Hands On with the Portable Electric Bug Zapper

While other gadget blogs get to review and play with fancy new iPods, cell phones, or other “cooler” gizmos we at FuncFash like to take the road less traversed. Today we got to play with the Portable Electric Bug Zapper or what we like to call Racquet of Death. Which by the way is a whole lot cooler than Nokia’s new netbook…

Ok, so it looks funny and kind of childish. I can agree with that. However, this is NO TOY. It is definitely a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is simply an instrument of death. Bug death that is.  If the fly swatter was a rifle then the portable electric bug zapper would be a helicopter mini-machine gun.

The portable electric bug zapper is exactly what it says it is. It zaps bugs with 1500 V of electricity. And by zap they light up, pop, snap, and sizzle. It’s for people who think that just squishing a bug is not good enough.

This model is straight imported from China and was a gift from a friend. It’s “official name” (or what it at least says on the handle is “Rechargeable Bug Lapper” (I’m pretty sure they meant “Zapper”).

As the name suggests it is rechargeable and has the plug conveniently built into the handle so you can plug it in when you find the killing power isn’t to your liking (it takes about 8 hours for a full charge).

We don’t really have much of a bug problem where I live so while it was kind of cool to play around with it when I first got it I didn’t really use it. Then one day when a fly flew into the house I got the bright idea to break out the bug zapper.

There’s definitely a technique to portable bug zapping. Instead of smashing bugs you just need to swipe at the bug and have it touch one of the electrified parts and bam! You have fried insect. It’s kind of like wielding an electrified fence at someone. My kill count is currently at 2. I took one fly out while it was flying in midair and then I took out another fly while it was resting on the couch.

The nice thing about zapping bugs this way is you never question “did I get it?” Cause when you are successful you hear a loud “pop.” It’s kind of cruel, but is it any crueler than just smashing the living out of insects? It does make bug killing more entertaining once you have one of these.

However at the same time, I wish I could say it is all fun and games. While it looks like a toy, 1500 volts is still a lot electricity to hurt yourself. Luckily it comes with this helpful poorly translated warning.

I haven’t worked up the courage to touch the electrified face of the bug zapper yet. I was reading online that it’s ok to touch it (someone says it’s kind of like getting zapped by a 9 volt battery), but I don’t know if I buy it. When you hear the zap of these bugs getting fried it kind of makes you paranoid.

It does have this safety feature built in where you can’t zap unless the zapper is turned on and the red button is depressed. Not exactly peace of mind, but better than nothing.

Overall if you are looking to spice up your insect killing life or have a problem with a lot of mosquitoes or flying insects I would definitely recommend the electric bug zapper. Just don’t hurt yourself.  You’ve been warned.

FuncFash-ness: 6/10

• Functional: 4/5 (flies won’t know what it them, take out insect swarms with one fell swoop)
• Fashionable: 2/5 (may be mistaken for a child’s toy which could cause problems)

Where to Buy:

• Amazon:  iTouchless Rechargebale Portable Handheld Electric Bug Zapper/ Swatter (not the same model I have, but pretty similar) $19.95 (qualifies for free shipping)

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