Zap your bugs energy efficiently

Dear Jim: I have always used electric bug zappers to try to control mosquitoes and biting insects. I want to find another method which does not use as much electricity. What options do I have and which are best to use? – Dawn W.

Dear Dawn: A large hanging bug zapper with the light and electric wires which fry bugs can use up to 100 watts of electricity. If you have several of them outside that run in the evening or all night, they can exacerbate already high summer electric bills. There are energy-efficient methods to reduce problems with mosquitoes and many of them use no electricity at all. Also, the light in the bug zapper draws many more types of insects than just mosquitoes and kills them, too. Many of these insects are beneficial that actually eat mosquitoes.

First, it helps to understand how mosquitoes find you. Female mosquitoes need blood for their eggs to develop, not for their own nutrition. They have a keen sense of smell. They detect animal breath and other scents which allow them to find a person or animal to bite. Mosquitoes are great plant pollinators, so they do serve a necessary function.

One of the newest methods uses a propane-powered device to create carbon dioxide (simulate animal breath) and heat. They fly up inside the unit and get trapped. Locating one away from your patio and running it continuously reduces the mosquito population in your yard. It can take several week for maximum effectiveness.

A drawback to these units is the expense of the propane. Depending on the size of the unit, it uses a barbecue grill-type tank every two to four weeks. These create carbon dioxide which contributes to global warming. They also attract and kill many mosquitoes which likely were too far away to ever have found you to bite.

A new mosquito inhibitor is solar powered. A solar panel in the top charges batteries during the day. When it is switched on in the evening, it emits a harmless vapor from inhibitor packets. This does not harm mosquitoes, but it interferes with their ability to sense breath, so they cannot find you.

Another inhibitor can be plugged into the same wire you use for low-voltage garden and landscaping lights. This attracts the mosquitoes away from your deck or patio and a small fan sucks them up into the unit.

The best option is a natural one. Build bat, bluebird and purple martin houses. A single bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes per night. Select proper plants and create a habitat to attract toads and dragon flies which eat both mature mosquitoes and their larvae. If you have a pond, treat it with crystals of a natural bacteria which inhibit mosquito larvae.

The following companies offer mosquito inhibitors and natural methods: Backyard Bird Company, (941) 764-5880, www.backyardbird.com; Blue Rhino, (800) 762-1142, www.bluerhino.com; Gardens Alive, (513) 354-1482, www.gardensalive.com; Intermatic, (815) 675-7000, www.intermatic.com; and Lentek International, (888) 353-6835, www.lentek.com.

Dear Jim: I am getting new drapes for my living room. When I select the color, should I consider getting a lighter color so it does not get as warm from the sun shining in? It already gets too warm during summer. – Carol M.

Dear Carol: The color of the drapes will have only a slight effect on the temperature in the room. Once the sun’s heat radiation has passed through the window glass into your home, most is trapped inside. This is why a greenhouse gets warm.

The best you can do with the drapes is keep them closed as tightly as possible over the window. This keeps most of the hot air near the window and not circulating with the room air.

Send inquiries to James Dulley, Bangor Daily News, 6906 Royalgreen Dr., Cincinnati, Ohio 45244 or visit www.dulley.com.