This self-made millionaire invented a "gun" that shoots salt at flies

CNBC ^ | 23 May 2019 | Jane Wells

[zeestephen]

Lorenzo Maggiore never graduated high school. "I moved to Oxnard and surfed for three years." His parents were concerned, so Maggiore went to trade school and learned to hang wallpaper....But he always had this idea to make a gun to kill flies. "It’s fun, and it’s ridiculous," Maggiore says. "I couldn’t let it go." [The first 40 seconds of his original sales video is LOL amazing - "Bug-A-Salt" - link to it in the main story, or in Comment #1]

[from occupied ga]

These work really well and only cost $4.00 at harbor freight

[RummyChick]

i was just going to post that..what an idiot. had to drop the gun it was so effective.

I would have chosen another method...like spraying ortho in the hole

[MrEdd]

I’ll take that with a grain of salt.

[PIF]

Back in the 1950s, I used to load a little bit of sand down the muzzle of my Daisey Pump BB gun and shoot flies that landed on my grandmothers front porch.

Too bad I never thought about being a “self-made millionaire” with my “invention”.

Oh, well - easy come, easy go.

---

That’s what us kids in the late 1940s said about using a string on the end of a stick to knock down weeds, and later in the 1950s about making old 78s fly across the lawn ...

[weezel]

Take a brown paper bag, blow it up as if to pop it, tie it off and hang it up where the bees are. They’ll think it is a hornets nest and leave.

I did it, except instead of a bag, I replaced a light bulb with a big round bulb, not nearly as big as a paper bag, and only put it in for the light, but the bees left.

[RandallFlagg]

I got one of the first models, too. Must have been a bad batch because it never took down any flies.
And before anyone asks, it wasn’t my aim. I was hitting everything I aimed at.
Everyone I know who has one loves it. Mine just didn’t have enough power to do any damage.

Now I have cats that take care of any wayward flies.
Comedic pest control.

[Big Red Badger]

40 bucks is just at bit more
than I am willing to pay for
a cool GADGET.
But I came real close
To pulling the trigger.

[SoCal Pubbie]

It’s no mystery, It does take a bit of patience though. Flies are well known to have compound eyes. Trying to swat one from a single direction won’t work. They fly off in the opposite direction and avoid the strike. So success with a flyswatter usually comes from wielding the device straight down, trapping the insect below the flat, wide business end.

Now, the technique I learned a while back takes advantage of the fact that threats swooping in from opposite directions confuses the fly. The nasty little critter will launch itself straight up in the face of such a threat. So you wait for the fly to land. Carefully and slowly bring your outstretched hands towards each other, about six inches to eight inches or so above the fly. Wait for it to jump up, then clap your hands, squishing it between them. With a little practice you’ll get pretty good at it.

This technique usually has the added bonus of grossing out most females. If you’re opposed to fly guts on your hands wear latex gloves.

[S.O.S121.500]

Lawn chair under the ‘bug light’ at night and work on your wing shooting skills.......ammo is cheap

[moovova]

I’ve found it’s just easier to stuff cotton balls in the holes in the screen door to keep the flies out of the mobile home.

[Kozak]

I use the heavy duty kosher salt in mine.

[EQAndyBuzz]

‘I have one of these and its amazing.You can buy them at ace hardware and well worth the money.If you have ever been tormented by a fly in your house it can become a war to kill that bastard.This bug assault works as advertised and is alot of fun.You find yourself hunting them down.”

Gotta get one for the wife. She is the fly killer in the house. It’s to a point where she plans on taking the fly out. She herds them to a space in the kitchen and BAM! The gun will be a lot more fun for her.

[Windflier]

...alot...

Not a word. It's: a lot.

[ClearCase_guy]

I use the heavy duty kosher salt in mine.

"No one needs that much firepower!" -- Liberal

[SamAdams76]

I'v had those "electrified" paddles, but I found something that works even better and can suck spiders and other bugs right out of tight corners.

Now this gadget is pretty amazing. You "cock" the device by depressing the compression module in the back until you hear a satisfying click. Then you hover the other end over the bug and push the trigger button. The bug is immediately sucked into the chamber, which you can periodically empty out.

I like to see the bugs crawl around and fight each other in there for a while before sending them down the garbage disposal in the sink. There's no way for them to get out as the compartment only opens when it sucking air in. Yeah, I know I'm a little twisted!

[NorthMountain]

Do they really kill the bugs?

Absolutely destroys flies. Some other bugs are tougher and require more than one shot.

[onona]

I was using rock salt in my 12 gauge, but I found that was causing more damage than the flies were causing.

[tenger]

Flies are easy to kill, if you know how. No tools needed either.

Oh, do tell.

[SoCal Pubbie]

I did.

[MV=PY]

LOL - latex gloves???

I can often catch them one-handed - the trick is, when they are landed, to aim above them and move your hand quickly. It’s fun because you can look at whoever is around and simply release them from your hand.

But I’ll try the clapping technique. It’s the first I’ve heard of reacting to the fly’s action.