5 Of The Best Bug-Busting Gadgets To Keep Pests Out Of Your Home

Bugs are quite possibly the second worst part of the hot season, aside from, obviously, the heat. As soon as things get warm, flies, ants, mosquitoes, and all manner of other creepy crawlers start pouring out of the proverbial woodwork and into every possible spot you don't want to find them. Yes, bugs are a vital part of the ecosystem, and the world wouldn't be able to survive without them for this or that reason, but if they could just stay off of our turf, that would be really nice.

Unfortunately, bugs can't help but invade our personal spaces, and so we are drawn into conflict. Luckily, as with most conflicts, technological ingenuity has led to all kinds of new and interesting tools of insectoid defeat, from powerful bug-slaying weaponry to nonlethal capture devices. If you've got a bug problem in or around your home and are tired of slapping blindly at empty air, plenty of gadgets are available to give you a high-tech edge.

In the immortal words of Mr. Miyagi, the best way to win a fight is not to be there. That's good advice, but you know what would be even better? Ensuring your opponent isn't there. That's the longtime role of insect repellants, keeping buzzers away from your home with the power of chemical scents. However, chemical repellents tend to wear off quickly, and some can be dangerous to use in the presence of kids or pets. Instead of chemicals, why not use sound?

Palmanpound's Ultrasonic Pest Repeller devices can be plugged into any standard outlet and activated with a button tap. When activated, these devices emit a powerful ultrasonic frequency of 22-65KHz. This frequency can't be heard by humans or most pets, but to small pests, it's like standing in front of an alarm klaxon. The powerful, painful noise will send them running from your house and keep them from re-entering.

One of the most steadfast weapons in bug-battling history is the classic fly swatter. Attach a latex or plastic mesh to a metal rod, and you've got a prime smacking implement. The problem with swatters, though, is that they only work if the pest in question is standing still, which it usually isn't. Agile flies can loop-de-loop right over a swatter coming their way, and that's assuming you even get near them. To even the odds, you need a boost in both size and stopping power.

The YISSVIC Electric Fly Swatter is exactly what it says on the tin — a large racket with a triple-layered mesh net containing an electrical emitter. Swat a bug with the racket, and they're instantly zapped with 4,000V, strong enough to fry small bugs and stun larger ones, yet weak enough that it won't hurt anyone or anything you actually care about. You can also set it in its charging cradle and leave the emitter on, allowing it to function like a traditional bug zapper outdoors.

Bugs are extremely tricky combatants. Thanks to their light bodies and compound eyes, they can almost always see you coming if you attempt to approach them for a smacking. Ranged bug-busting options are surprisingly few, aside from perhaps targeted sprays, but those aren't really safe to spray around willy-nilly. To take down a slippery target, you need a real precision piece of equipment that can snipe a pest from a safe distance.

The BUG-A-SALT salt gun is designed to offer the ultimate bug-blasting experience, pelting targets with powerful shots of salty justice. Just load the hopper with ordinary table salt, cock the slide, release the safety, and pull the trigger to fire a blast up to three feet away. No batteries are required, no harmful chemicals, and no messy cleanup. Bugs don't dig on salt, after all, so even if you miss a few grains in the cleanup, it won't attract more pests.

Many people generally dislike being within touching distance of bugs, even if they're not overtly dangerous. They're small, weird, and gross, so it's an understandable grievance. If you need to get a bug out of your personal space but don't want to risk touching them with your bare hands, you'll need a device to capture them. Luckily, bugs, much like ghosts, are highly vulnerable to vacuum cleaners.

The Jahy2Tech Handheld Vacuum is, obviously, a handheld vacuum cleaner and functions quite well as one thanks to its high-density HEPA filter screen. However, that filter has an additional benefit — it's excellent for catching bugs. Just hold the nozzle near a critter and press the button, and a 12,000 PA suction will snatch them right out of the air and trap them in the clear storage compartment. Once a bug is in the compartment, you can either take it outside and pop it open to send them on their way or just leave it closed and wait 'em out.

Kids tend to be a little more curious about bugs than adults and enjoy observing them. Of course, allowing your kid to stare at a huge bug running rampant across your living room doesn't sound like a fun time, so instead, use a special tool to capture the bug in a safe observation environment, then send it on its way.

The Carson BugView tool is a simple, hand-operated device for capturing and observing insect specimens. Just place the clear dome over a bug and push down the lever to extend the capture panel. The bug will be caught inside, allowing you to take a closer look at it with the dome's 5x acrylic magnifier. Once you're done looking at your captive bug, you can take it outside and pull the lever back to set it free, hopefully with a poignant lesson about respecting people's boundaries.