New Killer Grid Zaps Hoppers With Volts

New killer grid zaps hoppers with volts CROPS Insect Control 12-3-35 "It's the best way to kill grasshoppers," says inventor James F. Chaney, Airdrie, Alberta, about his electric "hopper zapper" that uses electricity from a tractor electrical system to electrify a steel grasshopper-killing grid mounted on a tractor front-end loader. The hopper killing grid consists of a 2 by 12-ft. rectangular metal frame made from 2-in. thin-wall square tubing. The electrified steel gridwork is fastened to the frame with a series of insulators. The prototype unit was attached to the bucket of a front-end loader, along with the the electrical components that electrify the grid. "Power is taken from the battery of the tractor and boosted by electrical components to provide enough voltage and current to instantly zap grasshoppers and other insects. It's draws so little power that the only cost of operating the unit is fuel to operate the tractor. The only maintenance of the unit itself is to keep the gridwork clean," says Chaney. To operate you simply run the unit close to the ground through roadways, ditches, headlands and "grasshopper strips" left between fields. "It kills grasshoppers instantly and the dead insects can be eaten by birds and other livestock without danger, unlike grasshoppers killed with insecticides. It can be used in and around livestock, unlike some insecticides which require relocation of animals for application," says Chaney, who plans to continue testing on farms this summer. He's looking for a manufacturer. For more information, contact FARM SHOW Followup, James F. Chaney, P.O. Box 5023, Airdrie, Alberta T4B 2B2 Canada (ph 403 948-3303).

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