Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Wasp Vacuum

For picnics and quiet afternoons in the beer garden.
  (+19, -1)(+19, -1)
(+19, -1)
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A small device, powered by compressed air, which is capable of sucking a flying insect into a small transparent cell at the back of the device.

Because the only entrance to the cell is open when the device is actually sucking in a wasp, you can capture multiple wasps, making your lunch a more relaxed affair, far removed from the swatting and swooshing.

CAUTION: The use of this device does not make it safe to picnic under a wasps nest.

st3f, Oct 16 2002

Venturi-effect air pumps http://www.hyvac.co..._Venturi_vacuum.htm
Vacuum pump powered by compressed air. [8th of 7, Oct 16 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Bug vacuum! http://coolgadget.net/bugvacuum.html
Such a good idea it's already baked! [stephee, Oct 16 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Natural Wasp Control http://eartheasy.co...natwasp_control.htm
Here's a non-vacuum way to solve this problem, scroll down to traps. I've also seen commercially made ones that use the same principle, in the form of a lid that screwed on a standard mason jar. Just put sugar water in the jar, screw on the lid, put nearby. At end of picnic you have a jar full of pesky wasps/bees/etc. [krelnik, Oct 16 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]

See my comment of October 12, 2001 http://www.halfbake.../idea/Hornet_20Farm
[angel, Nov 02 2004]

Lentech Bug Vaacum http://www.epinions...content_89497374340
Not sure if this has the open/close mechanism, but looks like this has been baked. [trekbody, Nov 02 2004]

[link]






       Yes. This is good. And certainly more practical than the "No Wasps Beyond This Point" sign that they have at the reception of my gym.
calum, Oct 16 2002
  

       Nice one. Save yourself from wasps without having to attempt to squish them.
Jinbish, Oct 16 2002
  

       I want a "blow" as well as a "suck" option, perhaps with enough pressure build up to make sure that the wasp is blown quite a distance away.   

       Doubles as an effective non-lethal weapon.
yamahito, Oct 16 2002
  

       Paintball shells with wasps in them ..... hits target, releases enraged wasp .... very effective.   

       I would like a tiny magnetron attached to the wasp-catching chamber, so that the trapped wasps can be cooked, very slowly.   

       I suggest the device is made with a very long nozzle. Could also be used for mosquitoes; whatch them in the little perspex cell, battering to get out, dying slowly of starvation ..... lovely. I'll take a dozen.
8th of 7, Oct 16 2002
  

       You can also open a can of fizzy juice, pour half of it out and leave it sitting a few yards away from your picnic spot. This will attract all wasps, drowning them in fizzy liquid.   

       A bit harsh on the wasps perhaps, but as far as I'm concerned those evil little insect scumbags have had it coming to them for years.
ChewTheBeef, Oct 16 2002
  

       The device must be affixed to an open can of pepsi, the #1 choice of wasps and hornets everywhere.
Mr Burns, Oct 16 2002
  

       // A bit harsh on the wasps //   

       You lilly-livered pinko commie liberal do-gooder ! A BIT HARSH ? KILL THEM ALL ! KILL THEM ALL ! AAAAAHHHRRRGGGGRRHHHH ! <Degenerates into psychotic rambling and dribbling>
8th of 7, Oct 16 2002
  

       Yes, yes, we all hate wasps.   

       I'm intrigued by this suction device that's powered by compressed air. Details?
egbert, Oct 16 2002
  

       Sounds like a Buchner venturi tube. [Link].   

       Hmmm..... a venturi pump can generate a substantial vacuum. With the inlet port closed, the air would be pumped out of the holding cell, and the little bu88ers would die slowly as their bodily fluids boil away ....   

       // Yes, yes, we all hate wasps //   

       I bet you don't hate them the way I hate them. I put time aside to hate them. I will go out of my way to kill them and all their kind. I was stung by a wasp when I was 3 and it REALLY HURT, OK ? I have harboured a grudge against the entire species ever since.
8th of 7, Oct 16 2002
  

       Funny, i've never been stung by wasp or bee. Just don't bother them, they don't sting me. It's a good arrangement.   

       But they do get a bit irritating at picnics/beer gardens etc.
yamahito, Oct 16 2002
  

       I've never heard of a Buchner venturi tube so I'm not sure if I'm envisaging one of those.   

       What I picture is a tube with small nozzles jetting compressed air into the tube. All the nozzles are raked sharply along the tube's length so that a flow of air is created. The tube would therefore suck at one end and blow at the other.   

       You could vary the bore of the tube along its length so that the sucking end is high velocity over a small area but the blow end is lower velocity (to avoid splatting the wasp into the end of the cell). Before someone asks, yes, the collection mechanism would need to have air-holes.
st3f, Oct 16 2002
  

       8th: //<Degenerates into psychotic rambling and dribbling>// - degenerates? I didn't know you could go much further.   

       + btw. What happens when the receptacle is full? Are collected wasps deceased or do you simply open the device to find yourself surrounded by furious stinging flying insects with a mission?
PeterSilly, Oct 16 2002
  

       I find they can be threaded onto particularly fetching items of jewellery (necklaces, bracelets - even earrings), especially if this can be achieved before they're deceased.
-alx, Oct 16 2002
  

       Self-piercing earrings!
FarmerJohn, Oct 16 2002
  

       oh come on wasps are a huge source of entertainment - if you are wearing the right form of armour that is.
po, Oct 16 2002
  

       Oh, that kind of wasp. When I saw the title I was thinking of an automated mechanism that activates when it hears something like "I'll have the pastrami on white bread with mayo." Suddenly -- WOOSH -- they're gone.
mab, Oct 16 2002
  

       But wasps are so entertaining, seeing everyone jump and dance in the summer. They don't bother me at all, been stung dozens of times, just don't seem to have a response.
dare99, Oct 16 2002
  

       //What happens when the receptacle is full//   

       At least with the traps I've seen (see link) you immerse the container in water, drowning the victims. Wasp-loving half-bakers could probably come up with some addenda to the invention at hand that would let you safely release the wasps at a distance.
krelnik, Oct 16 2002
  

       Thanks for the link, 8th. Sorry about you getting stung all those many, many long years ago. All that time in which to nurse your hatred. Cold, implacable loathing. Funny, although I've never been to a match in my life, I've always associated wasps with krikkit. I mean cricket.
egbert, Oct 17 2002
  

       It would be cool to suck up different species of insects and watch them fight, spider v wasp winner plays on to next round, wasp v scorpion, scorpion v several bullants ect
Gulherme, Oct 17 2002
  

       DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT attempt to spray them - for lack of having anything else available to do to them - with WD-40. They LOVE the stuff. You might as well use it as if it were deodorant since the solvent permeates everything you wear instantly leaving its 'scent'.   

       I can still hear their tongues lapping in their intoxicated stupor...
hollajam, Oct 17 2002
  

       My friend has a theory that wasps are not born or hatched, but there is in fact a Gauntlet style generator spewing them forth. Therefore all you have to do is find the generator, destroy it and voila, no more wasps.   

       This would also explain why all wasps are all the same size and baby wasps are never seen.   

       Re: Bees, I have nothing against bees, they're so cuddly and furry and they KNOW if they sting they are dead, and so only sting in the most necessary of circumstances. Wasps however, have been 'blessed' with the ability to sting at will, for fun.   

       NO MORE WASPS.
ChewTheBeef, Oct 17 2002
  

       Agreed, I have nothing agains bees and indeed will "rescue" them with the old glass-and-cardboard trick if they get into the house. While not enitrely harmless, they are useful and only sting out of fear or panic.   

       Wasps are pure evil. Anyone want to join a "Let's cause all wasps a slow, agonizing death !" club ? Admission free, bring your own sewing needle, cork, magnifying glass and nail varnish.
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       No, we will even chip in towards your kerosene invoices. What a way to deal with wasp's nests .....
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       I'll quite happily pay ludicrous amounts of money to join the club.   

       I was stung in my eye by a wasp when I was 5yo. Mentally scared for life. Got my own back a few years ago, when I found a wasps nest in a pile of cut-down tree branches in my garden. Poured 2 gallons of 4-star into it from a distance using a drainpipe. Got a long stick, added a rag to the end, lit rag. Lit pile of branches/petrol with burning rag on stick. Ran. Laughed like a hyena.   

       They must DIE. I cannot stress that enough.   

       DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE.
Mayfly, Oct 17 2002
  

       I have fond childhood memories of a wasp. Walking to the swimming hole, hot summer day, thru the path in the woods, barefoot.   

       Stepped dead center on one, and at that very moment learned, at the ripe young age of 6, the benefit of screaming the very worst swear word in your entire vocabulary as loud as you can, in front of your mother.   

       (All those sensitives please turn away now, or tell your mothers to turn away...), out it came.."Mother Fuck*ng Bee". Trust me the slap didn't hurt near as much as the sting.
blissmiss, Oct 17 2002
  

       "Humans v. Wasps: Who shall be the victor ?"   

       Sounds like the writing is on the wall if some of us get our way, what with the gurgling of fuel as [UB] fills his flamethrower, and Mayfly's napalm party, and my sweet little magnetron ...... say bye bye, waspies .... halfbakers want to play Insect Death Camp ........
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       Mayfly, so you like wasps then eh?   

       hollajam, WD-40 works fine. Just make sure to hold a lighter in front of it as you spray.
dag, Oct 17 2002
  

       I always thought [mayfly] was this quiet reserved sort..Yikes.
blissmiss, Oct 17 2002
  

       Thanks dag for the tip. No lighter was available. I was also aiming in an old storage building.   

       "I can hear more lapping..."
hollajam, Oct 17 2002
  

       // Just make sure to hold a lighter in front of it as you spray //   

       Swap the standard WD-40 nozzle and "straw" for the nozzle from an aerosol paint can, it gives a more even spray pattern and better atomisation. Use a lighter with a long flame (adjust pressure regulator if necessary) and hold it off to one side, pointing inwards. Gives more reliable ignition and reduces the risk of settting fire to your cuffs. Also, wear gloves, otherwise you will burn all the hairs off the back of your hand and that smells awful. Ahem. Not that I have, or would ever, do this sort of thing, you understand. I'm a very sensible, safety-conscious grown up person, and never, ever do anything silly, like putting barbecue lighting fluid in a garden sprayer. No, sir, not me. Uh-uh.
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       So, 8th of 7, have you been published yet...?
<shakes head with silly grin>
hollajam, Oct 17 2002
  

       Only on "Wanted" posters .....
8th of 7, Oct 17 2002
  

       Alternative to compressed air - powerful counter-rotating fans with sharpened edges should give a satisfying noise with each hit, or maybe catch them in a mesh filter and use CO2 to put them to sleep. Theyll wake up glued to a microscope slide.
chud, Oct 17 2002
  

       heh, i just thought of this same idea, except as a way to catch bugs without killing them to set them free outside. like ladybugs and cute widdle spiders and little bumblebees and... um... i mean... i would use it so that i don't stain myself with the putrid blood of their tiny insignificant lifeless corpses, crushing them slowly under my finger of death, ever victorious.
omegatron, Oct 30 2004
  

       does it repel ducks?
benfrost, Oct 31 2004
  

       Has anyone ever tried vacuuming up insects with a vacuum cleaner? It's really quite difficult, they seem to be able to sense the inrush of air and take evasive action. I like this idea but I fear it will not work.
wagster, Oct 31 2004
  

       //Do I have to pay admission if I bring my Churchill Crocodile Flamethrower Tank?//   

       Hehe, I have actually destroyed a wasp nest with a flamethrower before. And not just a can of WD40 and a lighter--actually a flamethrower.
Face, Oct 31 2004
  

       CAUTION: WD-40 cans EXPLODE when the flames reach the inside of the can! Quite useful for make-shift molotiv anti-wasp cocktails. I keep finding flys in my house so when the go against the screen I shut the window and over a period of days watch them starve to death. I think moms been setting them free though.   

       I shut one in there and only saw it there for a day. Or maybe it did die and is just among the various corpses and occasional "sacrifices". No serisously there is like a million dead bugs on in my window. I once took a needle and stabbed a fly to death. It was fun. I also used to burn ants with my microscope. I now have a big bump on my middle finger knucle from learning that a concentrated beam is lethal to "big-dopey humans" as well.   

       I absolutely LOATHE mosquitos. I hate them bloody things! On another note my friend, my brother, and I once went out to the dirt hill behind our house and we filled a gatorade bottle with wood and various flammables. It wouldn't light the first few tried so we went in the garage promptly grabbed a can of WD-40 and proceeded to spray as much as we could into the bottle. Then the went out to the hill and lit it. I thought it would go up "gradually" so without another thought I stuck my face over the top of the bottle and my friend dropped the match. And turned I into a human torch. It was quite fun actually.   

       Ok, ok I didn't actually get lit on fire but I did almost lose a few hairs. AWESOME idea man. [+]+++++++++++++++++.   

       Can't stand spiders either. There is like a billion of em in our house. I think a ate one in my sleep a few nights back.
EvilPickels, Nov 02 2004
  
      
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