Wednesday, April 26, 2017

This "Sweaty" Billboard Attracts Zika Mosquitoes and Finishes Them

SHARE
Advertisement
It's already pretty hard to like mosquitoes, but they're more than just a nuisance. They're known to spread some fearsome viruses, which has made them the source of a lot of public health emergencies over the years.

Several years ago, the main threat seemed to center around West Nile virus, but lately, it's their role in spreading the Zika virus that has us all worried. For most people, the effects aren't anything to write home about. But if a pregnant woman gets infected her baby will be at serious risk of developing microcephaly, a severe birth defect that drastically limits a baby's head and brain growth.

This fact alone makes us anxious to find a solution and Posterscope and NBS have teamed up to create a promising one. And you can see it how it works in the full video.

As you can see, it's a billboard. But this one releases carbon dioxide and lactic acid to imitate human breath and sweat. We don't notice mosquitoes until they're right on top of us, but they can sniff us out from up to a mile and a half away. But although the mosquito thinks it's on its way to lapping up our precious blood, it's actually heading right into a trap.

Once they get in, they can't get back out again, keeping us safe from their disease spreading power. As it says on the billboard, it kills hundreds of Zika mosquitoes every day.

So far, two of the billboards have been set up in Rio de Janeiro — a danger zone for the Zika virus — but the inventors have released the blueprints for free and encourage others to make more throughout the world.

While some pest control experts are concerned about putting the Billboards in heavily trafficked areas, they applaud the idea for curbing the mosquito population.

Please COMMENT and let us know if you want one of these in your area.

Advertisement
SHARE

Author: verified_user

0 comments: