Advertising agencies NBS and Posterscope, designed and built the signs, which slowly release lactic acid and carbon dioxide from canisters stored inside, mimicking human sweat and breath respectively. The designers say this cocktail will attract mosquitos from as far as 2.5 miles. Fluorescent tube lights further direct the mosquitos inside, and coax them into a one-way tube. It’s sort of like those d-Con Roach Motels from the 1970s (Roaches check in, but they don’t check out!), but designed specifically for mosquitos. Eventually, the mosquitos die of dehydration and pile up in a tray on the bottom of the sign.
The companies have set up a website with an explanation how The Mosquito Killer Billboard works. There’s also an exploded component view, which makes it easy for other groups to build their own DIY versions.
Since the first reported outbreak in Brazil in May 2015, the World Health Organization has gone on to declare Zika virus as a global health emergency. Confirmed cases of Zika virus have spread throughout Central and South America and in the southern United States. The disease is difficult to diagnose because four out of five infected people show no symptoms, but can still be carriers. Pregnant women infected with the Zika virus can pass it on to their babies, which can result in smaller than normal heads and brain development issues. Because the Aedes Aegypti (also known as the Yellow Fever mosquito) is the carrier, any effective technology for eradicating them can only help.
