Automatic Pest Remover

The structure essentially exploits the wandering behaviour of insects and their tendency to move towards well-aerated regions. The grain is kept in the perforated inner container. The space between the two containers allows air circulation to attract the insects towards the perforated wall. Once they get there they slip off and fall into the specially-designed collection vessel which has a slanted flooring.

The container is expected to be useful for storing rice, wheat, chickpea, pulses and coriander. The most common pests damaging these grains include rice weevil, lesser grain borer, red-flour beetle, saw-toothed beetle and pulse beetle. The automatic pest removal action of this container can substantially reduce the damage caused by these insects. Between 75 and 90 per cent of the insects are eliminated within one to 10 days.

The Coimbatore university experts at present are busy scaling up this model to different capacities