Problem:
Getting rid of mosquitoes that carry dangerous diseases without the use of pesticides that hurt the environment.
One disease that can spread for the mosquitoes is the Zika virus; even the name is a little scary. We do not have the Zika Virus in Oregon. The Zika virus damages the brain and muscles with a disease called Guillain-Barre Syndrome(gee-lan-bur-ay syndrome)
Biomimicry Idea:
Mimic how a mosquito is drawn to CO2 to find it’s food from a mammal in order to catch the mosquito around people’s homes.
I will build a device that lets out carbon dioxide from a light hidden in a camouflage box. This will attract the mosquitoes to the CO2. The box will have a night vision sensor that doesn’t allow the top to move because like a frog it doesn’t move its neck. There will be a medium size gap in the middle so that it will attract mosquitoes. When frogs blink they push down their eyeballs to squeeze the food from their mouth down into their throat. The box would do the same thing and trap the mosquito. This should only be used in areas with a mosquito who carries a disease like Zika. Mosquitoes who are healthy are an important food source to swallows and other insect eating birds.
This trap will release CO2 to attract mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are attracted to CO2.
