2/08/2015

Smart mosquito traps – To laugh or to cry?





There is an article  in the ST with a photograph of a foreign talent pushing a platform of potted plants and a water contraption, the aggregate is called Ovitrap, or in layman language a mosquito trap. It is supposed to be a smart device that would lure mosquitoes to lay their eggs there and the water would be purged regularly and refilled automatically. NEA has granted a patent attorney to a Martin Schweiger to conduct a pilot trial on this smart device on condition that he would have to closely monitor to see that it works.

I remember during the dengue outbreak a few years back, a local lecturer, I think, conceived of a similar concept, by laying water contraptions in strategic locations around housing estates for the mosquitoes to lay eggs and then to pour the water away. It is as simple as that. Some laughed at the simplicity of the idea without wanting to know how effective it could be and how cheap and efficient to operate the concept given the abundance of resident committees to give a hand.

The problem is that he did not call the idea a smart idea and did not put in a few batteries and water pump to do the job automatically, in the current thinking calling it a smart mosquito trap. Also I think he is a local and is not recognizable as a talent. In this island, locals are branded as daft and foreigners as talents.

So the same concept, one is laughed away, another is seen as a smart device and approved for trial. The first one, not so smart, can be operated cheaply and efficiently, the other is going to cost a lot of money. Oh, the mantra, it must be expensive to be good.

Shall I laugh or cry for the increasing stupidity of a people that no longer thinks, incapable of thinking, and is in complete reliance of foreigners for ideas?

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

....increasing stupidity of a people that no longer thinks, incapable of thinking,....
RB

If they can not only think but also can do, the strongest Sinkie opposition party, after 50 years of national independence, would have been ready to be govt.

And that they are not speaks volumes about the ability of Sinkies to think and do.

Anonymous said...

And that they are not speaks volumes about the ability of Sinkies to think and do.
Anon 11:25 am

That's why it is so easy to rule Sinkies, and if need be for the sake of GDP growth, make them into 2nd class citizens but with NS obligations in their own Sinkieland.

Anonymous said...

Funny thing, many people complain and complain but every 4 years nothing change. How come.

Ⓜatilah $ingapura⚠️ said...

Patent ah?

I laughed---nearly fell off the chair.

Anything "useful" you can invent will be copied by China and sold at prices which you cannot compete with---especially such a "low-tech" device like this.

Dengue is caused by a VIRUS. The mosquito is simply a vector. Both have been acting agents in the tropical biosphere for probably millions of years---and no matter what you try to do, you're still going to get cases of dengue.

The best protection and prevention are still initiatives taken by individuals using CHEMICALS---fogging, mosquito coils, personal insect repellents...and the humble, super low tech mosquito net and light coloured clothing---which is non chemical but to this day very effective.

Anonymous said...


No need to laugh or cry!

Just follow this method and
mosquito bites no more!

There is no special traps needed,
no funding needed and no need to
patent.

Catch a few mosquitoes in a
plastic bag and do not kill them.

Then bite a few of them lightly
without killing them.

Then release them.

They will then fly away and tell
other mosquitoes not to bite you
because..... You Can Bite Back!

So mosquito bites no more!

Cheers.



Anonymous said...

Is it true?
PAP believes Sinkies are daft because every 5 years, we keep voting PAP.

Is that why PAP worries about Singapore?
And have to bring in aliens from 3rd world country to increase Singapore's intelligence.

Anonymous said...

Integrated casinos - To laugh or to cry?

"Chinese President Xi Jinping has officially declared war on the global gambling industry, warning foreign casinos that Chinese citizens will be gambling much less in China, neighboring countries, and the US."

SOURCE:
http://www.businessinsider.sg/xi-declares-war-on-global-gambling-firms-2015-2/#.VNbiPS5JeJ8

Anonymous said...


anonymous 12.16pm ple note.....

Till today, there are many many
people STILL very very angry that
we went ahead with 2 caSINos!

Think! Think! Think!

How can casino businesses.....
SUSTAINABLE in long term!

We shall see!

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

24 Smart New PAPig Candidates - To laugh or to cry?

- Laugh; because they all say they want to help Singaporeans
- Cry; because Singaporeans always end up with less money from new PAPig policies

Is this a fair comment?

patriot said...

Just follow what Senior Minister Of State Grace Fu told You.
She told You not to get bitten by mosquitoes to avoid Dengue. If You follow her and not let mosquito bites You, no Dengue for You..
MP Baey of Tampines GRC missed her message and suffered Dengue a Second Time recently.

Do listen to Grace Fu's Advice.
No need for any contraption, ..

patriot

b said...

In the land of the daft, the Traitors and Aliens are king.

February 08, 2015 10:59 am

- Well said. Clap clap.

Anonymous said...

Singapore Isn’t Greece, Temasek Tells S&P
--------------
Temasek .... said the rating firm’s proposed new rules for grading investment holding companies lump Singapore with riskier nations such as Greece and Jamaica

SOURCE:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-05/temasek-says-singapore-not-greece-in-s-p-critique-asean-credit


PAPIGS - WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH OUR RESERVES !!! ???

Anonymous said...

"In technology, simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" - Northrop.

This ovitrap and the other ovitrap make a good contrast. Looking at the F-22 and F-35, this seems true. For every flying hour, the aircraft spends some tens of hours inside the hangar.

Anonymous said...

If you need to put 10,000 pieces of this say at $10K each, how much would that be? Good for the economy.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

Giving credit to the Singaporean lecturer who first proposed this simple method of providing a place for the mosquitoes to lay their eggs, I wrote about it and supported the idea then, let me just elaborate the ingenuity of it and how cheaply it could be done before some jokers decided to spend a few million of OPM to do the same.

A small clay pot, like the one they used to hold salted eggs or to store rice, 0.5m height would be good enough. Just leave it near the bushes or shrubs, in a quiet and shaded area will do. With the life cycle of mosquito, from egg to adult about 14 days, the water can be emptied once a week with a lot of room to spare.

As HDB have cleaners washing the floor, they could empty the urns and top it up with waters, 2/3 full, when they do the washing. Factories and construction sites are easier with their own manpower.

The RCs could do regular inspection, weekly, to make sure the larvae and pupae were got rid off weekly.

How much would it cost, and how difficult it is? If the project is island wide, after 6 months there would be a dramatic drop in mosquito population, and it would get lesser and lesser.

There is no need for machine and computers to do such a simple process. A little organisation and planning would do.

Anonymous said...

IBs here, you can present this RB proposal to your bosses and save a lot of money for the country. But don't show it to the one waiting for a multi million anti mosquito campaign tender. This is not to his interest.

If you get this idea passed, you may get a public service medal for saving the country a lot of money and not looking stupid.

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