With the Olympics weeks away, this concept should be on every
street corner. The Zika virus has become a global epidemic and Brazilian agency
NBS, along with
Posterscope, came up with a unique way to rid cities of the Aedes
Aegypti mosquito that carries the virus. The
Mosquito Killer Billboard is an outdoor panel with technology that attracts and kills mosquitoes. Inside the panel are solutions
containing lactic acid – which reproduces the smell of human sweat – and CO2, which replicates human breathing.
When combined, a
mosquito thinks a human is nearby and dinner is served. Once the bugs get near the billboard, which are illuminated by fluorescent lights, they are sucked inside the panel and eventually die from
dehydration. Mosquitoes can be attracted to the panels from as far as 2.5 miles away. The technology to create the panels is
available online,
under a Creative Commons agreement, which means anyone can download and reproduce the panels anywhere in the world.
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