bug-a-salt 2.0 rare.us wasps
Rare.us

You may know the Bug-A-Salt saline-slinging gun as a fun alternative to traditional fly swatters. Who’d want to swing a rudimentary badminton racket at flying pests when you can pull a trigger and blast them out of mid-air?

Tom in Oregon reviewed the Bug-A-Salt 2.0 and pronounced it “handy” and a good way to get in a little wingshooting practice while he barbecues. Fun times!

Bug-A-Salt 2.0 fly swatter
Courtesy Amazon

But what if the flying critters at your house are more menacing than common houseflies? Does a Bug-A-Salt 2.0 pack enough of a ballistic punch to take down flying insects that can inflict some real pain should you fail to neutralize them?

Paper Wasp insect bug-a-salt 2.0 rare.us
Bigstock

Rob Fox, who writes for our sister publication Rare.us, set out to see if a Bug-A-Salt 2.0 is of a high enough caliber to take care of a budding wasp problem.

 

Short answer: no.

If flies are buzzing around you, a Bug-A-Salt 2.0 is enough to dispatch them. But if something with more oomph is flying in or around your home, you’ll probably have to do what Rob did and resort to conventional chemical weaponry. It’s the only way to be sure.

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92 COMMENTS

    • I had a huge wasp nest on a shed once. I was young and too smart for my own good and recently back from Iraq. So naturally I decided I was going to hit that bitch with an IED. It worked. But I spent the rest of the summer repairing that shed.

      • Many, many years ago, when you could still buy M-80s by the box without anyone asking any questions, we had a wasp nest that had 8~10 wasps on it at any time.
        Tied an M-80 to the end of a long stick, lit it, and placed it next to the nest.
        It did the job.

  2. Well thanks for the review. I was considering the Bug-A-Salt 2.0 for a wasp problem I have. Can’t keep the fuckers out of my hummingbird feeders and obviously wasp spray is going to poison my hummingbirds.
    Seems I’m forced to continue to hunt down the nests and get them at their source.

    • I have used my Bug-a-salt to take out wasps, but you have to creep up very close to them and take them out one at a time. Once down, 3-4 shots will dismember a wasp. If you have them on your hummingbird feeder, they will work. Just pretend you’re sneaking up on a skittish dear and have fun.

      • Ok good to know. Gonna get one then, nothing more satisfying than taking out the stinging beasts.

    • I have one but use them only on flies. Effectiveness varies, i’ve seen flies obliterated and some fly away. Not sure yet, but chambering salt while held horizontal might help ensure max salt is loaded. Not effective at greater than 2′, but flies will let you get 6″ close. My aim is good, but maybe I need that laser attachemnt sold on Amazon?

    • Look up Shawn Woods on yutube, or search for mouse trap Monday. He has done some wasp/hornet traps reviews for both commercial and home made wasp/hornet traps and they work very well. The home made ones are baited with meat so the humming birds shouldn’t be attracted.

  3. Off topic but apparently the ‘Deplorable Murder Fantasy Movie Pushed By The Left” has been shit canned.

    • I think it will be back, don’t think Hollywood will toss it for good. $$

      Having watched the trailer, Deplorable Southern white conservatives are the only stereotype allowed it seems.

      Imagine the same movie but the above group traded out for another.

      • This would be a great time to hunt clothing or souvenirs with the movie’s logo. Fifty years from now, the tale of this movie and it’s non-release might make for some interesting collectibles.

      • Re-watched trailer…Suspension of belief..I get it, but sometimes..

        People by box full of gear…woman asks what was that? Man says he thinks a rifle shot.

        Next scene shows bunker with rifle flash and sound. Some 5-6 seconds later bullet goes Hollywood zing by woman and man, hits box.

        Maybe someone else further out was shooting but the math ain’t adding up from what I can tell.

        `just sayin

      • “I think it will be back, don’t think Hollywood will toss it for good. $$ ”

        Yeah, I actually *want* to see it now.

        I just hope the movie ‘pirate’ release scene has a digital copy socked away somewhere and it shows up on Torrent tracker somewhere…

      • Off the rail but…… Dont the Deplorables turn the tables and kill all the Lefty Elitists? Pretty crap plot if there just a one sided turkey shoot. Maybe thats what hellywood wants a happy Left ending.

      • If they made that movie, it WILL be back. Maybe straight to Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. They’re not going to lose all their money.

    • I suspect it was never intended for release, just a trailer they had in case they needed a distraction (like from Epstein).

      • Yeah, well, Epstein got his early ‘release’ by hanging himself in his cell.

        I bet there are a whole lot of powerful people ecstatic he killed himself, and Bill Clinton is probably one of them.

        The best we can hope for with Epstein is that he has a burn list triggered by his demise…

  5. For flies, I use Windex. They tend to land on windows and going all Verdun on them is a quick way to knock them down AND clean the windows.

    • The social experiment was dumb but the legal experiment is just beginning. He’ll probably plea out. But if not, maybe he’ll get off? Even in that case, it helps to remember: you may beat the rap, but you don’t beat the ride. Guy is gonna have to pay out the wazoo for this little stunt.

    • Just curious Doc. What foods do you eat?
      If you’re a vegan, the machinery used to harvest vegetables kills millions of subspecies. (Not to mention all the chemicals used to kill the bugs before they eat the harvest).

      If you’re a meat eater, you’re paying someone else to slaughter your food.

      If you’re a self sustaining farmer, I tip my hat to you and apologize for any gruff words.

  8. If you have a garden,wasps are your friends. Yeah, they can be annoying when they are in scavenger season, but they don’t like beer or tea near as much as soda. Just take the meat inside when it comes off the grill.

    • Wasps are never your friends. Lol
      They don’t pollinate anything, they are mostly scavengers, and if they make a nest in your attic, they will eat holes in your drywall to get in your house
      They will also attack my hives if they get weak.
      Kill them, Kill them all.

      • Not true. The wasps that nest in the paper multi comb nests are not your friends and need to die. The wasps which nest in the mud nests (mud daubers) are definitely your friends and will never sting you. Yellow Jackets are never your friends and will sting at will.

          • Yea, several decades ago, we had an unused large dog house on our deck. We now had a Chocolate Lab pup. We were on the deck and decided to pull out the bed in the dog house for the new pup. We upset a yellow jacket nest and out poured 100’s of yellow jackets. They attacked all three of us stinging the pup so many times he was forced to the deck. We ran for the house and slammed the door behind us. A dozen or more made it into the house and kept stinging. I went on the war path. I didn’t know they were called yellow jackets, we always called them meat bees or sweet bees. I obtained literature from the county on different wasps and bees. Yup, yellow Jackets, devil bees. That’s also how I learned the difference between the Mud Daubers and the devil wasps, and unlike honey bees, these honeycomb wasps can sting you over and over again.

        • Update. Yesterday while cutting down a tree, a yellowjacket got up my sleeve. Stung me and somehow got stuck inside the shirt sleeve. Stung me 2 more times. Always wondered if those devil bees could sting multiple times. Found out the hard way.

  9. Wasp spray lets you stand far enough away not to get stung while you hose down their nest.

    Carburetor cleaner, with the straw inserted in the push button, works spectacularly well on individual wasps at a few inches distance. They stop flying instantly and drop straight down. I expect just about any solvent will work equally well.

    I’ve also used it on crickets hiding in crevices. The unending chirp, chirp, chirp is annoying. A quick shot of cleaner results in a few seconds of rapid scratch, scratch, scratch (Take that, MF!) followed by blessed silence.

    • “They stop flying instantly and drop straight down. I expect just about any solvent will work equally well.”

      Not sure about *any*, but organic solvents can act like neurotoxins. As to why they act so quickly on insects, I’ll hazard a guess it has to do with the dose as a percentage of body weight, and the minuscule physical distance from where the toxin was ingested and the brain (?) of the insect…

    • stp and wurth carb cleaners used to be formulated with mek; dropped flyers in flight. the new formulation will probably do the trick. but combined with methanol and trichlor the old stuff really got the gunk out of pilot circuits.
      the one percent oleo dog sprays will wipe out any stinging insect nest, and the remaining oily residue prevents them from any utilizing that site in the future. i would return to the same locations (exterminator in the literal sense, not professionally) monthly for years and no fliers attempted to build on an old site even years later.
      only bug i hit with dog spray that survived was a cicada killer. i’ve since learned how neat their symbiosis with the hatchling cycles is, and that they are not human aggressive.

  10. Ground dwelling bees are the worst..was hit last weekend after mowing over a hole…still have a knot on my arm. Usually after I locate I’ll sneak up with some gasoline oil mix and burn the bastages out..light and run like hell. lol.

    • Probably wasn’t a bee. Yellow Jackets are ground nesting hornets. They will chase and sting you if you disturb their nest. They send out a signal (pheromones) if they are in distress. Their friends and family come after you. You can’t outrun them. Paper wasps are fine….cool houses, too.

  11. Propane torch for wasps and hornets. The bug-a-salt works great on flies and spiders. I’ve killed a few dozen black widows with mine so far this year.

  14. I don’t do bugs at all, but while I was on vacation the last two weeks, invariably a variety of flying insects get in my class A and fly around the flat screen or the florescent lights. I just start the generator and plug the vacuum cleaner in and use the hose and suck em up. God that’s satisfying. Nothing better than seeing a mosquito on the white ceiling just waiting for me to sack out and it where it would be sucking my blood. Instead, it’s sucked into the whirlwind of death!

  15. Did not know about the salt gun till I picked up my .410 at my FFL.
    His wife got it for him. He and I had a hoot while he killed flies.
    This would be the logical answer to rock salt in a 12 gage.
    The question is, will it work on the woke? And can I get it in black?
    Great review!

  16. Had an infestation of caterpillars on my tomatoes. After exhausting all other less drastic measures, finally had to use a pocket butane welding torch. They ended up reproducing faster than I could torch them. Finally got rid of them when they chewed the tomato and neighboring Habanero pepper plants to the roots. With nothing left to eat, they finally left me alone. I just feel sorry for the poor unsuspecting bird who sees a 6 inch fat juicy caterpillar who has been feeding on Habaneros.

  17. Unethical hunter. Those wasps he shot but didn’t kill may have wandered off to die slow, painful deaths, and maybe into traffic. I hope he ate the one he got.

  18. One of my earliest memories was my grandfather dealing with wasps in the outdoor garage, his method was to wait until they’re all asleep then blast the nest with insecticide.

  19. I just use bug spray or something equally strong. Like fire. One wasps nest? Time to move. One spider? Time to burn everything in a 10 mile radius.

  20. Bug-a-salt will kill wasps. But it has to be point blank range, one at a time. I would not recommend trying to take out a nest.

  22. The ultimate wasp nest destroyer:
    TF-19 WASP Flamethrower Drone Attachment from company Throwflame. (Most accurate company name ever.)
    https://throwflame.com/products/flamethrower-drone-kit/

    Actual flamethrower attachment for your drone, designed for burning out wasp nests. (Not for use inside.)
    Watch the 2-minute video, includes demo of burning wasp nest.
    Legitimate product for only $1,499.00
    You know you want one. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
    TFB should do a field test and review of this. Dogfight individual wasps with remote control unit with flame cam video.

  23. I use my Bug-A-Salt with a magnum load. Kosher salt, much larger and heavier grain size, maybe half again as much range on wasps and black widows. Still have to get pretty damn close to the wasps. Especially the tarantula wasps here.

  27. Dawn dish soap in a home car wash sprayer with the soap magazine attachment powered by the garden hose. Doesn’t take much soap and it will knock them out of the air and DRT where they fall. Wait till evening to get the whole nest in 4 seconds or less.
    Then turn of the soap and rinse the overspray off.

  28. Dawn dish washing liquid mixed in water (1 to 6 ratio) put in a spray bottle.

    You can even knock them out of the air because it gets on their wings and they can’t fly. Once they hit the ground you spray them one more time and it covers their body (they breathe through their body) they can’t breathe and they die.

    It’s non-toxic readily available and affordable.

    • Some ‘Doctor Evil’ you are, suggesting something non-toxic.

      Doc. Evil better be suggesting a toxin made with mercury, dioxin, or other horrible nasties… 😉

  29. Pro tip: choice of salt matters…… table salt may as well be #8 birdshot….. kosher salt is like 00 buck, I only use kosher salt in my big a salt, huge difference. Some of the other course varieties of salt may work even better, worth a try but rock salt is def too big

  30. When I was a kid we had tons of red wasps, lived in the boonies (60’s). We would throw gas on a nest of them and that ended it.

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