibly slowed-down, and this device kills 50-100 mosquitoes _per second_. Squashing them with your hand is probably _slower_. If anything, this device is more humane. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/38 "2010-02-15T13:02:45Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > Insects feel pain when they’re overheated. Do we actually know that, especially for insects as small as mosquitoes? I’m actually kind of interested in this question, though the idea that a roach might be suffering after my initial attempt to squash it brings up (as it does for some in this thread) mixed feelings… ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/39 "2010-02-15T14:18:21Z")
Evidence is they don’t feel pain when squished, for example an insect will put full weight on a damaged limb. I’ll dig up a cite when I can, between work and other obligations. Arthropods do feel heat and electric shocks, however - at least an earwig will squirm violently if placed under a heat lamp. For an animal capable of flapping their wings a couple hundred times per second, it doesn’t seem logical that they would experience time the same way we do. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821/40 "2010-02-15T15:08:30Z")
> [@umop\_ap\_sdn](#): > > Evidence is they don’t feel pain when squished, for example an insect will put full weight on a damaged limb. Insects have so little mass that it may not be possible for them to put enough weight on a damaged limb to actually hurt them (assuming they can feel pain). An ant, for example, can fall any distance and yet be unharmed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shooting-down-mosquitos-with-freaking-lasers/528821.md?page=3)