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Comment by mcksp | Hacker News Reader

I guess you already researched this topic: would laser turret work for killing mosquitos? And if no, why not? Seems more reliable.

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Someone had this idea, but from a static laser tower https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26376376 (343 points | 4March 2021 | 250 comments) and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28793660 (317 points | October 2021 | 161 comments). I'd be very afraid of a missed shots or reflections impacting an eye, also the fire hazard.

Ans there is also a recent post where someone use a similar device to light the mosquito https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44005200 (20 points | May 2025 | 5 comments) and you must give the final bow that sound safer. (Protip: Buy an Electric Fly Swatter)

why spend the scarce energy of the battery in addition what's already being spent spinning the propellers

I mean getting rid of drone, and having just laser turret.

Oh my bad, yeah that's a cool idea, think I've seen something along those lines once actually, think it was someone on youtube that built one

Unfortunately it won’t. an eye that collimates light is much more fragile to laser than a mosquito.

there is a crowdfunding effort for one going on right now for such a device. I think the price is around $500. the videos are equally awesome and hilarious as they vaporize into a little puff of smoke

That will end up either dangerous or unreleased. Their system sends a 40W laser, which is what you use to cut plastics. There’s no way to make this safe as even a diffuse secondary reflection out of the field of view could blind someone.

ya, your absolutely right. still the idea of setting up an array of them around my house blasting the never ending barrage of West Nile virus attack drones as they cross the perimeter is pretty fun to think about. I suppose a well placed bat house would be just as fun to watch

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