Living in an RV, Motorhome, 5th wheeler, Travel Trailer or Caravan has its challenges especially if you like to go where no man has gone before. In such cases you run into all kinds of strange and unexpected issues that you never thought of. In some of those cases, what you desperately need is a flying insect zapper racket.
The mozzies!
One such case was an excursion deep into Africa, Malawi to be exact.
Central Africa is well know for a few critters that you will most likely not be able to avoid on your journey. They don’t buy tickets or even ask for a lift (and I’m not talking about the the locals). They just get on-board when you are not watching.
They stow away until darkness sets in and then they appear like from nowhere at the most inconvenient moments one can imagine.
We had cockroaches crawling over us in the night in a “Guest House”, too many mosquitoes to mention and a Red Roman spider that came for a visit. Bug zappers were just a future fantasy those years.
I remember the time when we were at Sodwana, (just below Mozambique) and as we approached the beach, we were surprised at the change of color of the sand since our last visit a year ago. To our amazement, the normally yellow sand, turned black from something. At a closer look, we saw what must have been a mosquito explosion. The sand was covered in mosquitoes. Due to a strong breeze, the mosquitoes where hunkered down, clinging for life. We immediately made our way back to the vehicle and got into wet-suits to cover ourselves from being carried away and eaten alive.
Times have changed
We have had many such experiences and at the time (late 80s to mid 90s), zappers were not available yet. Things luckily have changed quite a bit since. There are quite a few brands and styles of zappers on the market from the cheap $5 to the fancy $60 ones with all kinds of options.
As always, we tested some and found that certain ones have some serious drawbacks. Some fell apart on the first use. Some had to be fixed before the first use and some were just plain junk with hardly enough power to kill a midget.
Tests conducted:
We used the zappers on midgets to see how well it performs on tiny critters and whether the mesh is fine enough to get them.
We tested it on wasps, spiders and fairly large cockroaches.
We tested it on flies and mosquitoes as well as the odd multi legged critter that showed up unexpectedly.
The rackets were abused to test the longevity especially the strength of the handle to racket fixings.
Results:
Many did not stand the test of time. At last we found a good, well priced zapper that I can present to our customers. It packs a punch, is fun to use and quality is amazing for the price.
The racket rim is slightly flexible which is a good feature. We found that the rigid ones tend to break at the neck when you connect a hard surface. The rest of the racket is well made. The batteries are easy accessible with a proper clip-on cover. The switch is conveniently placed under the thumb when holding the racket.
Do not leave on your next trip without it. Here is a shortcut for your convenience: The Zapper that passed the test.
Your turn
Remember to tell us about your fun experiences in the comments below.
We wish you a bug free night.
Hi Noah.
My friends and I enjoy nature and going to places no man has gone before has become a hobby. Camping is fun and with friends, the experience is memorable.
But what we don’t enjoy that much are all these mozzies. We’re planning a trip and I know that where we’re going, there is a certain hour where it’s just unbearable when thousands of mosquitoes appear. So, a Zapper would be a solution.
I have always appreciated your experience and I know you only recommend the best so I’ll check out your suggestion in this too. I have had a couple of zappers before and they didn’t last very long. This time, I would like one that is durable. I’d also appreciate it to be powered with AA batteries (or similar) because I find them convenient for camping.
Well, I am personally using one of these Zappers.I haven’t counted,but I must have killed hundreds of flies, fruit flies,mosquitoes, cockroaches and spiders with mine – not to mention how many times it struck objects when swatting something and it is still going strong.
I wish you a lovely mosquito-free camping experience on your next trip – just don’t forget your Zapper :0
Kind regards
Noah
Did have one of these Zappers about 10 years ago. Just add batteries and off you go bug hunting. I used it in the house to swat wasp during the summer months as they would get in and up in the vaulted ceiling where they were hard to reach.
I did take it outside on the front porch, it worked well on most bugs that you could see flying. The kids took it outside one day to swat some bugs and broke the handle and it went in the trash. I wish I had bought a few more.
We did take it in the camper whenever we went and it kept the level of flying bugs down. The cheap ones do work, they are not very durable when you hit a tree limb or piece of furniture while chasing a pest.
John
In reply to John.
Hi John, thanks for the comment.
I recently smacked my racket into the corner of the wood burner and to my surprise, it survived. On close inspection, I could only find a slight dent in the mesh and a mark on the plastic rim. This is when I noticed that the plastic they use on these are quite flexible which obviously cushioned the blow. I guess you get what you pay for. Don’t miss the post on the insect bites. That is for the ones you didn’t kill before going to bed, LOL.
Kind regards
Noah