A neighbor has erected one of those ultraviolet bug zappers in the backyard, where it makes nearly continuous obnoxious zapping noises. No doubt this sends a reassuring message to the people who purchased it. But it is not doing anything good for their well-being or for the environment.
My first reaction, when I happened to drive by and see it erected near the preserve's woods was an indignant, "Hey, they're killing our bugs!" An overwhelming majority of insects are not pests of humans, so many of the bugs being zapped are "innocent," or at least "not bad." Some of them prey on other insects. Notably, mosquitoes are not attracted to ultraviolet light, so probably few of the zaps are killing our least desirable insects. At best the machine is a waste of electricity.
But also I feel that if we are living with nature (which I think we should be) then we should accept that there will be some bugs around us. To do otherwise would be like living on a houseboat and not liking water. Insects play an important role in the food web, pollinating the flowers they evolved with and serving as food for the other species that depend on them.
The best way to reduce the numbers of mosquitoes around our yards is to eliminate places where standing water persists: old tires, buckets, tarps, and bird baths. It doesn't take very much water to grow mosquito larvae. Dump out the water, and change bird bath water frequently.
