If you are not yet familiar with the electronic bug killer, you are really going to like it and if you have used one before, I bet you’ll welcome it back like an old, long-lost friend! The electric bug zapper does just what it says it does: it zaps bugs. But it does it really, very well.

Any insect that comes into contact with the hand held insect zapper is fried. Smaller insects like gnats and mosquitoes are vaporized with a very satisfying flash and a crack. Larger bug, like house flies and wasps die, but don’t explode like the smaller ones.

Think about it, how many times have these flying insects taken the edge off an otherwise enjoyable evening in the garden? Or how many times have you not been able to get a good night’s sleep, because you know there’s at least one mosquito in the bedroom. It has happened to me hundreds of times, I know! It is very satisfying to get your revenge with the electric insect killer.

I don’t relish killing things unnecessarily – I’m married to a Buddhist- but mosquitoes? I’m sorry, they can die. And the hand held bug killer does it without any more ado. No waiting and hoping they’ll fly into the ultraviolet light and then into the mesh. No, one swish of the electronic bug zapper and the mosie’s gone and you can hear whether you killed her or not. (I say her, because the sucking mosquitoes always are females – honest, I wasn’t being sexist).

Basically, there are two types of electric insect killer. There is the battery operated bug zapper and the rechargeable electric bug zapper. Both operate on the same principle, but I prefer the rechargeable type, although I suppose you could use rechargeable batteries too. However, I think that they would be more expensive that the bug zapper in the first place. Anyway, I have been using a hand held insect zapper of the rechargeable sort for five years and I am very happy with them.

Now-a-days, I spend a lot of time in northern Thailand with my wife, so you can bet your life that I give my electric bug killer a good work-out practically every night. We usually eat in the garden in the evening and all socializing is done outside by tradition, especially in the rural areas, where we live, so it comes in very handy. I also use my electronic insect killer to ‘sweep’ the bedroom for bugs before we retire at night, just like an FBI agent.

The electronic bug zapper just gets better and better every time I buy one, which makes it difficult to give you definite specifications. The electronic bug zappers I used four or five years ago, sometimes failed within 6-9 months of purchase, although their ability to hold a charge reduced a lot after 4-5 months.

However, the new electronic bug killer will last 9-12 months and still be formidable after nine months. My latest one even has a powerful light called a headlamp built into it. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be for, but if you feel that vengeance is sweet, you can lure mosquitoes with it and then kill them with your electronic insect killer.

Have you ever used a handheld bug zapper? If not, or if you are interested in getting a handheld bug zapper, please click one of the links to our website or blog.. Free reprint available from: Electric Bug Zapper.