Insect pestilence is suppressed in a given area by limited injections of insecticide fogging spray at certain occasions of change of wind direction therein and essentially at no other time and in very high dilution and fineness of dispersion of droplets of carrier liquid seeded with micro-particles of insecticide. The method is preferably practiced automatically through the use of apparatus comprising interconnected wind responsive switching means, spray nozzle and valve means, carrier source means, insecticide source means and timing means. The timing means preferably afford time delay of 10-100 seconds before automatically terminating insecticide fogging and after a much longer preselected time interval, on the order of 10 to 100 hours, automatically reset the apparatus to respond to a new shift of wind from a direction previously used to initiate fogging. The apparatus and technique of the invention produce such a fine dispersion of the insecticide or other material that the carrier liquid is substantially evaporated from the sprayed material before the droplets reach the ground.
An installation intended to cause precipitation at a site includes a lance for spraying water into the air using a pump that is controlled by a timer. A lightning conductor is erected at the site for protecting the timer and pump from lightning, as well as protecting a tank containing water to be sprayed which is also at the site. A probe for sensing atmospheric conditions that are conducive to rain is also provide at the site. The timer and the probe are controlled by a remotely located computer which, upon information received from the probe, activates the timer which in turn activates the pump.
A wind-controlled spraying apparatus is arranged to contain electrical contacts and essential mechanical parts within a single housing and to provide switching contacts on a printed circuit board designed as part of a control circuit for the spraying apparatus. The apparatus includes a nozzle that sprays insecticides into the wind for predetermined periods of time in response to changes in wind direction indicated by a wind-blown conducting tube that contacts only one of the switching contacts on the printed circuit board at any time. An open-ended plastic skirt in the form of a truncated cone has inwardly projecting fingers arranged around the skirt end in contact with the bottom surface of the printed circuit board and extending beyond the edge of the hole in the printed circuit board, dimensioned to fit between the switch contacts thereon to prevent the swinging conducting tube from simultaneously striking more than one of the adjacent switch contacts on the printed circuit board and quickly shifting from one contact to the other in response to small changes in wind direction.
Spraying apparatus for spraying a liquid into air includes a wind sensor and a sprayer. The sprayer provides a spray into the air for a predetermined time interval upon sensing only predetermined ones of the occurrences and the predetermined ones of the occurrences occurring for at least a predetermined time interval.
An electronically controlled micro-dispensing apparatus (10 or 210) is described. The apparatus includes a liquid storage container (12), a propellant container (16), a control circuit (34 or 42) and an ejector (28). In a second embodiment, the liquid and propellant are in the same container (212). The control circuits control the length of pulse and the time duration between each pulse. By controlling these factors, the apparatus dispenses a precise amount of liquid over a set time period. The ejector allows for controlled dispensing and allows the liquid to be sprayed a greater distance. In the preferred embodiment, the apparatus are used to dispense a pheromone in an outdoor setting, such as an orchard, to control insects.
A method and apparatus for insect control by delivery of fluids combined from different sources is disclosed, wherein a first fluid is provided in a cartridge configured with a first fluid coupling and a first wireless transmitter (FWT), and a second fluid, or diluent, is supplied to form a mixture for distribution or spraying. The FWT is programmable with data identifying the composition and volume of the liquid in the cartridge and able to contain data of withdrawal of fluid or pump cycles. An interrogator or second wireless transmitter (SWT) communicates with the FTW to control the fluid withdrawal and mixing process. In addition, the combination of the cartridge identification and the coupling design restrict introduction of improper materials into the system, and potentially to an inhabited area.
