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| Kill a fly in mid-air? |
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| jpanhalt:
--- Quote from: Rick Law on August 29, 2023, 09:53:38 pm ---Of course you can smash the fly against something. There are two ways to do it: (1) Hand catching a landed fly is not hard. You merely have to slowly move your hand into position (not on top but a few inches to the side of the fly) and then with one quick move you can have it in your hand. Aim point is about 1 inch above the landed fly. It tries to take off when it sees your hand starting the quick approach, but your hand got there when it managed just to get into the air. Works for me 80%-90% of the time. With it in hand, you can throw it hard to smash it against the ground. Typically the fly is intact but immobilized for a moment by the collision. You can pick it up (I usually use a flip-top sandwich bag) and dispose of it. Nice, easy, and no smear of fly parts on the wall or table. That is how I usually catches the fly that got into the house. --- End quote --- I find above and behind, and maybe a little to one side, most effective. Of course, I am referring to Spring and Summer flies. Winter flies are no challenge. |
| Brumby:
--- Quote from: Rick Law on August 29, 2023, 09:53:38 pm ---(1) Hand catching a landed fly is not hard. You merely have to slowly move your hand into position (not on top but a few inches to the side of the fly) and then with one quick move you can have it in your hand. Aim point is about 1 inch above the landed fly. ... ... ... --- End quote --- ^^^ This ^^^ !! Very high success rate! --- Quote ---(2) If it doesn't land or only lands at unreachable locations , I prefer to hit them in the air mid-flight, ... ... ... --- End quote --- Slap them with something. I have stunned them with just my hand, but punching won't have enough speed. If their flying pattern is suitable, I will often try and catch them in flight ... and I do succeed on occasion. (No, never tried with chopsticks. ;D ) --- Quote --- If neither way works for you, go get a vacuum cleaner. Approach slow and it will end up literally in the can. --- End quote --- Opportunities for the vacuum cleaner option is extremely rare - they just aren't patient enough. --- Quote ---But it you don't have a vacuum cleaner handy... There's always rubber-bands. This one will may leave a mess to clean up, but you can shoot the fly at distance of a couple of feet (or more if you are a better rubber-hand shooter than me). My prefer distance is 9 to 12 inches. These two ways of sending the fly to it's next life doesn't involve smashing it mid-air. --- End quote --- Never tried that - but rubber bands aren't something I have easily at hand in my place. (Just don't use them all that often - and when I go looking for them, the ones I find are usually perished.) |
| aeberbach:
I killed a wasp mid-air once. It was one of those hot days where the windows are open so the wasps fly in and get angry. This was maths class, and I grabbed the metre-long blackboard ruler in a two-handed grip. "You are an idiot and it will sting you" said the teacher. I took one swing with my wooden katana and there was an audible crack, then the dead wasp hit the floor. Hushed admiration! I had hit peak cool, aged 14. |
| NiHaoMike:
A cheap handheld bug zapper (the kind that looks like a tennis racket) quickly gets rid of them if they're within reach. If they're not in reach, a battery operated 1W blue laser (and laser safety glasses!) quickly damages them when hit, even if they fly off, they don't live long after that. |
| DavidAlfa:
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