Customer Reviews

Backyard Safari Bug Vacuum

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I purchased two vacuums and the habitat for my sons (10 & 7) on an impulse while shopping one day 2 weeks ago. What a hit! Well worth the expense! They have gotten so much enjoyment from these toys. Granted, the suction is not the most powerful, but these are toys for goodness sakes. There is sufficient power for children to collect bugs around the yard. This is perfect for those children who are afraid of bugs too. They can capture, contain, and place the bugs in the habitat without touching! My boys are quickly learning that the bigger ones eat the smaller ones. The habitat sits on our back porch and the vacuums are in the house. Any bug that is in our house is quickly captured and placed in the habitat.

This is a wonderful summer time toy and perfect for the after supper hours when the kids are usually a bit tired and board and in need of an "adventure".

The vacuum does come with several attachments. Little pricey in my opinion but we definately have gotten our money's worth considering the amount of play time and enjoyment our boys have received. That is what it is all about!

I purchased this for my 8 year old son who loves to catch bugs and it is the biggest hit of the neighborhood!! It works great - we did have to change the batteries a few days after we received it - but since then it has worked wonderful! It has caught everything from moths to flies and grasshoppers to fireflies. Very educational and works great with the bug habitat.

My three kids (7, 6, 5) and I have had a great time with this toy, safely capturing and identifying all kinds of bugs, then letting them go. The magnifying glass feature lets everyone get a really great view of the insect and all its detail, which makes it easy to identify with a field guide handy. I even use it regularly to get bugs out of the house.

I was worried after reading some of the reviews, but my daughter used her own money from her 6th birthday to get his and we found the suction was just fine. You must have the magnifying "door" open - maybe that was the problem for the others, but we have captured pill bugs, ants spiders and even a fly with no problem and I expect we will be sucking up bugs all summer!!

My kids have had a great deal of fun with this toy. While it obviously can't pull bugs out of the air (that's what nets are for) it does a good job picking up spiders, beetles, and other small bugs/insects. Make sure you switch out the provided batteries with quality batteries. When we did this it increased the suction substantially. It also helps if you teach your kids to use it at an angle instead of straight up and down (so it doesn't have to fight gravity as well.)

It is a fun toy for my 5 yr old. The vaccum is slightly underpowered. Big bugs (crickets, bigger spiders) will not be sucked up. However, we've gotten small spiders, beetles,and moths. If it had a little more umph, it would be a "5", but still highly enjoyable for my daughter.

I was excited to receive this product and start using it to catch bugs for my bearded dragon. Within the first 5 minutes out of the box I pushed the trigger in and when I released it the vacuum remained on. Now I have to keep the battery housing loose and push up on it when I want it to go on and off. It also has very dissapointing power, you can't even pick up the bug until you have the opening of the vacuum completely covering it, even on the highest setting. Overall this was a very dissapointing purchase and wouldn't reccomend it.

My son and I LOVE this toy. He goes around looking for the coolest bugs to pick up then brings it back to me and we talk about what kind of bugs they are and what they do. He can't get enough of the thing. Some parents say that it doesn't suck up very hard. Well why should it? It's for little kids not a grownup using a Shop-Vac.

The vacuum is too weak to pick up almost anything heavier than a stationary moth. Even then, you have to get the moth almost all the way into the tube entrance before it gets sucked into the observation chamber. You're certainly not going to be able to grab a hovering fly with it. It has 3 speed settings, but even the fastest is just too weak to be useful. There is also no reverse, so if you think you're going to grab insects for feeding to a caged amphibian you're going to have a hard time getting them back out. There is more educational value in showing a child how something that looks neat in the store isn't so neat once they're home and trying to use it. Perhaps there is value if you removed the motor and hooked it up to a good quality shop vac... but then you're going to have to carry the motor around with you.

The girls LOVE the bug vacuum. They don't mind getting close enough to suck the bugs up. This is been a HUGE improvement. Instead of the screaming fits, now they just run and get the bug vacuum. Way too cool and easier on me!!! Since we live in a humid environment, we have lots of spiders and bugs!!