Hi Sean and all...
Yes, I have been experimenting quite a bit with this. I have used several apps
on my iPod touch for this. We are having the worst mosquito year I can
remember because of all the flooding here along the Yellowstone River, so I
have lots of chance to experiment.
I tried generating the frequency they said was that of a dragonfly which it was
claimed would scare the mosquitos away. Didn't do a thing!
I have also tried a little app that generates the frequency of the male
mosquitos ("NoMosquitos" ... free at the app store). The theory is that only
the females who have already mated will be interested in biting and that they
don't want to have anything to do with the males any more. I would say it is
very slightly effective. If Ms Mosquito already has your scent and is diving
in for her dinner, it doesn't do much. However, the number of hovering
mosquitos is definitely diminished, but not eliminated.
Today I also tried the new "Off" mosquito repellant device that has a tiny fan
that dispenses a repellant around you. It is great if you are sitting still,
but not so much if you move around... like when working in the yard.
Interestingly, the little fan produces a sound similar to the male mosquito
sound on the iPod... just a bit lower pitch. I wonder if it helps in the
process???
So far the best thing I have found (if you don't want to wear deet) is to wear
thick clothing they can't sting through (sweats work) and add a hat with a
mosquito net veil.
So.... my verdict, so far, is.... there seems to be a possibility of reducing
the number of mosquitos in an area with the right frequency but it will not
eliminate them entirely. You will probably still be bitten. Go for the nets!
Low-tech, but a lot more effective!
Caryl
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 08:45:24 +1200
Subject: Re: [IAEP] [Sugar-devel] Turn your frequency generator into a super
powerful mosquito repeller
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected];
[email protected]; [email protected]
Hi Caryl,
Just curious to know if you tried any experiments with your computers and
insect problem. I note that some antenna are useful at fractions of the wave
length too, like 1/2 or 1/4 so there is a broader spectrum that could be
experimented with there.
Sean
On 8 July 2011 18:08, Caryl Bigenho <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi....
Let's put this to a test!
With all the flooding we are having in Montana this summer the clouds of
mosquitos are really fierce! Our family is visiting with their PCs and I have a
Mac. We can try this in the next couple of days and see if it really works. It
says it can be barely audible. I was curious to see how low these notes would
be and found this interesting chart (link below). Many of the instruments
listed are no longer in daily use and exist mainly in museums, but some, such
as the bass viol and bassoon are very common. In fact, my husband has his
bassoon here with him in Montana! But, I don't think he wants to play a
continuous low note... he has better things to do! We can find an appropriate
tone generator for our test.
http://www.contrabass.com/pages/frequency.html
Caryl
> Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 15:34:30 +1000
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> CC: [email protected]; [email protected];
> [email protected]; [email protected]
> Subject: Re: [IAEP] [Sugar-devel] Turn your frequency generator into a super
> powerful mosquito repeller
>
> The speakers don't work very well at the frequency range specified by
> that article for mosquito repelling; 45 Hz to 67 Hz.
>
> The article fails to mention how much sound is needed; e.g. in dBm. It
> gives a subjective measure only.
>
> Other articles on the site mention secrets of ancient geometry and
> crystal harmonizers. This really doesn't impress me. Is there any
> evidence base for repelling mosquitos using low frequency sound? Is
> there any evidence that enough of the population of mosquitos is
> repelled? All it takes is for one strain to not be repelled and it will
> breed up.
>
> --
> James Cameron
> http://quozl.linux.org.au/
> _______________________________________________
> IAEP -- It's An Education Project (not a laptop project!)
> [email protected]
> http://lists.sugarlabs.org/listinfo/iaep
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