ARMED AND DANGEROUS

Yes I am armed and dangerous  so any enemies in my sights should head for the hills. Beat it, begone, scram or feel my wrath. I have been pushed over the edge and my eyes glow with surging power. A serial killer has been born.

The target of my ire?? Insects.  Not all insects indiscriminately mind you but specific ones. A lot of insects are beneficial and many that aren't serve to keep the bird's tummies full. My targets are those that eat my veggies right in the garden before I can get them to my table.  

 My immediate target, the squash beetle.

Not my picture. Origin unknown. 

While reading my favorite magazine, "The Mother Earth News", I saw a cool idea. Some one had used a hand held bug zapper to rid their garden of pests and wrote about it in a letter to the editor. Hum,I wasn't aware that such an instrument even existed.   I don't use pesticides in my garden so if it worked, it would be organic and eliminate that icky hands on method of killing bugs, so I went a hunting. Besides, I am weak for gadgets.

This  weapon is about he size of a small tennis racket. It is very light, easy to wield but quite deadly on insects. It was easy to find, cheap to buy and had decent reviews. I found one on line at Walmart and had it shipped to my closest store all for under $8.00 including tax.

A Zap Master bug zapper. 

I was quite skeptical that it would work. How could something so inexpensive and only takes 2 AA batteries be effective?  I loaded the gadget and went hunting.  There were a few insects about, but nothing that deserved frying. 

Then a new born fly hit my radar.  Once a year for a brief period, I am inundated with hordes of flies. I walk around my porch swatting continuously for a few days, decorating the sides of my house with the remains, then they are gone.  This looked like a preseason scout so I pursued it in earnest.

Unfortunately he was near my holly bush when I swung my racket.  The small fly became instant ash but I was almost afraid I had set the bush on fire. Gracious, did the sparks fly.  Whoa!!  Not sure how this would affect my poor plants so I will have to be careful not to zap them also. 

However the lively spark display made me suddenly quite cautious handling the weapon. I was not anxious to zap myself accidentally. It obviously had some kick. 

I am now also envisioning using this weapon when the three cornered flies become a nuisance. Don't know what you call them in your area (maybe deer flies?) but these suckers hurt and can make taking a walk during their season a nightmare as they relentlessly buzz your head. I am ready for you now you flying beastie boys.   

How long this device  will this last, I have no idea. Eight dollars does not scream longevity. I intend to enjoy it as long as possible and may replace if it satisfies. 

I do have a word of caution. It should be kept under lock and key if there are youngsters about. Young children would delight in chasing each other with this. 

Pretty sure it will not kill them or even leave a mark but the screeching would be awful and would do nothing to promote sibling closeness and  could actually encourage bullying. 

Also it might be tempting for them to zap anything that moves including the family cat just to see how high he will jump. Not worth the chance. 

My work here is done. Hope this was helpful.  I am off now to  work on my back hand.