The lengths we, as horse owners, go to trying to keep mosquitoes away from our horses are endless. From topical fly repellents to feet through remedies, and fly sheets, hoods, and boots that all but hermetically seal the horse’s body off from the outside world–you name it, we’ve tried it. But soon there will be a new option to consider: blasting the mosquitoes clear out of the sky.

Sound crazy? Not to the inventors at Intellectual Ventures. Originally designed for fighting malaria, the "mosquito laser," referred to the company as a photonic fence, could be equally important in fighting mosquito-borne illness in horses.

The concept behind the mosquito laser is relatively straight forward: When the device’s camera (which is linked to a photodiode, a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation) detects a mosquito’s beating wings, a laser hones in on and blasts the pest out of the sky before it can begin bothering your horses. The science behind the laser is, of course, much more complex.

The piece de resistance is that the unit is made from reused materials purchased from eBay, which means that if the demand for these units is as high as anticipated, the photonic fence will be affordable