In terms of the pest control mechanism, the insect-catching lamp relies on a 4,000-volt high-voltage power grid to achieve physical killing. After insect contact, the fatality rate is 98.5%, and the killing time is only 0.02 seconds. Most mosquito-killing lamps use fans for negative pressure suction (with an airflow speed of up to 2.5 meters per second) in combination with insect storage boxes for trapping and killing. Their capture efficiency is approximately 75%, and there is a 15% escape rate. Tests conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture in 2023 showed that for mosquitoes with a body length of 3 millimeters, the effective radius of an insect-catching lamp is 8 meters, which is 3.2 times the 2.5-meter range of a mosquito-killing lamp. The voltage intensity difference is more significant: The peak grid voltage of the insect-catching lamp is 4000 volts, and its breakdown strength is 160 times that of the conventional suction structure of the mosquito-killing lamp (the latter only has a safe voltage of 25 volts), ensuring a 100% crushing rate for hard-shelled insects such as beetles.
There is a divergence between energy allocation and operating costs. A typical insect-catching lamp has a power of 20 watts, consumes approximately 175 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, and the electricity bill is $21. The mosquito-killing lamp needs to keep the fan running, with a median power of only 5 watts, and the annual electricity bill drops to 5 dollars. However, through the instantaneous discharge mode, the actual energy conversion efficiency of the insect-catching lamp reaches 92%, which is 30% more energy-efficient than the continuous operation mode of the mosquito-killing lamp. The cost-benefit model shows that the initial price of the insect-catching lamp is $35- $60 and its life cycle is 5 years. The price range of mosquito-killing lamps is 15 to 30 US dollars, but the adhesive plate needs to be replaced every quarter (with an average annual additional cost of 12 US dollars), and the total cost of ownership over five years is actually 18% higher.
The target pest spectrum determines the application scenario. The ultraviolet wavelength of the insect-catching lamp is 365 nanometers, which attracts more than 600 kinds of phototactic insects. In the farm environment, the number of moths killed reaches 200 per night. The mosquito-killing lamp focuses on a 395-nanometer wavelength in combination with carbon dioxide simulation, increasing the specificity of attracting mosquitoes by 50%, but reducing the catch of other pests by 70%. During the dengue fever prevention and control in Florida in 2022, insect-trapping lamps reduced the mosquito density by 67% on a weekly basis, while mosquito-killing lamps only achieved a 40% reduction in the same area. In commercial places such as the kitchens of restaurants, insect-catching lamps contribute 85% to the eradication of cockroaches and other reptiles, far exceeding the 25% efficiency of mosquito-killing lamps.
There are generational differences in the security maintenance system. The insect-catching lamp, with a grid spacing design of 0.5 millimeters and an insulation impedance protection of 10 megohms, has a human accidental touch risk probability of less than 0.001%. Due to its open structure, the risk probability of children’s fingers accidentally entering mosquito-killing lamps is as high as 0.3%. In terms of maintenance frequency, the insect-catching lamp only needs to clean the power grid quarterly (taking 5 minutes each time), while the mosquito-killing lamp needs to clean the insect storage box weekly (taking an average of 52 hours annually). In the high-temperature environment test, the failure rate of the insect-catching lamp at 50℃ was 1.2%, while the deformation probability of the plastic components of the mosquito-killing lamp at 35℃ reached 15%, affecting the service life of the equipment by 30%.
Environmental compatibility data reveals profound value. The electric grid of the insect-catching lamp for pest control does not cause chemical pollution, and the organic decomposition rate of insect remains is 100%. The adhesive board of mosquito-killing lamps contains polyisobutylene compounds, with an annual waste volume of 120 grams per unit, and it takes 200 days for the soil to degrade. In terms of acoustic indicators, the operating noise of the insect-catching lamp is less than 3 decibels, and the median noise of the mosquito-killing lamp fan is 42 decibels. The 2023 California Organic Farm certification case shows that the detection rate of pesticide residues in the water sources of farms using Bug Zapper was zero, while the concentration of pyrethroids in the water around the chemical mosquito control equipment exceeded the standard by 2.8 times. This physical pest control solution is becoming the core infrastructure of sustainable agriculture.