Customer Reviews

BugZooka Bug Catcher Vacuum

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have serious bug-phobia. I don't like spiders, I don't like bees/wasps/hornets, and I basically want to shrivel up and die when I see one of those "house centipedes". BUT, with the power of the BugZooka I am now able to face my fears!

With a long reach and no possibility that the battery is weak or dead, this thing has saved the day time and time again in our house. We have had it for 3 years and have used it on dozens of bugs--spiders, flies, bees, moths, mosquitos and even a house centipede. It is powerful, well-built and holds the buggers nicely.

The detachable containment unit is perfect for studying the captive and, more importantly, popping into the freezer for a minute or two to stun the bugger before humanely releasing it back into the wild.

In sum, this is a beautifully designed and built instrument that does its job perfectly. Without batteries, one can rest assured that it is always ready!

We've been using the Bugzooka for a little over three years now. We've been more than happy with it. I can't tell you how many times someone in the house has screamed, "Get the Bugzooka!" We're the type who catches the little critters and then sets them free outside, so this is perfect for us. Ours came with two tubes, which is also convenient as you can switch ends when one is full and use the other. Someone else had commented that it's hard to catch fast moving insects. True. But you develop an art to it and pretty soon can catch anything. My daughter is the one we call for the super fast little guys - she's got it down pat and no bug can get away from her. We're able to catch and release flying insects, even flies, which would seem difficult. And it's true some bugs would be too large for it. Although for the most part it handles the average home's bug problems without issue. Maybe someday they'll make a new model to help out with those giant palmetto bugs, almost need a mouse trap for them. I don't think I'd ever want to be without this. Very glad we purchased it.

I have owned the bugzooka over a year now and am a big fan. I do take continuous ribbing from other people about the Bugzooka until they see it in action. Even my husband, who told me I am a marketers dream, has used my bugzooka after a very large bug came crawling out of a shoebox we brought home from the store. It really does work, and my kids are great at using it too. I am not afraid of bugs but HATE the thought of killing them with my shoe, especially the hard shell variety like beatles. It is hard to catch flying bugs but practice makes perfect and I have caught a few mosquitos mid-flight (and was very proud of myself!)

Only reason I didn't give it a 5 rating is both my tubes that capture the bugs broke - the screws fell out and the doors fell off, but customer service was great. I called the manufacturer directly to order a new one, but they were on back order so they sent me a whole new tube. Bugs beware!!! AND no batteries required, and it makes no noise.

I was so jazzed from the positive reviews of this thing that I ordered two of them: one for me, one for a friend who has worse spider problems than me. We are sorely disappointed! I cannot possibly believe that this thing has "10 times the suction" of battery-powered units. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have big and small spiders...but the smaller ones are often quite heavy. I can suck up a mid-sized Daddy Longlegs with no trouble, but if it's anything heavier, I usually have to put the nozzle right up against the spider to grab it...and sometimes I have to try 2 or 3 times before it works. The suction just isn't enough for anything but small or lightweight bugs. (If the spider is in a web, it's much easier to grab...but if it's clining to the wall, forget it.) A large hobo spider would laugh in the face of this thing, and don't even try it on a large black widow. I can't complain about the company selling it, as their shipping was prompt and all went fine with that, even though I am contemplating returning the Bugzookas. But I think the usefulness of this item is a bit misrepresented...they should state somewhere that the suction is NOT strong enough for larger, heavier insects and spiders. (If they did state this and I missed it, then it's egg on my face. :)

High-rise apartment buildings in NYC: Roaches are everywhere, and the Bugzooka sucks them up even faster than they can run. After you fill the canister, you can easily deposit the roaches into their new home; the toilet bowl.

Homes in the country: Spiders are everywhere, indoors and outdoors. I should have a holster for this because I carry it all over, and any spider I see is easily captured within a few seconds, without any mess. And if I see two, three, six, whatever, they are all sucked into their little cage match where they fight until they are released into their new home; the toilet bowl.

My Bugzooka has been the most used and useful products in years, it completely fills a void in any household.

Length:: 1:05 Mins

Although we live in a new home, Ohio winters seem to encourage ladybugs to find their way inside and become quite pesky house guests. I was fed up with trying to catch these little buggers without getting "stunk" upon. The vacuum worked great, but then of course the entire room stunk the next time I turned it on.

The Bugzooka piqued my interest since it required no batteries and reviewers claimed it worked well on ladybugs. I wouldn't have to squish ladybugs inside paper towels or stink up my nice vacuum with these little buggers. It was worth a try.

After receiving and using my Bugzooka, I can attest to its fine ability to suck up ladybugs and keep them contained (so you can "let them go outdoors"...or however you choose to dispose of them!).

Pros:
NO BATTERIES!!!
Does a good job sucking up ladybugs around window sills, walls, kitchen counters, ceilings, etc.
Easy to use...even when I am holding my baby, I can still use my other hand to operate the Bugzooka.
It's a bit fun to "lock and load" and go bug-busting! :)

Cons:
Somewhat larger than expected (not the prettiest to leave out on my kitchen counter.)
The nozzle on the end could be wider and thus easier to aim when reaching up high for bugs.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the Bugzooka and would recommend to others who are pestered by ladybugs and other small insects indoors.

I have been using the Bugzooka for several years to combat the ladybugs which infest houses in the midwest during the winter. It works much better than a dustbuster because the trigger bellows surprises them before they can grab on to anything. Sometimes I tape an opened-up paper clip to the business end to help dislodge them from corners in windows. A little pricey, but quality construction lasts for years and it really works well on slow moving bugs. I keep one on every floor of my home to make it easy to suck 'em up whenever I see them and it really decimates the ladybug population in my house.

We just received the BugZooka yesterday, and it is just what we needed to capture stink bugs found inside the house (our second season with these bugs and much worse than last year). The BugZooka is simple and straightforward, no battery needed. And my husband has noted that I've gotten so good at it already that I just use one hand to hold the BugZooka and push the trigger, then my hip to "reload" the bellows for the next capture. It makes capturing stink bugs fun, if that's possible! Granted, it's also a challenge: one must aim it nearly dead center and practically on top of the stink bug and act quickly before it flies away (usually flying right toward your face while releasing its offending odor). Still, the BugZooka is a significant step in the right direction to rid our home of stink bugs!

(We then dispose of the stink bugs outdoors in a bucket of soapy water, unfortunately defeating any efforts at humane bug catching. But we've been duly warned by both my mother and brother: kill these invasive things or they just come right back into your house in ever-increasing numbers!)

Environment:
Here's a little about where I lived. I lived in an old apartment in urban area, with a recycler as my previous neighbor next door - storing tons of newspaper. Additional to that, living in a warm place means a lot of cockroaches roaming at night, and some brave ones show up in the daylight time.

About the Crawlers:
The roaches aren't too big, the biggest around the apt is about an inch long. There are also some spiders - about 2 to 3 inches in diameter.


About Me:
I'm personally not scared of roaches or house spiders, but I dont like to kill them on my work desk, where I'll have my hands on most of the time. There are a lot of precious devices on my desk, and I dont want any roach's DNA on it.

How I arrive to buying decision:
After browsing through tens of choices here on amazon (most are electrically powered), I decided to get a powerful-powerless Bugzooka (=D). Battery operated bug vacuum can be loud at time, since most of the roaches only go out at night, and there are 1-star ratings attached to most of them.

Usage:
I owned a Bugzooka for a week now. For every single night, I and my cousin sneaked out to the Kitchen to do some roach busting. We are always happy at what we are able to do. No messy splats, no slippers, no harmful chemicals, and no power wasted. Most of the catches are successful. It's able to catch small ones (.2in) and bigger ones alike. The trapdoor works well, keeping the crawlers from crawling out of the catch tube.

Disposing:
Unlike the kind-hearted and animals lover, I don't dispose these crawlers outside. Chances are, they will go back. I rather have them killed. That way, I can rest assured. I disposed them onto the bathroom sink under running boiling water.

Cons:
There aren't much of disappointment to this product. At least, not much for me. Bugzooka doesnt do well when crawlers are in corners (like at turning point of wall and floor, or corner of cabinets and shelves). Other than that, it's fine.


OH BY THE WAY, I found less and less crawlers each night when i turned on the light in the Kitchen. I'm happy. :)

Works pretty good on lady bugs. Do not buy if you need it for big bugs or spiders. Also difficult to trap spiders because they like to get in corners.