indoor bug zapper

I don't know if you have ever used a handheld, indoor bug zapper, but I think that they are awe-inspiring. I'm talking about the handheld type that looks like a child's plastic, toy tennis racquet. They come in two basic forms. I prefer the rechargeable bug zapper, for the reason that batteries end up up costing more than the indoor bug zapper itself, although you could always buy rechargeable batteries, but then they are steep too.

My wife and I like to pass time in the garden. We meet friends there, lunch there and generally loaf about outdoors, as do most folks about here, when they are not working. What's more, it's much cooler outdoors than indoors. A comfy chair, some snacks, a cool drink and a book or a buddy and life does not get much better. In fact, it's idyllic.

That is until about six or seven o'clock when the first wave of mosquitoes have judged that the sun's rays have lost enough strength that they will not evaporate and they come out searching for blood. Some evenings are worse than others, of course. More often than not, the mosquitoes are fairly tolerable, especially given that I have discovered the indoor bug zapper. (I don't know why it is referred to as an 'indoor bug zapper', it is just as useful outdoors as in)..

It's not that I want to slaughter things, but I find it difficult to have sympathy for mosquitoes. Anyway, I do get a definite amount of pleasure from seeing and hearing mosquitoes and other bugs literally blow up with a flash and a zap as they come into contact with the charged and earth wires of the indoor bug zapper. These electric bug zappers can pack quite a charge, particularly if the batteries are new or the pack is fully charged.

The other day, I discovered a novel use for my handheld, indoor bug zapper. I'll tell you how it came about. I was in the garden, as normal, and my bug zapper was close at hand as the first squadron of mosquitoes was due. I had my book in one hand and the bug zapper on my knees, when my wife asked me to go to the store for her. No problem, therefore, I set off on the five minute walk.

I was half-way there when I noticed that I had the indoor bug zapper in my hand, but it was not worth taking it home and beginning the trip again. Anyway, on my return journey, I had my small bag of groceries in one hand and the indoor bug zapper in the other, when a local tyrant of a dog came running out of a garden straight for me. This has occurred often and, although he has never bitten me yet, it is somewhat intimidating. He stood there glaring at me with teeth bared and his 'pack' of assorted neighborhood friends came out to encircle me and join in.

I don't really know what the best course of action is in this situation. I have tried standing my ground, but the threat just continues and I have tried to keep walking, but he gets worryingly close by at times. This time, I unexpectedly lashed out with the indoor bug zapper and just hit him on the snout. Well, I'm not sure if it hurt him, it did not seem to too much, but it gave him a very nasty shock in more ways than one, I can tell you! He leapt about four feet into the air as if he were on a pogo stick and then ran for all he was worth with all his pals behind him. It was very satisfying after six months of aggravation from this dog.

Nevertheless, I don't take my indoor bug zapper all over the place with me, but I will in future, if any more local dogs bother me. I know it works a treat. I have seen that one since, but he keeps far away from me and doesn't utter a squeak. I believe I would take my indoor bug zapper with me, if I were wandering in an unknown part of town or the park nonetheless.

Have you ever used an indoor bug zapper? If you haven't, or if you are interested in getting an indoor bug zapper, just click one of the links to our website or blog.

by Owen Jones

The indoor bug killer is the best way of ridding your immediate vicinity of insects, especially the flying ones such as mosquitoes. The hand held bug killer vaporizes any insect from a mosquito to a gnat instantly on contact with a nice, loud, electrical 'zap'!

However, this is not to say that the indoor insect zapper cannot be used outdoors, as long as it is not raining. It should be treated like any other high voltage electrical equipment. Keep the indoor bug killer dry and please do not use it while you are standing in (water|the pool!

Models vary greatly, but there are basically only two types of indoor insect killer: the battery operated bug zapper and the rechargeable electric bug killer. Both are equally effective at killing insects and employ the same principle.

The electric bug killer resembles a 'kids' tennis racquet, but with three sets of 'strings', which are in fact wires. The central network of wires becomes live at the push of a button, while the other two networks, one on either side, are harmless earths.

When an insect is trapped between the wires of the indoor insect zapper, it creates a short, which evaporates it instantaneously with a loud crack. The hand held insect zapper will kill other insects too, but they tend to fry rather than explode.

I have had the rechargeable kind for about five years and am extremely satisfied with the indoor insect killer. In fact, the electric insect zapper has come a long way in the last few years. A fully charged hand held insect killer is powerful enough to last for a few hundred swipes and will hold it's charge, when unused, for weeks without any noticeable discharge.

The rechargeable battery pack will take serious use for the best part of a year, although its capability to hold a charge for several weeks slowly diminishes after six or seven months.

The most recent indoor bug killer I've had has a main on/off switch, an LED that comes on when it is live (the brightness of this light also indicates the battery's strength) and a light that comes on when it is plugged in for recharge.

The instructions on the wrapper say that it should be (re)charged for about sixteen hours. I usually put it on charge over night once or twice every week or two, although the electric insect killer shows a large|marked| increase in performance after only a couple of hours recharging.

The latest version I've had also comes with a powerful light called a 'headlamp'. I have found this very handy when out in the garden, but I'm unsure whether it's meant to lure the mosquitoes in the dark so that you can zap them if you're feeling bored or just vindictive, rather like an Anglerfish.

I've used the headlamp on my electric insect zapper for that reason as well, but the headlamp uses a lot of battery power. All in all, the electric insect killer is a big asset at any outdoor event. The indoor insect zapper is useful to 'clean out' your bedroom before retiring; it's unbeatable for evening mosquitoes and it will clear a lunch table of wasps too.

Have you ever used an indoor bug zapper? If you haven't, or if you are interested in getting an indoor bug zapper, just click one of the hyperlinks to our web site or blog. This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

Some of the most common indoor bugs we see anywhere in the world are flies, spiders, fleas and beetles. No-one likes to see a bug indoors, so most people will go to almost any lengths to eradicate these common indoor bugs. The less common indoor bugs may be woodlice, earwigs, scorpions and millipedes or centipedes, although they are not less wanted.

No matter where you live in the world, it is very difficult to keep these common indoor bugs outside, unless you go to the extremes of keeping all your windows and doors shut all of the time, which is obviously impossible. I now live in Thailand and I know for certain that this is not an option.

So, what on Earth can you do? Well, let's deal with all the flying insects first, as of all the common indoor bugs, I find them the most obnoxious indoor bug. They are very annoying, buzzing around your head and mosquitoes and other flies can produce painful sores and besides that, all flies spread disease. I cannot bear to see them strutting about on food, knowing that they have probably just come off some dog's muck somewhere and now they are spitting on my food to taste it with their dirty feet!

My first line of defence is fine-mesh door and widow screens. They are not expensive and can be fitted retrospectively to any window. My window meshes slide, so they will cover only one half of a window at a time, but I do not think that's a problem. You can still create cross-winds, by opening two or more windows at opposing sides of a room. I just love to see the flies on the mesh trying to get in by day and the mosquitoes doing the same by night. At night, it is wise to burn as little light indoors as possible so as not to draw these common indoor insects.

My second line of defence is natural predators - lizards, like Geckos (Jin Jok, in Thai). Some people don't like them in the house much either and I can't say that I'm all that keen on them indoors myself, but they are difficult to keep outside and they do consume hundreds, if not thousands, of indoor bugs every day. I particularly like to see them lying in wait on the outside of the mesh, ready to pounce on any bug trying to wriggle its way through the wires.

My third line of defence is a handheld bug zapper. You know, the electric, handheld bug zapper that looks like a child's tennis racquet. The come in two forms: battery and rechargeable kinds. They are brilliant at trapping and annihilating any flying indoor bug. The bug literally explodes and vaporizes on contact with the fully-charged wires of the indoor bug zapper. If you haven't tried using one, you really should. They are most satisfying. These three defences keep our house pretty much free of flies.

The creeping common indoor bugs are not so much of a problem really. Door screens on self-closers will keep 99% of them out and the Geckos will help too. Spiders can get in fairly very easily, but then, I don't mind them too much as long as they keep out of my way, as they consume other insects too. They are on our side to be honest. However, for those who can not bear to trap them and put them outside, the handheld indoor bug zapper works a treat on spiders too.

Fleas can be a problem, if you have cats or dogs, but then if you wash or dust the animal once a month, you should be able to keep those common indoor bugs under control fairly easily. However, there are two final measures that we use. Once a week, before we go out for the day, we spray every room with fly killer and every six-months we spray any rugs or carpets with an insect killer containing permethrin, which will survive washing and vacuuming for that long without losing its ability to kill common indoor bugs on contact. If you follow these measures, you will be able to keep your home or office quite free of the most common indoor bugs and any less common indoor bug too.

Have you ever heard of an indoor bug zapper? If you haven't, or if you want to get an indoor bug zapper, just click one of the links to our web site or blog.

Indoor bug zapper