I'm looking to get a rechargeable bg zapper for a 6-man tent.
Does anyone have any recommendations they have used?
There are so many I see on sale at camping shops and Amazon but reviews are hit-and-miss.
I too bought a Zap It tennis racquet type bug zappers.
Very satisfying when the bugs are caught and zapped.
Need to be careful not to zap them over cleaned dishes etc., so I cover them first to avoid bits of insects falling onto them.
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
The tennis racquet type will kill small flies but often only stun large flies and wasps, after a minute or two they recover and fly away.
If you have EHU you would be better using a small domestic zapper containing a UV light to attract and collect the bugs.
My house backs onto acres of crop fields so flies and bugs are always present at this time of year.
Sadly, the blue light zapper provides light entertainment for the tiny highland midge. And they whoosh through tennis racquet zappers. All we could do was use a wet wipe to clean them off where they’d congregated.
But they’ve not been a problem for us this year: wasps & flies & bugs & honeybees have been notably few as well - we recorded almost no butterflies in the annual count. The knock on effect is we’ve seen no bats & or insectivorous birds this year in the usual places.
I've had/got a number of bug zappers over the years, current ones are all from Lidl/Aldi (middle aisle specials), a rechargeable UV LED light HV mesh one, a small plug in UV LED light HV mesh one, and the good old HV mesh 'tennis racket'.
From experience, the UV light HV mesh types really don't prove very effective during daylight, but evenings and overnight where their fairly weak light is not in so much competition with other light sources they work well enough on SOME bugs. I find the UV light works on all sorts of 'midges', mozzies and moths quite well, but not flies and bluebottles which inconsiderately don't seem to be suicidal. The tennis racket is a delight with the bigger bugs like flies and bluebottles, some sadistic satisfaction in hearing them sizzle and pop! But it's a bit hit and miss on the small bugs, think they are too small to be touching both electrodes at the same time to get 'fried'! Don't get too many notions of being a Tim Henman and catching them in flight with daring and dramatic strokes of the racket (they are too damn quick and agile, and always seem to duck out of reach!), works best if you let them settle then zap them as they try and take off.
All above used in my caravan, and at home, for my tents and the caravan awning, found little better than some ancient 'technology' in the form of good old fashioned sticky fly paper! Just ensure you put it/them somewhere where you are not going to brush against it/them, they capture humans just as effectively as bugs, must be the stickiest stuff known to mankind!
There doesn't seem to be a 'universal' solution to bug control when camping, least ways none I've found in 50 odd years, but an assortment of solutions goes some way to reducing the problem. The dreaded buzzing mozzie you hear in the dark after retiring to bed has in my case largely been dealt with by the UV lamp zappers I have to say, the bug count in the morning can be quite alarming!
I recently looked into getting a UV type primarily for mosquitos but found that they aren’t attracted to UV light. Presumably, midges and other blood suckers aren’t either.
I killed a fly using my bug zapper too close to the smoke alarm and set it off!
DK
------------- Apple The Campervan - A Van For Work, Rest & Play!
- 2027: ? NL+DE+FR
- 2026: FR+DE
- 2025: 17/77
'24: 10/49; '23: 9/47;'22: 8/46; '21: 9/34
* Ex-tenter
* Treat life events like a dog: if you can't eat it, play with it or hump it, p1$$ on it and walk away!
I have a tennis racquet-shaped fly swat which is great fun for the one using it, my wife does not enjoy it so much.
The way I deal with "midges" is once they have gathered on the roof near the lights hoover them up with a handheld hoover very satisfying, and my wife and I very rarely suffer from being bitten.
Even if you are not in the market for a bat-shaped Zapper, the reviews for one called The Executioner on that major marketplace starting with A are hilarious.
------------- A PESSIMIST, IS AN OPTIMIST WITH EXPERIENCE !!!!
The light was bright enough to light the whole awning and play games and the zapper worked well. The charge lasted for 2 nights and I charged it after that to make sure it didn't run out but it may have done more, I just didn't risk it running out.
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Topic: Bug Zapper
via mobile 31/8/2024 at 7:42pm
