DUBLIN: Fruit and vegetable growers dread moths, the kind of pest that can bring down even the most carefully-tended crops.

But a Dutch business has come up with a “bat-like” drone it claims both takes down moths in greenhouses or scares them off by emitting a similar kind of sonar to that used by real bats on the hunt.

Not only that, but the drones are geared up to avoid targeting helpful insects such as bees, according to PATS, the company behind the concept, which was presented at the July 5-8 Society for Experimental Biology annual conference.

The bat drone is backed by an infrared camera installed in the greenhouse which PATS says "can differentiate the moths from other flying insects based on wingbeat frequency and size."

"This makes sure we only attack moths and not the bumblebees that are used for pollination," says co-owner Dayo Jansen, who came up with the idea after inventing a different drone to eliminate the mosquitoes that were leaving him "fed up" at night.

"The moment a moth flies into detection range, a drone will spin up and hunt the moth down," Jansen says.

PATS says it is working on similar tech for use in greenhouses but tailored to other pest-prey and predator combinations. - dpa

"Greenhouse owners tend to specialize on a singular crop which has the added risk that when a suitable pest species enters the greenhouse, it finds itself in pest heaven and reproduces uncontrollably fast," says Jansen, who believes the drones to be a healthier control option than spraying pesticides indoors.