PT133 · S1 · Q4 Electric bug zappers

This answer doesn't achieve either of our goals: 1. tell us something BAD that electric zappers do 2. tell us something that birds/sprays do that's BETTER than what electric zappers do It talks in more detail about how one would attract an insect-eating bird, but it doesn't give us any reason why we should try to attract such birds rather than just using these very effective bug zappers.

This answer is tempting because it seems to do the first thing we were looking for: 1. tell us something BAD that electric zappers do But there are a couple reasons why this answer still has unclear impact: 1. Bug zappers are less effective against mosquitoes, but it doesn't say that they're ineffective. If zappers are 99% effective against other harmful insects but only 97% effective against mosquitoes, so what? 97% is still very effective! In fact we were told that "bug zappers are a very effective means of ridding an area of flying insects". Mosquitoes are a flying insect, so we can't tell ourselves a story like "bug zappers are unable to rid an area of mosquitoes, because that would be cheating that initial background fact. Finally, we don't know if birds/sprays are any more effective at dealing with mosquitoes, so we're not really sure whether what we're hearing is a disadvantage bug zappers have in a head to head comparison with birds/sprays.

This answer doesn't really achieve either of our goals: 1. tell us something BAD that electric zappers do 2. tell us something that birds/sprays do that's BETTER than what electric zappers do It may seem like it's doing #1 in the sense that using lots of electricity is a BAD thing, for those of us who care about global warming or our utility bills. But it doesn't say they use LOTS of electricity or "make your electric bill significantly more expensive". It just says they use more electricity than other outdoor lights.

This is only a "claim" made by the spray company, so we don't have to give it the gravitas of fact. If we accept their claim as true, this potentially makes us feel okay with pest control experts recommending sprays (it has nothing to do with birds), but it still doesn't give us any reason why they would be recommending sprays. After all, bug zappers are very effective at getting rid of flying insects. How come experts tell us not to use them? This answer isn't providing any reason.