The hand held bug killer is the best way of clearing your immediate vicinity of insects, especially the flying ones such as mosquitoes. The electric bug killer evaporates 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 hand held insect zapper dry and definitely do not use it while you are standing in the pool!

Models do vary greatly, but there are basically only two types of indoor bug zapper: the battery operated bug killer and the rechargeable electric bug killer. Both models are equally effective at killing insects and work on the same methods.

The hand held insect zapper resembles a ‘kids’ tennis racket, but with three layers of ‘strings’, which are in fact wires. The central grid of wires becomes electrified at the push of a button, while the other two networks, one on either side, are harmless earths.

When a bug is caught between the wires of the electric insect killer, it creates a short, which evaporates it instantly with a loud crack and a flash. The hand held insect killer will kill other bugs too, but they tend to fry instead of just disappear.

I have been using the rechargeable type for five years and am extremely happy with the indoor bug zapper. In fact, the electric bug zapper has come a long way in the last few years. A fully charged electric insect killer is strong enough to last for several hundred swipes and will hold it’s charge, when unused, for weeks without any significant discharge.

The battery recharge pack will take intensive use for the best part of a year, although its ability to hold a charge for a few weeks gradually reduces after six or seven months.

The latest indoor bug zapper I’ve used has a main on/off switch, an LED that shines when it is activated (the brightness of this light also gives an indication of the battery’s strength) and a light that comes on when the zapper is on recharge.

The instructions suggest that the bug zapper should be (re)charged for about sixteen hours. However, I usually put it on charge over night once or twice every week or two, although the hand held insect killer shows a large increase in performance with only a few hours recharging.

The latest version I’ve seen also comes with a powerful beam called a ‘headlamp’. I have found this very useful when out in the garden, but I’m not sure whether it’s meant to attract the flies in the dark so that you can zap them if you’re bored. You know, like an angler fish.

I’ve used the headlamp on my hand held bug zapper for that reason as well, but the headlamp uses a lot of battery power. All in all, the electric bug zapper is a huge asset at any outdoor event. The indoor insect killer is useful for ‘clearing’ your bedroom before retiring; it’s unequaled for killing evening mosquitoes and it will eradicate wasps at a lunch table as well.

Have you ever heard of an indoor bug zapper? If you haven’t, or if you are interested in getting an indoor bug zapper, please click one of the links to our web site or blog.