We ordered a bug zapper, it looks like it uses BL tubes.
How effective are they at attracting bugs?
Would Actinic tubes work as good?
How much light would you need?

The bugs appear to be atracted to anything Blue..UV. Its a matter of reducing the amount of light we see from the zapper so it does not distract much... I once put ordinary 765's in a zapper and it worked fine

I would think Actinic would also work. What about BLB?

Dont know about the BLB but ithink any of them would. How much $ would you like to spend on tubes for a zapper ?

Dont know about the BLB but ithink any of them would. How much $ would you like to spend on tubes for a zapper ?

It depends, you also have to find a good fixture. Could you supplement lighting for the bug zapper, or will just direct the bugs away from the main zapper device?

Before you use a zapper consider some things :

 - It may attract and zap insects which do no harm - bees and some others too

 - It may attract more insects to the general area, which then might choose you as preferred target over the lights

 - When it zaps insects they explode, so everything around will be showered in pieces of insects

 - It have some fire risk in case something arcs inside and then falls out while still burning

Before you use a zapper consider some things :

 - It may attract and zap insects which do no harm - bees and some others too

 - It may attract more insects to the general area, which then might choose you as preferred target over the lights

 - When it zaps insects they explode, so everything around will be showered in pieces of insects

 - It have some fire risk in case something arcs inside and then falls out while still burning

Better save the bees!
We found a good spot for the zapper, so it should be OK for now.
Too bad there's a pool nearby.
Then what will we do about fires?

There are few important things to know when using them:
To protect the "good" insects, it is in most countries illegal to use these insect killers outdoors. It even does not make sense, as it may kill a lot of bugs, but it will lure many more.
The bug zappers are intended and make sense (and only allowed allowed) to use indoors, where is already another barrier that prevents bugs in (closed door, window/door nets,...)
Then the zapper should be installed so, it is on some high place, which is visible from the complete room (so it will get cleared), but not from the outside through the nets (so it won't create hordes of bug looking for a gap in the net to go through - first they will starve there and second they will find some gap sooner or later).
And it does not make much sense to operate the zapper during the day - the daylight will be always stronger...

For the lamp it has to be blue till UVA. But definitely there is quite a difference among different tubes - some colors appear to be way more attractive than others. So I would guess the cheap tubes may be not that much effective. But it may as well depend on the exact species - some may be more attracted by one color, others by another. So tubes distributed by reputable companies in your area will most likely work better than those from e-bay from the other side of the globe. It could be the same as with the insect repellent sprays - the local ones are usually tailored to work with the local species, so usually work way better than the ones you bring from overseas.

In Florida, but zappers are almost essential because there happens to be many insects/bugs here, especially Mosquitos. Yet the bug zappers don't actually get the Mosquitos, you have to use an Octenol lure inside the zapper.

Update: I installed the bug zapper, and no bugs have been caught yet. But that was when the sun was full brightness, and as the sky dims down, that should be when the show starts.

Update: I caught a bug! It makes some wild arcing, and sounds like a mad scientist when it zaps the insect.
Update: Lots of bugs are now being caught, I will have to check it in the morning to see how it did.
And the bug zapper we got is made for outdoor use, it seems like there are practically no regulations for bug zapper devices here.

The bug zapper will always kill a lot of bugs.
But even when there is no law prohibiting it's use outdoors, doing so is just a nonsense, it is like pumping the water out from the river when it floods.

First even when it kills many of the bugs, I don't think that is what you really need, when they just get promptly "replaced" by many more from the further surroundings. Very often the light just lures in so many of them, their "density" (so the way how they cause harm) becomes even higher than without using the zapper at all.
And if killing all bugs in the valley would be what you want, there are 100's flying insect species living in any area, but just few of them are the actual varmints, but the lamp lures in and the grid kills most of them.

To get rid of the bugs around you, you first have to make a barrier, which prevents the bugs to approach to that area and only then ntry to kill the few that either seep through the barrier or remained there. And you should make sure, you do not attract more of them by the light to your area.
But that does not work in an open outdoor space.

For an open space the chemical deterrents are way more (in fact the only one I know) effective way to really get rid of the bugs from your party (of course, there is nothing unnecessary luring them back in). These do not kill any, but they just make them to go elsewhere.

Really, a bug zapper outdoors is is a screaming example of a completely improper use of a technology. And if people will continue to do so, it is very likely the insect killers will be banned, at least to general public. Do you want to contribute to such ban?

The bug zapper will always kill a lot of bugs.
But even when there is no law prohibiting it's use outdoors, doing so is just a nonsense, it is like pumping the water out from the river when it floods.

First even when it kills many of the bugs, I don't think that is what you really need, when they just get promptly "replaced" by many more from the further surroundings. Very often the light just lures in so many of them, their "density" (so the way how they cause harm) becomes even higher than without using the zapper at all.
And if killing all bugs in the valley would be what you want, there are 100's flying insect species living in any area, but just few of them are the actual varmints, but the lamp lures in and the grid kills most of them.

To get rid of the bugs around you, you first have to make a barrier, which prevents the bugs to approach to that area and only then ntry to kill the few that either seep through the barrier or remained there. And you should make sure, you do not attract more of them by the light to your area.
But that does not work in an open outdoor space.

For an open space the chemical deterrents are way more (in fact the only one I know) effective way to really get rid of the bugs from your party (of course, there is nothing unnecessary luring them back in). These do not kill any, but they just make them to go elsewhere.

Really, a bug zapper outdoors is is a screaming example of a completely improper use of a technology. And if people will continue to do so, it is very likely the insect killers will be banned, at least to general public. Do you want to contribute to such ban?

1. But zappers are meant to help treat an area where bugs of any kind (but not the good ones like Bees) are a problem, so you would place a bug zapper a little far away from people will gather.
And pumping water from a river actually does make sense here because flooding can be too much for rivers/lakes or even the pump to handle.
2. But what happens when you remove it?
3. That could work with an enclosed pool, but we don't have a cover, so we couldn't try that.
4. Beware of the "Eco" people! They won't want "chemicals" to get rid of the bugs.
5. The government texts here seem to imply that they want more bug zappers and other bug control devices.

1. But zappers are meant to help treat an area where bugs of any kind (but not the good ones like Bees) are a problem, so you would place a bug zapper a little far away from people will gather.

For indoor areas, yes, of course...
Outdoors they are useless.

And pumping water from a river actually does make sense here because flooding can be too much for rivers/lakes or even the pump to handle.

I meant a small pump normally used to pump water from the basements, so pumping many orders of magnitude less water than is the problem in the river...

2. But what happens when you remove it?

For a short while you may see increase in the insects: Those, which were lured in become there.
But if you do not turn the zapper On in the first place, there could well be even less bugs around...

3. That could work with an enclosed pool, but we don't have a cover, so we couldn't try that.
4. Beware of the "Eco" people! They won't want "chemicals" to get rid of the bugs.

If you can not make the barrier, then the only option is to deter them away.
The chemicals do not kill anything, they are even not aimed to be any poison at all (however as a side effect, it won't be wise to drink it or so - just follow the instruction sheet). It just makes the place to smell uninteresting or even threatening for the bugs (it masks out people's smell normally attracting them, it smells like either their predators or some natural events normally killing them,...).
Of course, as a precautions, these you better do not use indoors if you do not have to (e.g. being in a Zika infected areas is one example of where you have to use everything, even indoors).

5. The government texts here seem to imply that they want more bug zappers and other bug control devices.

Isn't that recommendation meant just for indoors? Becauyse there it does make perfect sense. But by far not outdoors.

Now it seems like bug zappers aren't very powerful for the outdoors. But it seems like many people have have success with reducing bug populations around their property with bug zappers and lures.