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Friday, July 6, 2012

It Works!

Since I seemed not to be (zap) winning the war on pantry moths, I bought a bug zapper several months ago. I decided to get a handheld BUG ZAPPER. I loaded it up with two AA batteries. It did not faze the bugs.



I asked Exbf to let me touch it to him while it was on. He took it and held it himself while he turned it on. Then, I convinced him to see if it made the hair on his arms feel (zap) (zap) zap) tingly. It did not. He refused to turn it on and put his tongue to it. I begged.

Mark declared it broken after similar tests. Finally, I touched it. Nothing. He had owned one that actually worked until his children over-played with it.

Driven mad by these moths, I saw another shipment of BUG ZAPPERS at the store and bought another. Yes, I have been stopping and zapping bugs as I type. One was a fruit fly that had been trying to get on my mouth. Yuck. The others were pantry moths I saw flying. Never before have I batted 1000 when assaulting the pantry moths. They appear to have found every nook and cranny and the carpet. They cannot fly well, so their path is erratic. I cannot keep up when swatting.

This is quite a spectacular little tennis-racket-looking instrument of bug death. There is a loud fire-cracker pop pop, lots of smoke and hissing and the disintegrating moth parts hit again and again casing more pophisses. Master of Death that I am, this is quite thrilling. I must admit that at first the burning stench in my nostrils was off-putting, to say the least. Now, I have grown to enjoy it since it represents defeat, victory, a win

In the kitchen I tried it on a few fruit flies. It sounded like the smallest of firecrackers and did not smell at all. As a matter of fact, I just used this like a magic wand through fruit flies, and it repeatedly popped as it got them all!

This seems like something that might come in handy outdoors during dusk when mosquitoes are abundant and insistent that I let them sip. I am so excited to finally feel I can win the war on moths.


Your turn
Have you ever used one of these? Did you like ti?  Have you even seen one? Obviously, they have been out for years before I ever saw one.  It works on the order of the ones for outdoors, and sounds just as barbaric.

9 comments:

  1. Where we moved here, in the suburbs, the mosquitoes are as big as cats. I think I need to look your wand up.
    Thanks for that!
    m.

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  2. Mark,
    Walmart--The Original Bug Zapper. I think the first was a knockoff.

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  3. Don't think I could deal with flying moth parts. We use glass jars to store everything moths eat. They moved on.

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  4. Joanne,
    I do have everything in glass jars. They are in other rooms! Mostly. It was pretty gruesome but a lovely sight to see them disappear, never to reproduce again.

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  5. The use of bug zappers can spread bacteria and viruses from the mist created by their being electrocuted. There has been a lot of research and articles published on this. The use of zappers are prohibited in food prep areas and hospitals in several of the places we live, work or visit. Current rates of mist spread range from 7-15 feet from the bug zapper. I wouldn't want to breath this fallout mist. Really nasty stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Look up mist from bug zappers and spreading effect from bug zappers for more info. If I have time, I'll forward some of the medical research articles we have on the subject.

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  6. Those are the big industrial/home zappers that kill hundreds of bugs each night and overhead. The moths I kill are knee to waist high. There is no fallout mist, as such, from my use to cause a health problem. If I killed a hundred bugs a day, I might worry.

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  7. Actually, they are the home zappers as well. Just where do you think the zapped scatter goes? It can end up on your food, your walls, your skin, even in your lungs. If you have breathing or health problems beware. Our doctors do not recommend them to our patients. The contents which you are breathing in can be really nasty.

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  8. I do not want to spray bug killers, chemicals to kill these, so the little bug detritus that usually is lower than my waist and never in the kitchen is more tolerable than insecticides. I am looking forward to the articles, especially warnings for the handheld Zapper.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.