Posts Tagged ‘review’

Electric Bug Zapper

Friday, March 12th, 2010

If you aren’t already familiar with the hand held insect zapper, you are really going to love it and if you have had one before, I’m sure you’ll welcome it back like an old friend! The hand held insect killer does just what it says: it zaps bugs. But it does it really, really well.

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

How many times have these flying bugs taken the edge off an otherwise lovely evening in the garden? Or how many times have you not been able to get a decent 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 one’s own back with the electronic insect zapper.

I don’t like killing things without cause – I’m married to a Buddhist- but mosquitoes? I’m sorry, they have to go. And the electronic 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 sweep of the electric bug killer and the mosie’s gone and you can hear whether you got her or not. (I say her, because the sucking mosquitoes always are females – honest, I wasn’t being sexist).

Basically, there are two sorts of handheld 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 kind, although I guess 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 electric insect zapper of the rechargeable sort for five years and I am ecstatic about them.

These days, I spend a lot of time in northern Thailand with my wife, so you can bet your life that my handheld insect zapper gets a good work-out almost 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 zapper to ‘sweep’ the bedroom for bugs before we retire at night, just like a secret agent.

The electric bug zapper seems to improve every time I buy one, which makes it hard to give you definite specifications. The electric bug zappers I bought four or five years ago, sometimes failed within six to nine months of purchase, although their ability to store a charge was less after four or five months.

However, the new electronic bug zapper will last 9-12 months and still be very pokey 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 electric bug killer.

Have you ever heard of a handheld bug zapper? If you haven’t, or if you are interested in getting a handheld bug zapper, just click one of the links to our website or blog.

Home Renovations DIY

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

It appears that there has been a wane in consumer trust in the building and construction industry of late. This may be because of the scams shown on television or the bribery and corruption endemic in the corporate sector, but it is almost certainly the same motivation why so many are now doing home improvements by themselves.

And why shouldn’t they? A little knowledge of the technical aspects combined with an eye for creativity is often enough to complete the home improvement on your own.

Why are people turning to do-it-yourself home improvements?

There are many people attempting to pass themselves off as construction workers, although they do not have a lot of experience in construction or home maintenance and they are literally are out there right now practising, learning their trades on homes like yours and mine across the country.

Not surprisingly, homeowners are finding that the jobs are not being completed to their liking. Sometimes they are even pre-paying for services that do not get done or were not part of the plan.

You do not have to rely on and pay someone to enhance your home. Why not try to do it yourself?

You can augment your home?s existing concrete surfaces using acid stains, acrylic paints, epoxy paints, and scoring techniques.

If you are tired of looking at drab gray concrete, there are some easy projects if you are sincere about having a go at home improvement DIY, you can easily give your patio, driveway or garage a revitalizing new look.

Decorative concrete work costs about double that of standard concrete, which is why a lot of people cannot afford it.

However, there are cheaper methods to decorate concrete after it has cured, without having to pay expert tradesmen.

Acid-based concrete stains are becoming more and more popular for coloring concrete surfaces. They chemically react with the cement to generate permanent color with a variegated or mottled appearance like that of marble. This results in a natural, stylish looking surface.

Water-based concrete stains are an alternative to acid stains but are much more user friendly because they are so much less toxic. These stains do not chemically react with the concrete; they are absorbed into the porous surface and act like a colorant. The big benefit of water based stains is the wide range of colors on hand.

If you want to risk going beyond the basic staining of your concrete, think about using some scoring techniques to create patterns on the surface.

You can make your concrete resemble a tiled floor for instance. It is just up to your imagination. A mini angle grinder with a 4 inch grinding wheel is the ideal tool for this.

The key thing to remember when scoring is to draw the pattern on the concrete first and make sure you are happy with the way it looks because scoring is permanent.

Epoxy paints make an excellent coating for garage floors and cellar floors. Many industrial floors have epoxy coatings because of their hardiness and resilience to chemical spills as well as their appearance.

In recent years, however, it has become very popular for residential use with the availability of an growing number of different colors. This is not a complicated job, but the key to successful application is surface preparation.

Epoxy paints have also become available in a water based form making it safe for the DIY’er and perfect for indoor jobs. They cost a little more than stains. For a 400 square foot area, you’ll spend about $200 for the materials required for this project.

So, you see? You do not have to spend big money to improve your home. You have the ability to do it yourself. With a few instructions and a little bit of work, anyone can turn dull concrete into a work of art of their own.

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Further Uses for the Indoor Bug Zapper

Saturday, September 12th, 2009

I don’t know whether you have ever used a handheld, indoor bug zapper, but I think that they are marvelous. I?m talking about the handheld type that looks like a child’s plastic, toy tennis racquet. They come in two basic kinds. I prefer the rechargeable bug zapper, because batteries end up up costing more than the indoor bug zapper itself, although you could always buy rechargeable batteries, but then they are dear as well.

My wife and I like to spend time in the garden. We meet friends there, dine there and in general laze about outside, as do most folks about here, when they are not working. What’s more, it’s much cooler outdoors than inside. A comfortable chair, a few snacks, a chilled drink and a book or a companion and life does not get much better. In fact, it?s idyllic.

That is until about six or seven o’clock when the first squadron of mosquitoes have judged that the sun’s rays have lost enough strength that they will not evaporate and they come out looking for blood. Some evenings are worse than others, of course. More often than not, the mosquitoes are pretty tolerable, especially seeing as I have discovered the indoor bug zapper. (I don’t know why it is called an ‘indoor bug zapper’, it is equally as effective outdoors as in)..

It’s not that I like to slaughter things, but I find it hard to have compassion for mosquitoes. Nevertheless, I do get a certain amount of enjoyment from seeing and hearing mosquitoes and other bugs literally blow up with a flash and a spark as they come into connection with the electric and ground wires of the indoor bug zapper. These electric bug zappers can pack quite a charge, particularly if the batteries are new or the pack is completely charged.

The other day, I discovered a novel use for my handheld, indoor bug zapper. I’ll tell you how it came about. I was in the garden, as usual, and my bug zapper was close at hand as the first wave of mosquitoes was due. I had my book in one hand and the bug zapper on my lap, when my wife asked me to go to the store for her. No problem, therefore, I set off on the five minute walk.

I was half-way there when I realized that I had the indoor bug zapper in my hand, but it was not worth taking it home and beginning the journey again. Anyway, on my return trip, I had my small bag of groceries in one hand and the indoor bug zapper in the other, when a local tyrant of a dog came running out of a garden right for me. This has occurred often and, although he has never bitten me yet, it is quite intimidating. He stood there glaring at me with teeth bared and his ‘pack’ of sundry neighborhood pals came out to surround me and join in.

I don’t really know what the best course of action is in this situation. I have tried holding my position, but the intimidation just goes on and I have tried to continue walking, but he gets terrifyingly close by at times. This time, I suddenly lashed out with the indoor bug zapper and just caught him on the snout. Well, I’m not sure if it hurt him, it did not seem to too much, but it gave him a very nasty shock in more ways than one, I can tell you! He leapt about four feet into the air as if he were on a pogo stick and then fled for all he was worth with all his friends behind him. It was very gratifying after six months of annoyance from this dog.

Anyway, I don’t take my indoor bug zapper everywhere with me, but I will in future, if any more local dogs bother me. I know it works a treat. I have seen that one since, but he keeps far away from me and doesn’t utter a sound. I think I would take my indoor bug zapper with me, if I were wandering in an unknown part of town or the park nevertheless.

Have you ever used an indoor bug zapper? If not, or if you want to get an indoor bug zapper, just click one of the links to our website or blog.

Stopping Common Indoor Bugs

Friday, September 11th, 2009

Some of the most common indoor bugs we see anywhere in the world are flies, spiders, fleas and beetles. Nobody likes to see a bug indoors, so most people will go to just about any extremes to eradicate these common indoor bugs. The less common indoor bugs may be woodlice, earwigs, scorpions and millipedes or centipedes, although they are no less unwelcome.

It does not matter where you live in the world, it is very difficult to keep these common indoor bugs outside, unless you go to the extremes of keeping all your windows and doors shut at all times, which is quite impossible. I live in Thailand and I know that this is not an option.

So, what on Earth can you do? Well, let’s deal with all the flying insects first, because of all the common indoor bugs, I find them the most obnoxious indoor bug. They are very annoying, buzzing around your head and mosquitoes and other flies can create irritating sores and besides that, all flies spread disease. I hate to see them walking on food, knowing that they have probably just come off some dog’s muck somewhere and now they are spitting on my food to taste it with their stinking feet!

My first line of defence is fine-mesh door and widow screens. They are not expensive and can be added retrospectively to any window. My window meshes slide, so they can cover only one half of the window at a any one time, but I do not think that’s a problem. You can still create cross-winds, by opening two or more windows at opposing ends of a room. I just love to see the flies on the mesh trying to get in by day and the mosquitoes doing the same by night. At night, it is wise to turn on as little light indoors as possible in order not to attract these common indoor bugs.

My second line of defence is natural predators – lizards, like Geckos (Jin Jok, in Thai). Some people don’t like them in the house either. I can’t say I’m all that keen on them indoors myself, but they are hard to keep out and they do eat hundreds, if not thousands, of indoor bugs every day. I like to see them lying in wait on the outside of the mesh, ready to jump on any bug trying to struggle its way through the wires.

My third line of defence is an indoor bug zapper. You know, the electric, handheld bug zapper that looks like a toy tennis racquet. The come in two forms: battery and rechargeable kinds. They are fantastic at catching and destroying any flying indoor bug. The inset literally explodes and vaporizes on contact with the fully-charged wires of the indoor bug zapper. If you haven’t tried using one, you really ought to. They are most satisfying. These three defences keep our house pretty much free of flying insects.

The creeping common indoor bugs are less of a problem really. Door screens on self-closers will keep 95% of them out and the Geckos will help too. Spiders can get in fairly easily, but then, I don’t mind them too much as long as they keep out of my way, as they eat other insects too. They are on our side really. However, for those who can not bear to catch them and put them outside, the handheld indoor bug zapper works well on spiders too.

Fleas can sometimes be a problem, if you keep cats or dogs, but then if you wash or dust the animal once a month, you should be able to keep these common indoor bugs under control quite easily. However, there are two final methods that we employ. Every week, before we go out for the day, we spray every room with fly killer and every six-months we spray any rugs or carpets with a bug killer containing permethrin, which will survive washing and vacuuming for that long without losing its ability to kill common indoor bugs on contact. If you follow these methods, you will be able to keep your home or office quite free of the most common indoor bugs and the less common indoor bug too.

Have you ever heard of an indoor bug zapper? If not, or if you are interested in getting an indoor bug zapper, just click one of the hyperlinks to our web site or blog.

Electronic Bug Zapper

Thursday, September 10th, 2009

The hand held insect killer is the best way of ridding the area around you of insects, especially the flying ones like mosquitoes. The electric insect zapper evaporates any insect from a mosquito to a gnat instantly on contact with a pleasingly loud, electrical ‘crack’!

However, this is not to say that the electric insect killer cannot be used outdoors, as long as it is not raining. It should be treated like any other high voltage electrical equipment. Keep the electric insect killer dry and definitely do not use it while you are standing in water!

Models do vary a lot, but there are basically only two kinds of electric insect killer: the battery operated bug killer and the rechargeable electric bug zapper. Both models are equally effective at killing bugs and employ the same methods.

The electric insect killer resembles a ‘kids’ tennis racket, but with three layers of ‘strings’, which are in fact wires. The innermost grid of wires becomes electrified at the push of a button, while the other two grids, one on either side, are only earths.

When a bug is caught between the wires of the hand held bug zapper, it creates a short, which vaporizes it instantly with a loud crack and a flash. The hand held bug killer will kill other insects too, but they tend to burn instead of explode.

I have had the rechargeable type for more than five years and am extremely satisfied with the hand held insect zapper. In fact, the electric insect zapper has come a long way over the last few years. A fully charged electric bug killer is powerful enough to last for a few hundred swipes and will hold it’s charge, when unused, for weeks without any noticeable discharge.

The rechargeable battery unit 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 most recent indoor bug zapper I’ve used has a main on/off switch, a light that comes on when it is live (the brightness of this light also gives an indication of the battery’s strength) and an LED that comes on when it is plugged in on recharge.

The instructions on the wrapper suggest that it should be (re)charged for about sixteen hours. I usually put mine on charge over night once or twice every week or two, although the indoor bug killer shows a large increase in performance after only a couple of hours recharging.

The latest model I’ve seen also comes with a powerful beam called a ‘headlamp’. I have found this very useful when walking 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 anglerfish.

I’ve used the headlamp on my hand held bug killer for that too, but the headlamp uses a lot of battery power. All in all, the indoor insect zapper is a big asset to any outdoor event. The indoor insect zapper is useful to ‘clean out’ your bedroom before retiring; it’s unbeatable for evening mosquitoes and it will clear a lunch table of wasps as well.

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

Electric Bug Zapper

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

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

Any bug that comes into contact with the electric bug killer is fried. Smaller bugs like gnats and mosquitoes are disintegrated with a very pleasing flash and a crack. Larger bug, like house flies and wasps die, but don’t explode like the smaller ones.

Just how many times have these flying insects taken the edge off an otherwise lovely evening in the garden? Or how many times have you not been able to get a decent 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 bug zapper.

I don’t relish killing anything unnecessarily – I’m married to a Buddhist- but mosquitoes? I’m sorry, they have to go. And the hand held insect killer dispatches them 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 handheld insect 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).

There are two basic sorts of electronic insect killer. There’s the battery operated bug zapper and the rechargeable electric bug zapper. Both work on the same principle, but I prefer the rechargeable kind, although I guess you could use rechargeable batteries too. (I bet they would be more expensive that the bug zapper in the first place). Anyway, I have had a handheld insect zapper of the rechargeable kind for five years and I am very happy with them.

Nowadays, I spend a lot of time in Thailand with my wife, so you can bet your bottom dollar that I give my electronic bug zapper a good work-out practically every evening. 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 real 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 electric insect killer 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 store a charge reduced a lot after 4-5 months.

However, the new hand held insect zapper will last 9-12 months and still be very pokey after nine months. My latest one even has a powerful torch called a headlamp incorporated into it. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be for, but if you feel that vengeance is sweet, you can attract mosquitoes with it and then kill them with your handheld insect killer.

About the Author: