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It's summer, and here in Atlanta we're having a drought so the bugs are sucking on us for moisture. Well, it's payback time! Build this bug zapper and turn those six-legged suckers into dust. This circuit can be found in ASCII form at www.repairfaq.org. We've reproduced it here as a graphic schematic. The circuit is essentially a high voltage, low current power supply in parallel with a fluorescent light. The lamp is surrounded by a wire mesh. The wires in the mesh are wound in such a way that the potential between any two adjacent conductors is about 500 to 600 volts. The high voltage supply is based on a basic voltage quadrupler. R1 and R4 provide current limiting when a strike occurs or if someone should come in contact with the grid. The lamp, FL1, is a complete fluorescent lamp assembly which can be purchased from a number of surplus sites (http://www.proformance.net/blacklite.htm). If you desire to kill really big bugs or even rodents, then you may have to use bigger caps. Warning: this device use potentially fatal voltages! Keep all high voltage wires covered and use extreme caution during assembly and test.
There are some negative reports on the true benefits of bug zappers. You might be better off building a bat house or a birdhouse. But, to present a balanced view, here are a couple of links that describe the downside of these devices: |
Bug
Zapper
