@ellett@stinks Hey, we’ve got lots of skeeters down here on the Gulf Coast. But we also know that while zappers are class-A entertainment, they’re not worth diddly against the damn mosquitoes. (But their entertainment value has to be weighed against how the electrozaps can cause the Bluetooth and Wifi to glitch, too.)
Unfortunately, the bugs we need to zap around here right now aren’t solar. But give Google and the other data miners another six months, and we might need something that can zap electronic pests. I just don’t think they’d be drawn to these.
@Lynnerizer@therealjrn@werehatrack@yakkoTDI It’s an amalgamation of both. The Johnny Depp version of Willy and some characters are from “Charlie…” but the Grandpa Joe and some other characters are from “Willy…”
YES I agree with cinoclav, the original is a all time favorite! I don’t think I even got through half of the Johnny Depp version, I didn’t care for it.
@hugacrv@Lynnerizer@therealjrn@werehatrack@yakkoTDI The book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They changed the title of the original movie to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in part for marketing of the new Wonka brand of candies being made by Quaker Oats as they were also funding the movie. It was also to emphasize the character of Wonka, and ironically to deemphasize the name Charlie since it came out around the time of the Vietnam War. Tim Burton did a remake starring Johnny Depp as Wonka and stuck to the original book name. There’s a newer movie just called Wonka, starring Timothy Chalamet, which is an origin story of Willy Wonka.
@visioneer_one these do nothing with, for or to mosquitoes, day or night. These only kill bugs drawn to UV and those tend to be harmless or actually beneficial insects. I wish they’d stop making these things and use their immense AI powers to develop something that is selective against mosquitoes.
@visioneer_one Most mosquitos are crepuscular, meaning they hunt at dawn and dusk, when the temperatures and winds are more moderate, and their wild targets are more active (deer, bunnies, coyotes, etc). If they don’t have a light sensor, they’ll run all day, but they’ll usually be depleted by dawn. And while bug zappers may kill a few mosquitos, which are more attracted to heat and CO2, zappers are better at killing moths and June bugs, which looks and sounds like Mr. Noodle’s Brother getting zapped in The Green Mile.
@andyw@chienfou@lichen@pmarin The fact that possums will eat a tick is overstated. They are scavengers and predators of opportunity. They will eat a tick if there is one to be had and they aren’t in pursuit of something better. They absolutely will not methodically hunt down all the ticks in their range because ticks are too damn small to be worth the effort to find them. But to the extent that any given tick tries to bite a possum, the tick is likely to end up as a microsnack.
Possums also raid bird and squirrel nests, and will eat both eggs and young. They will also eat small snakes and lizards that are incautious enough to get caught. And possums absolutely will raid a henhouse and attack even the adult hens.
Yes, possums were part of the natural ecosystem of their range in North America long before the European settlers imported the concept of the large human habitat, but that is what a modern city is, and it was not devised with possums and raccoons as part of it. The tolerance for them is rightfully situational, and the lack of any control on their population except us means that we actually have an ecological duty to be the apex predators that keep them in check. (The same is true for feral dog packs and feral cat colonies.)
@andyw@lichen@pmarin@werehatrack
actually nobody claims possums hunt ticks. They eat them while grooming. There is some debate about how much impact that has on the local tick population, but it certainly can’t hurt.
@andyw@chienfou@lichen@pmarin@werehatrack
In this neck of the woods (NW Oregon) raccoons and possums apparently compete for the same ecological niche. That is, sometimes there are cycles where the raccoons flourish, followed by a reign of the possums. We seldom see both in the same year.
Both are a PITA, especially if you keep poultry and/or have a garden (as we do).
We have seen one in our backyard occasionally, but they keep different hours than we do. Also, there are many in other areas, even with possums, although I guess they help. Thanks for the idea and thought, though.
@andyw
And to be honest there is still some question as to whether (o)possums are effective tick control or whether that’s just myth. My personal preference is to give them the benefit of the doubt as it helps me to overcome my displeasure with them after eating my chickens in the past!
@andyw@chienfou Holy smokes! Possums ate your chickens? Possums around here are pretty passive, but I guess we have plenty of trash food lying around the neighborhood.
Are the batteries NiCd, Lithium, or NiMH?
And the movie reference is a mix of at least two different versions of Charlie, Willy, and the Chocolate Factory movies. It might even include a subtle reference to the most recent (2023) version called “Wonka”.
@sdansmith I said it was Charlie on the strength of the fact that the Wonka is clearly Johnny Depp, and the Grandpa looks more like Jack Albertson to me.
$4.50 apiece for these kinda lights is not bad. But the average lifespan for solar-charging stake lights (in Florida at least) is 6-8 months. For longevity beyond that, you need lights that use electricity that flows through wires…
@MrNews yup. These are built to last past the return period. Solar panels are too small, charging circuit is brutal and waterproofing is barely attempted.
Specs
Product: Ideaworks Solar Insect Zapper Stakes
Model: JB9282S2
Condition: New
What’s Included?
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Jan 26 - Tuesday, Jan 27
Hmmmmmmm… I do miss that zappy sound at nights.
@yakkoTDI
Another one bites the dust, is that the sound you miss?
90-day warranty and Meh is selling these in the middle of winter?! So if we put these out in… May, maybe… how long a warranty do we really get?
@ellett Carry the one… I think that’s none. You have to move to Australia now.
@ellett @stinks Hey, we’ve got lots of skeeters down here on the Gulf Coast. But we also know that while zappers are class-A entertainment, they’re not worth diddly against the damn mosquitoes. (But their entertainment value has to be weighed against how the electrozaps can cause the Bluetooth and Wifi to glitch, too.)
/showme gnats in my margarita
@stinks Here’s the image you requested for “gnats in my margarita”
@stinks Wasn’t “gnats in my margarita” the sequel song to “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”?
Hank, being male, lacked the mouthparts to suck out mammalian blood-- only Tanya could do that. So, alas, it was all for naught. . .
@ahansen
/youtube woody Allen bananas movie snake bite
All right fine, the flavor text was very funny.
Sadly, bug zappers are not effective at killing mosquitoes. They do kill bugs. Just not the right ones.
@Zott Got that right. Maybe Meh should sell bats!
@Felyne @Zott I DO have bats. Didn’t invite them; they were here on their own! Some people build bat-houses/apartments but I haven’t done that yet.
Unfortunately, the bugs we need to zap around here right now aren’t solar. But give Google and the other data miners another six months, and we might need something that can zap electronic pests. I just don’t think they’d be drawn to these.
@werehatrack yes, we’re heading there.
Not sure what the Ai will bring up here…
/showme bug zapper vs Boston Dynamics robot
@pmarin Here’s the image you requested for “bug zapper vs Boston Dynamics robot”
@mediocrebot not bad, Ai, not bad…
Edit it doesn’t show who wins, though.
Taking bets??
@mediocrebot @pmarin Two cents on the 'bot. Because Boston Dynamics.
So easy to phone this one in …
The movie is obviously Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
@werehatrack Close but no zappy for you.
The movie inspiration is the 1971 hit Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
@werehatrack @yakkoTDI I was believing her, lol.
I was ok with Charlie and forgot Willie Wonka.
@therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
Well, TBT, it was close enough that I think we ALL KNEW what movie was being referenced.
Jus sayen…!
@Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI It’s an amalgamation of both. The Johnny Depp version of Willy and some characters are from “Charlie…” but the Grandpa Joe and some other characters are from “Willy…”
@hugacrv @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
Oh wow I wasn’t thinking they were talking about two different movies. And I totally forgot about the Johnny Depp movie.
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
good observation
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI This. The original is my favorite movie of all time. The remake was terrible. I’m actually offended they put Jack Albertson in there with Johnny Depp.
@cinoclav @hugacrv @Lynnerizer @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
Wait…so there is a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie?
@cinoclav @hugacrv @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
YES I agree with cinoclav, the original is a all time favorite! I don’t think I even got through half of the Johnny Depp version, I didn’t care for it.
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI The book is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They changed the title of the original movie to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in part for marketing of the new Wonka brand of candies being made by Quaker Oats as they were also funding the movie. It was also to emphasize the character of Wonka, and ironically to deemphasize the name Charlie since it came out around the time of the Vietnam War. Tim Burton did a remake starring Johnny Depp as Wonka and stuck to the original book name. There’s a newer movie just called Wonka, starring Timothy Chalamet, which is an origin story of Willy Wonka.
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
As well you should!
@cinoclav @hugacrv @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
Thanks for all the background cinoclav.
I’m going to check out the movie Wonka, I don’t think I knew of it.
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI Wonka was surprisingly entertaining. There’s a lot of history with the first two movies that I won’t bore you with.
@cinoclav @hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
For years/decades I listened to the music from Verucka Salt and forgot that was the name of the “I want it all. I want it now!” Girl in the original…
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @therealjrn @werehatrack
When I looked last night the Grandpa Joe was so obvious I missed the Deppified Willy.
@hugacrv @Lynnerizer @werehatrack @yakkoTDI
/showme a Deppified Willy
Something went terribly wrong. Please try again.
How do you change the colors, and what colors does it change to?
@cforq Blood red?
Unclear as to whether these work during the day daytime as well as night. I’m looking to kill mosquitos which aren’t nocturnal.
@visioneer_one these do nothing with, for or to mosquitoes, day or night. These only kill bugs drawn to UV and those tend to be harmless or actually beneficial insects. I wish they’d stop making these things and use their immense AI powers to develop something that is selective against mosquitoes.
@visioneer_one Most mosquitos are crepuscular, meaning they hunt at dawn and dusk, when the temperatures and winds are more moderate, and their wild targets are more active (deer, bunnies, coyotes, etc). If they don’t have a light sensor, they’ll run all day, but they’ll usually be depleted by dawn. And while bug zappers may kill a few mosquitos, which are more attracted to heat and CO2, zappers are better at killing moths and June bugs, which looks and sounds like Mr. Noodle’s Brother getting zapped in The Green Mile.
@Jonas4321 @visioneer_one agreed. These are a gimmick and actually harmful to the environment.
There should be an environmental law against the manufacture of devices or practices that perform constant, indiscriminate insect slaughter.
@jzagray
If they attracted and killed ticks…
@andyw
Get a possum…?
@andyw @chienfou you dropped an O
@andyw @lichen
Local variance…
Tho technically “possums” are found in Australia
@chienfou @lichen Yes, that is a very common way of referring to it here in the Northeast (of the USA) and in West Virginia, where my wife was raised.
@andyw @chienfou @lichen so you are opposed to calling them’possums?
@andyw @chienfou @pmarin do they eat ticks?
@andyw @chienfou @lichen @pmarin The fact that possums will eat a tick is overstated. They are scavengers and predators of opportunity. They will eat a tick if there is one to be had and they aren’t in pursuit of something better. They absolutely will not methodically hunt down all the ticks in their range because ticks are too damn small to be worth the effort to find them. But to the extent that any given tick tries to bite a possum, the tick is likely to end up as a microsnack.
Possums also raid bird and squirrel nests, and will eat both eggs and young. They will also eat small snakes and lizards that are incautious enough to get caught. And possums absolutely will raid a henhouse and attack even the adult hens.
Yes, possums were part of the natural ecosystem of their range in North America long before the European settlers imported the concept of the large human habitat, but that is what a modern city is, and it was not devised with possums and raccoons as part of it. The tolerance for them is rightfully situational, and the lack of any control on their population except us means that we actually have an ecological duty to be the apex predators that keep them in check. (The same is true for feral dog packs and feral cat colonies.)
@andyw @lichen @pmarin @werehatrack
actually nobody claims possums hunt ticks. They eat them while grooming. There is some debate about how much impact that has on the local tick population, but it certainly can’t hurt.
@chienfou @lichen @pmarin That’s my kind of pun, but it didn’t occur to me-congratulations.
@andyw @chienfou @lichen @pmarin @werehatrack
In this neck of the woods (NW Oregon) raccoons and possums apparently compete for the same ecological niche. That is, sometimes there are cycles where the raccoons flourish, followed by a reign of the possums. We seldom see both in the same year.
Both are a PITA, especially if you keep poultry and/or have a garden (as we do).
We have seen one in our backyard occasionally, but they keep different hours than we do. Also, there are many in other areas, even with possums, although I guess they help. Thanks for the idea and thought, though.
@andyw
And to be honest there is still some question as to whether (o)possums are effective tick control or whether that’s just myth. My personal preference is to give them the benefit of the doubt as it helps me to overcome my displeasure with them after eating my chickens in the past!
@andyw @chienfou Holy smokes! Possums ate your chickens? Possums around here are pretty passive, but I guess we have plenty of trash food lying around the neighborhood.
Are the batteries NiCd, Lithium, or NiMH?
And the movie reference is a mix of at least two different versions of Charlie, Willy, and the Chocolate Factory movies. It might even include a subtle reference to the most recent (2023) version called “Wonka”.
@sdansmith I said it was Charlie on the strength of the fact that the Wonka is clearly Johnny Depp, and the Grandpa looks more like Jack Albertson to me.
$4.50 apiece for these kinda lights is not bad. But the average lifespan for solar-charging stake lights (in Florida at least) is 6-8 months. For longevity beyond that, you need lights that use electricity that flows through wires…
@MrNews yup. These are built to last past the return period. Solar panels are too small, charging circuit is brutal and waterproofing is barely attempted.