Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/07/05/usb-rechargeable-flying-insect.html
…
Is it really worth 4X the price of the battery powered one at Harbor Freight?
6 Likes
Well it doesn’t look very aerodynamic to me.
5 Likes
Hey! What a great piece of shit to shill.
That’ll look great in a big landfill.
It might be a week, it might be a year,
but that plastic will end up there, I fear.
4 Likes
Yes, the only differences is if you pay $4 or $16
1 Like
That depends. How fast does that eat batteries? I suppose you could use rechargeable batteries.
I’m considering one of these at some point. The flies are thick this summer.
Also, Zap-it made me think of Bob-it. That would add a new dimension to that game/toy.
ETA, from the Amazon product page:
“Once the prey, now the hunter!”
2 Likes
Rating: 3/5
Insect electrocuter doesn’t actually fly
7 Likes
These do work well and make much less of a mess than sprays or smashing (swatting).
The batteries last a long time.
They are flimsy plastic, at least mine is, but used sensibly, they last years. I am still on my first one, but I only need it a few months a year.
My typical usage is to get them when they land, I guess like any swatter, but you just slowly place this over them, zzzzzt, done, instead of a fast action.
However, I have used it crazy fast action swing it around to try and get a particularly annoying, non landing fly and you can zzzzt them on the wing so to say, but you will shorten the life of the unit.
When mine breaks, I will be replacing it promptly.
3 Likes
Sometimes they give them away free with a freebie coupon.
Donald and Melanoma’s favorite “sex” toy.
Don’t Kink-shame…
2 Likes
I tried it. Has a real kick, at the right voltage.
Pass.
Still using my executioner 6+ years after buying it through a link on BoingBoing.
4 Likes
Where’s the sport in that? I (used to) exterminate those pesky house flies with my trusty 4.5 mm air gun. This one had the audacity to take a stroll above my target:
For obvious reasons, I could not live up to my adage to ‘eat whatever I kill’, so ever since, I have become a vegetarian.
Now, I only kill grapes.
1 Like
Replaced the capacitor in mine with a MUCH larger one. Flies are damn-near vaporized.
3 Likes
The harbor freight one lasts about 18 months on a pair of C’s. Eventually the wires inside come loose and it stops working, maybe before you finish up the batteries.
Its a bit like a rechargeable TV remote. Instead of having a remote that is read to go for over a year, you have a gizmo that needs to be recharged every few weeks and is never ready when you need it.
1 Like
- Can anyone recommend a fly killing thingie that I could plug in/switch on and it would do its job while I am sleeping?
- A small travel friendly thing would also be useful.
1 Like
I have the battery powered one. It works okay as a flyswatter but the electricity part doesn’t seem to do anything except eat batteries.
Then, if I actually hit a fly, I need to go searching across the room to find the thing.
Despite all odds, I usually find it in my coffee cup.
2 Likes
My $8 model from Wal-Mart is now on it’s fourth year. Granted I don’t use it much, but it still has it’s first set of batteries in it, and works just fine. If you use it a lot, go with a set of rechargeables and be mostly worry-free.
1 Like
