Best Fly Killer for Home UK

The first one on our list is a popular type of fly killer: it’s shaped like a tennis racquet, and uses a 3000-volt electric charge that is passed through the ‘strings’ to kill flies as you swat them. Now, one of the downsides of swatting a fly is actually hitting it; they are very agile! But once you get the technique right, this type of device is surprisingly effective – or should be. This one has rechargeable batteries, which is a plus, and can be recharged in 40 minutes for use all day (light on the handle tells you it’s running low).

Now, you’ll naturally be wary of something with a 3000-volt charge coming into the hands of kids or coming into contact with pets. This one is designed with a triple-mesh layer: the outer layers are not electrified, and the fly meets with the inner one. We do recommend it be kept away from kids, however. It has a long handle for added protection. On the whole, we found large numbers of customers who like this product a lot – it’s around £15 so not cheap – but others say it doesn’t work, and it doesn’t hold charge.

2. Aspektek Professional Electric Fly Killer

The advantage of electric fly killers lies in the fact they do not use potentially harmful chemicals, and they are also very effective. However, it should be noted that many people do not like them because of the powerful electric charge, but they do have safety features built in for this reason. This model is a professional standard wall-mounted device that uses UV light to entice the flies into the trap, then zaps them with a 2800volt charge. The electric circuit is ably protected by a safety guard.

It can attract flying insects from as far as 80-feet away, so covers quite a large area, but we will say it’s likely to be bought only by those with a serious fly problem, as it costs not far short of £50. The dead insects fall into a tray that is removed for disposal. We found many very favourable reviews regarding this item, but also some that were not so good. Quite a number of buyers complain that it is not very effective, and won’t kill smaller flies.

3. Zap It! Bug Zapper

This one is another example of the racquet-type of bug zapper, and it comes in a choice of sizes. We looked at the large model, which has a face size of around 21cm across. You get the usual LED warning light to tell you when it needs charging – it’s USB charged – and also a long handle to keep your hands away from the charge. With this model, that’s a 4000volt charge running through the circuit, which is protected by the usual triple-mesh design.

We’re still not sure about having these around kids – so please don’t – but we do like the way they are designed to work, and this one comes with a lifetime replacement guarantee. It also comes recommended by a rather large number of customers, who comment on its quite impressive effectiveness at killing all flying insects. However, there are also a good number of complaints that it will not charge, is poorly made, and needs to be used several times to kill a fly, and it’s not cheap.

4. Fraxinus Fly Swatter Racquet

This take on the racquet fly swatter us at least an unusual shape – it’s a sort of irregular pentagon for want of a better description – but apart from that, follows pretty much the norm in terms of what it is designed to do and how it does it. An electrical circuit of 3600volts is protected on both sides by an outer mesh, it is rechargeable by USB, and it has the usual lights for charged and needs charging indications.

There is one claim that this one makes that is quite remarkable: charge for three hours, and you get a full month’s fly killing out of it. We’re not sure that takes into account how many flies you kill, but if true it’s a very impressive point. This one comes with a 2-year warranty, and many satisfied customers attest to its effectiveness. Many others add that it doesn’t do the job, breaks quickly, and takes a lot longer to charge than claimed. It’s not a bad price for one of these.

5. Vermatik Pro Electric Fly Killer

Given that this is another of the commercial-type electric fly killers, it is reasonably priced at under £40, and it is also designed to be wall-mounted. This one covers a large room area – up to 100m2 – and lures the flies in with UV lights, at which point they encounter a powerful 39W circuit which hopefully kills them. The electric light tube lasts up to 8000 hours, so no worries there, and it uses standard mains electricity for power.

It has a removable tray – which should be full of dead insects by now – and is easy to clean, but it’s a very ugly device that really would look out of place in a domestic lounge, for example. While researching this model we did come across many satisfied customer comments but, rather disconcertingly, also quite a lot that said it is poor quality, is very noisy, and it doesn’t kill flies very well, so we’d beware of this one.

6. Wenzhe Electric Fly Trap

This device is a clever design and a different take on the electric fly killer, but the first thing we’ll say is that you have to be in very serious trouble with flies or simply like gadgets to pay more than £60 for it! Having said that, it’s among the more attractive of the non-hand-held models, is shaped in a ball form, and can also be used as a light. UV light invites the insects in, the current kills them, as usual, but this one also comes with a remote control.

There is a drawer into which the insects fall when killed which you simply pull out and empty, and while almost a foot in diameter, it’s not an unattractive device for what it does. We looked for customer reviews but can only conclude that this one is very new to the market, as it has only one, and they like it very much. In terms of this list, it’s up against some stiff competition at the price, so it’s perhaps no surprise that it is not selling in great numbers.

7. Night Cat Bug Swatter

Back to the racquet-type models in our search for the best electric fly killer for home use, and this one comes from a brand called Night Cat, for the record. It’s the usual USB rechargeable device, has an LED light for finding bugs to hit, and also the usual lights on the handle to tell you when it’s ready for the kill. It has a large enough face, the protective grills on both sides, and is pretty much the same as every other model of this type.

You get a single-year warranty with this one, not as much as some, and it is made from durable ABS plastic materials for long life. However, with this one we found a surprisingly large number of very satisfied fly-killing customers, and for one of these it’s not a bad price at all, so that’s a positive. The few negative comments complain that it stops working after a short while, so we surmise there may be a quality control issue somewhere along the line.

8. Newnen 2-in1 Bug Zapper Light

This unusual item takes the form of a hanging light, or you can stand it on the ground, with a UV light to draw in the insects and the electrical grid to kill them. Unusually, the makers claim that it is specially tuned to draw in mosquitos and moths, which could be taken as a positive – if they are your problem – or a negative, if you happen to have an infestation of actual flies rather than these insects. Nevertheless, we want to know if it does the job.

It’s powerful, USB rechargeable, portable and neat, and also – at not much under £50 – rather expensive for what it is. However, we have to say that customer testimony we read while investigating the device came out conclusively in favour of this one. So it’s doing something right. Were simply not sure about what is a quite large price for an insect killer.

9. Cluster Fly Killer Spray 2 x 1L

This is the only old-style fly spray on our list, and it’s here because we believe there is room for one of these to be considered. This one is fully approved by the right authorities as being safe to use in homes, which is important, and you get two bottles in the pack. The claim is that one spray will treat a 25 square metre area and provide protection for up to 4 weeks, which if true is rather impressive. Also impressive is the price, at around £20 for the two bottles.

We do have concerns about the insecticide which is part of the ingredient of this item – it’s very low volume and passed as safe, but we would not recommend it used around food – and there will be many people who choose the electric route rather than this one, but it comes with protective gloves and a face mask, which is a nice touch. For the record, customers like it universally, with only a couple of complaints saying that while it got rid of flies, more then appeared; we’re not sure that’s the fault of the spray! It might rank as the best fly killer spray UK buyers can purchase.

10. Auzkin Bug Zapper Racquet

We close our list with this racquet type of bug killer, which is designed with a circular head rather than the usual tapered one. It comes with the standard three layer safety protection, is USB rechargeable, is easy to use and has the usual LED warning lights for charging and ready to use. It takes between 2 to 5 hours to charge and then has a long life according to the makers, and it’s designed for both hand-held use, and also has a base to stand it up on for stand-alone usage, which is also its charging dock.

This one is powerful enough with a 3000-volt electric charge to kill the critters, and it appears quite nicely made. Furthermore, it’s easily the cheapest item on the list. We did find a good number of satisfied customers with this one, so it’s clearly doing something right, but it would appear there are claims with it not charging when it should, and also that it’s not very effective. Perhaps not the best domestic electric fly killer, but worth a look at the price.

There you have our list which we hoped would include the best fly killer for the home, and perhaps you think it does. We were tempted to suggest a rolled-up newspaper as the best fly killer for house use, but in reality we believe the items on the above list all make at least some sense if you have problems with flies. So, which is for you? That depends upon the type of device you prefer, so let’s have a quick recap of the different types on the list.

The Different Types of Fly Killer for the Home

There are three different types of fly killer on our list, so here’s a summary of them:

Racquet type – shaped like a tennis racquet, these feature an electric circuit encased within wire mesh protection, and you swat the fly and it should kill it when it meets the electric charge.

Commercial type – these are larger, more powerful models that are designed to be wall mounted or stand alone, use UV light to draw the insects in, and kill them when they hit the electrical grill. More expensive than the above, and less suitable for home use.

Spray – there is one spray on the list, and it’s included because it does the job. The concern with sprays is the insecticide, but this one is passed as safe for home use.

Before we go on to give you our verdict, we will reiterate that the electric models all have open electrical circuits which, while protected, we would strongly advise are kept out of the hands of children and away from pets. After all, safety first! So, let’s get down to business and wrap this up.

Our Choice

Picking one out of the ten was never going to be easy, so we had to start by dismissing those that stood at the lower end of our preference. That meant getting rid of the spray – it does the job, but we remain very wary of insecticides and they are frowned upon by many people. We also decided against the larger, commercial type of fly killers, as they are not attractive and would look out of place in most rooms in the house, plus they are expensive.

This left us with a handful of the racquet type of fly killer, plus the strange ball-shaped model and the hanging type. Once again, the price of the latter two meant they are out of the question, so we are left with a choice of racquet fly killers, but which one would we recommend?