Unless you can swat the fly in midair, this isn’t so much of a swatter as a carefully-lower-over-fly-until-it-makes-contact-er. Wielding it like that 99-cent wire-and-plastic one from Dollar General will soon have you holding a very shattered mess. OBTW, flies usually aren’t attracted to the UV light. And in my limited experience, the much cheaper non-rechargeable ones from Harbor Freight work at least as well, and don’t have a finicky charging base to deal with.
I’m all for naysaying gimmick marketing, which this device seems very likely to wallow in, but what’s the source of pessimism on UV light attraction vs say this sort of reference:
It has been well documented in the literature that light in the ultraviolet (UV) range is attractive to flies and other insects (e.g., Hollingsworth et al. 1968), but it was Thimijan and Pickens (1973) who found that wavelengths between 310 and 370 nm are the most attractive to house flies, Musca domestica L. They also found a positive correlation between the intensity of UV light radiating directly into a room and the number of flies attracted to the light (Thimijan and Pickens 1973). This suggests that the best trap design for maximum efficacy is one with an open front allowing for maximum radiation of UV light (Pickens and Thimijan 1986, Hogsette 2008). However, even the open front traps in operation do not immediately attract all of the flies in a room (Lillie and Goddard 1987).
@snapster Direct testing. I was having a fly problem here, so I set up both of mine in the kitchen overnight with all other lights off. Zero effect. So I set one up on the patio to see what it collected Nada Since a regular bug zapper did work, my conclusion was that these were ineffective. Given that the UV diodes in them are apparently 395nm, i will hazard a guess that the wavelength is the issue, based on the info you quoted. Either that, or the flies around here are using UV blocking goggles.
I have this exact set from Amazon. At least, it looks exactly the same. The charging feature is great, but the base is lightweight so plan to use some putty or sticky to better secure it. Otherwise it works fine. If they get trapped, they fry. If you just get a hit, they are usually stunned so you need to follow through to ensure your body count. Overall, a good purchase.
What’s Included?
Warranty
90 days
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Apr 10 - Wednesday, Apr 12
Unless you can swat the fly in midair, this isn’t so much of a swatter as a carefully-lower-over-fly-until-it-makes-contact-er. Wielding it like that 99-cent wire-and-plastic one from Dollar General will soon have you holding a very shattered mess. OBTW, flies usually aren’t attracted to the UV light. And in my limited experience, the much cheaper non-rechargeable ones from Harbor Freight work at least as well, and don’t have a finicky charging base to deal with.
I’m all for naysaying gimmick marketing, which this device seems very likely to wallow in, but what’s the source of pessimism on UV light attraction vs say this sort of reference:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6377917/
@snapster Direct testing. I was having a fly problem here, so I set up both of mine in the kitchen overnight with all other lights off. Zero effect. So I set one up on the patio to see what it collected Nada Since a regular bug zapper did work, my conclusion was that these were ineffective. Given that the UV diodes in them are apparently 395nm, i will hazard a guess that the wavelength is the issue, based on the info you quoted. Either that, or the flies around here are using UV blocking goggles.
@snapster @werehatrack Always wear sunscreen.
The zap, crackle, pop is so satisfying. But the HF model with C or D cells is my favorite.
I have this exact set from Amazon. At least, it looks exactly the same. The charging feature is great, but the base is lightweight so plan to use some putty or sticky to better secure it. Otherwise it works fine. If they get trapped, they fry. If you just get a hit, they are usually stunned so you need to follow through to ensure your body count. Overall, a good purchase.