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I don’t know whether you have ever used a handheld, indoor bug zapper, but I think that they are wonderful. I?m talking about the handheld sort that looks like a child’s plastic, toy tennis racquet. They come in two basic sorts. I rather the rechargeable bug zapper, for the reason that batteries end up up costing more than the indoor bug zapper itself, although you could always buy rechargeable batteries, but then they are costly too.

My wife and I like to pass time in the garden. We meet friends there, have a meal there and in general loaf about outside, as do most people around here, when they are not working. What’s more, it’s far cooler outdoors than indoors. A comfy chair, some snacks, a chilled drink and a book or a companion and life does not get much better. In fact, it?s heavenly.

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

It’s not that I want to slaughter things, but I find it hard to have consideration for mosquitoes. Nonetheless, I do get a definite amount of pleasure from seeing and hearing mosquitoes and other bugs literally explode with a flash and a spark as they come into connection with the electric and earth wires of the indoor bug zapper. These electric bug zappers are capable of packing quite a charge, particularly if the batteries are new or the pack is fully charged.

The other day, I discovered a new use for my handheld, indoor bug zapper. I’ll tell you how it came about. I was in the garden, as normal, and my bug zapper was close at hand as the first squadron of mosquitoes was expected. 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 noticed that I had the indoor bug zapper in my hand, but it was not worth taking it home and starting the journey again. Anyway, on my return journey, 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 directly for me. This has occurred often and, although he has never bitten me yet, it is rather intimidating. He stood there glaring at me with teeth bared and his ‘pack’ of assorted local friends came out to surround me and join in.

I don’t honestly know what the best course of action is in this position. I have tried standing my ground, but the intimidation just goes on and I have tried to continue walking, but he gets frighteningly nearby 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 whether 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 leaped about four feet into the air as if he were on a pogo stick and then ran for all he was worth with all his friends following 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 further local dogs bother me. I know it works a treat. I have seen that one since, but he stays well away from me and doesn’t utter a peep. I think I would take my indoor bug zapper with me, if I were roaming in an strange part of town or the park nonetheless.

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 web site or blog.

The common indoor bugs we see anywhere in the world are flies, spiders, fleas and beetles. No-one likes to have a bug indoors, so most people go to just about any lengths to eradicate these common indoor bugs. 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 are in the world, it can be very difficult to keep these common indoor bugs outside, unless you go to the extremes of keeping all your windows and doors shut all of the time, which is quite impossible. I now live in Thailand and I know for certain that this is not an option.

So, just what can you do about it? Well, let’s sort out all the flying insects first, because of all the common indoor bugs, I think they are the most unpleasant indoor bug. They are very annoying, buzzing around your head and mosquitoes and other flies can create irritating sores and besides that, all flies carry disease. I hate to see them strutting about on food, knowing that they have probably just come off some dung heap somewhere and now they are spitting on my food in order to taste it with their grubby feet!

My first line of defence is fine-mesh door and widow screens. They are not dear and can be added retrospectively to any window. My window meshes slide, so they can protect only one half of the window at a any one time, but I do not find that a problem. You can still set up cross-winds, by opening two or more windows at opposing ends of a room. I love to see the flies on the mesh struggling to get in by day and the mosquitoes doing the same by night. At night, it is wise to switch on as little light indoors as possible so as not to draw 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 consume 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 mesh.

My third line of defence is an indoor bug zapper. You know, the electric, handheld bug zapper that looks like a toy tennis racquet. They are brilliant 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 gratifying. These three defences keep our house pretty much free of flying insects.

The crawling 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 pretty easily, but then, I don’t mind them too much as long as they keep out of my way, as they consume other insects too. They are on our side to be honest. However, for those who can not bear to catch them and throw them outside, the handheld indoor bug zapper works well on spiders too.

Fleas can sometimes be a problem, if you have 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 fairly easily. However, there are two final measures that we use. 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 measures, you should be able to keep your home or office quite free of the most common indoor bugs and the less common indoor bug as well.

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

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

Any insect that is touched by the wiring of the handheld bug zapper is fried. Smaller bugs like midges and mosquitoes are vaporized with a very pleasing flash and a crack. Larger insect, like house flies and wasps are killed, but don’t explode like the smaller ones.

Think about it, how many times have these flying insects taken the edge off an otherwise enjoyable evening in the garden? Or how many times have you not been able to get a good 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 gratifying to get one’s own back with the electronic insect killer.

I don’t like killing anything unnecessarily - I’m married to a Buddhist- but mosquitoes? I’m sorry, they can die. And the electric bug zapper dispatches them without any messing about. No waiting and hoping they’ll fly into the ultraviolet light and into the mesh. No, one sweep of the electronic bug zapper 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 - I assure you, I wasn’t being sexist).

There are two basic sorts of electronic insect zapper. 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 suppose you could use rechargeable batteries too. (I bet they would be more expensive that the bug zapper in the first place). Anyway, I have been using a electric bug zapper of the rechargeable kind for five years and I am ecstatic about them.

These days, I spend a great deal of time in northern Thailand with my wife, so you can bet your life that my electric bug 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 killer to ’sweep’ the bedroom for bugs before we go to sleep at night, just like a secret agent.

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

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

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

It appears that there has been a decline in consumer confidence in the building and construction industry of late. This may be because of the scams highlighted 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 carrying out 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 DIY 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 around the country.

As a result, homeowners are finding that the jobs are not being completed to their liking. At times they are even pre-paying for services that do not get done or are not part of the arrangement.

You do not have to trust and pay someone to enhance your home. Why not have a go 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 dull gray concrete, there are some easy projects if you are serious about having a go at home improvement DIY, you can easily give your patio, driveway or garage a refreshing new look.

Attractive concrete work costs about double that of standard concrete, which is why many people cannot afford it.

However, there are inexpensive methods to beautify concrete after it has cured, without having to pay skilled 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 dangerous. 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 venture 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 example. It is just up to your imagination. A mini angle grinder with a 4 inch cutting wheel is the perfect 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 applications. They cost a little more than stains. For a 400 square foot area, you’ll pay out about $200 for the materials needed for this job.

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