Portable Bug Zapper

Caution I'm not liable if your shock yourself and injury or kill your self, working with high voltages can be dangerous!!

I started this instructable about half through building the zapper, sorry for lack of images and details i realize my instructions may be kinda confusing.

How bug zappers work:
http://home.howstuffworks.com/bug-zapper.htm

This zapper does not have the power of a normal one but it does produce a few hundred volts which should be enough to kill most insects.

I haven't been able to test this outside yet because the bugs have come out yet but when I complete the circuit with a metal wire a loud snap and spark are produced.

MATERIALS:
- disposable camera w/ flash
- 3x 10mm blue leds (apparently mosquitoes are attracted to blue light)
-wire
- large cooking sifter
-switch
- small fish trap (available at walmart for about 1.99)
-spray can cap
-1/2" pvc
-electrical tape

Use the film up before opening the case

Remove the wrapping from the camera and use a screwdriver to pry it open -be careful not the ruin the case



Remove the film and locate the capacitor which should be in the upper right corner.

Take two five inch long pieces of wire and solder one to each of the leads of the capacitor.

Drill two holes large enough to fit the wires through next to the view finder.

String the two wires through and close the case.
**There are a couple loose parts inside the camera make sure you put them back in the same place.**

Cut the conical part of the fish trap off.

Using wire cutters cut out the wire mesh from the cooking sifter.

Now roll the mesh into cylinder between 3/4 and 1 cm small than the diameter of the fish trap and staple the cylinder together. Cut the cylinder to the length of the fish trap leave a small tab at the end of the mesh for later..

Place the mesh cylinder inside of the fish trap and glue it in place to the perimeter of the plastic end of the trap. Make sure the two screens are not touching at any points.

Drill to holes in the cap of the fish trap and string a wire through them to form a U to hang zapper.

Drill two holes in the spray can cap the same size as the wire used on the capacitors.

Cut a hole in the bottom of the cap the same size at the protrusion on the camera created by the lens.
** make sure the drilled holes and the lenses hole line up with the corresponding parts on the camera.**

String the wires through the two holes and hot glue the cap to the camera

Drill a screw through the cap and camera for extra support ** be sure not to drill though the flash circuit.**

Take the conical part of the fish trap which was cut off before and glue it to the inside of the cap.

Solder( or staple if your soldering iron broke like mine) one wire to each of the screens. Attach the wire for the inner screen to the tab created earlier.

Now attach the screens to the camera base. The outer screen should fit snuggly into the conical part of the fish trap which was cut off and glued to the cap earlier. Hot glue the screens in place.

I got kinda lazy on this part, I plan on fixing it in the future to make it better. This is basically a flashlight but with the leds around the circumference of the pvc. This part is kinda self explanatory sorry for lack of detail..

Cut a piece of 1/2" pvc 6 1/4 " long.

Cut the tips of the leds off to diffuse the light.

I used 3 aa's to power the lights.

I arranged the leds in parallel. I used electrical tape to hold the wires in place and I glued to switch to the top of the cap.

Glue the light structure to the cap.

Attach the light to the other half of the zapper and your done. To use the zapper turn on the leds and the flash switch on the camera. Sit back and enjoy watching those pesky bugs being zapped away.