
Bug-a-Salt (2013) - davesailer
https://kk.org/cooltools/bug-a-salt/
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S_A_P
Ive one of these- they were selling them at the Sams Club and I have a lot of
fun with it. Definitely recommend using Morton kosher salt with it. Seems to
strike the right balance between mass and aerodynamics...

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throwaway1239Mx
Why in the holy hell is this getting downvoted[0]? Advice on what kind of
ammunition to use during the endless war on bugs that we humans have
perpetrated for our own comfort[1] is without a doubt invaluable information.

[0] This is not snark.

[1] Snark aside, I for real do not want roaches etc. in my house, and
appreciate non-poisonous methods of dealing... while at the same time
struggling with the fact that the insect population in my state, which is
KNOWN for bugs, has visibly plummeted within my lifetime.

(edit: refs. Also context: at the time of my comment, the parent was getting
greyed out for some reason.)

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barkingcat
Because it doesn't require multiple Kubernetes clusters spun up on 5 different
geographical regions for fault tolerance with 3 different vendors to run.

It works too well so people would rather downvote the advice for which kind of
salt to use.

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smoyer
That's actually a great idea ... I'm going to create clusters of Bug-a-Salts
on PTZ platforms, write a custom Kubernetes operator and then use Kubernetes
to orchestrate their target acquisition and elimination.

~~~
barkingcat
you might run into latency issues while using existing cloud platforms to run
the AI stack for image recognition via the 50 webcams you need to set up to
provide coverage around the house.

It's better to build a hybrid cloud whereby the image recognition code runs on
tensorflow locally on 10 x RTX 2080 super's (for low latency inference) and
then go on to issue commands via the kubernetes cluster for elimination.

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derefr
> It is possible to shoot flies out of the air. There is nothing else like it.

I mean, personally, I just spray them with Windex. (Which doesn’t so much kill
them as stop them from being able to fly temporarily, at which point you can
find them on the ground trying to slowly walk away, and do as you will with
them.) And it has the convenient property that you already probably have a
sprayer-bottle of it in your house. If you don’t, a spray bottle of {vinegar,
soapy water, alcohol} works, too.

Also, these droplets of light solvents just dry cleanly off of whatever
surface the droplets land on, without creating a scratch or a stain. I can’t
imagine what spraying salt everywhere would do to my painted walls and
(hardwood) floors.

~~~
taxidump
It's such a tiny amount of salt it's negligible. Having owned one, it was a
bummer when we ran out of flies. Totally worth it.

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foreigner
Hate to be a spoilsport but I wonder what their safety record is like. The
shots where the camera was pointed up the barrel made me cringe. "Treat like a
loaded weapon at all times" indeed! Of all things to get in your eye high-
velocity salt seems like it would be pretty bad.

~~~
FroshKiller
I've had one for a while. Cocking it automatically engages a safety that you
have to disengage in order to fire. I've invited guests to try it, and even
fumbling with it, no one has fired it accidentally.

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closetohome
If, however, one is beset by insects and doesn't have many child visitors, the
safety can be disabled by moving the switch to the unsafe position and putting
a screw into the plastic next to it so it can't re-engage.

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a_imho
I have a similar item in my backlog, a drone mounted salt gun to terminate
slugs in the garden. Engaging them in first person or just sitting back and
let the skynet do its thing.

Will probably never have the time to work on it, but if something like this is
available to buy I would be interested.

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avetisk
I think that may be a really good project. I’m pretty sure if you could make
it work properly, a lot of organic farmers would invest into such a solution.

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CodeCube
Isn't spraying salt over your organic farm counter-productive?

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jaltekruse
Might be able to replace the salt with something like fertilizer beads.

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grenoire
Then it might not do the best work on slugs.

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ZoomZoomZoom
With age I came to conclusion that anything making killing of any kind even
remotely fun is utterly wrong. It might be necessary with dangerous insects,
but it should not be fun or recreational.

~~~
some_random
This is a really interesting position, I'm interested in how you arrived at
it. Do you think that if killing something is fun it will result in more
things being killed, or is your issue more fundamentally with the idea of
killing being fun?

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jmiskovic
My own answer is through rational empathy. You might not think much of small
annoying insect, but it is still orders of magnitude more complex than
anything humanity has ever built. Destroying such marvelous system just for
target practice feels like being a dick, and I refrain from it.

It is a hard ethical dilemma and any line you draw will be arbitrary. Some
people hunt rhinos, some catch fish or shoot birds as past-time, while others
get sense of satisfaction from gunning down insects. I still condone pest
control, but I draw the line at reasons like "for fun", or "because I'm
bored", or "to feel more powerful". The intention/reason is important, because
it affects the future. If you do it for fun, you have no reason to ever stop
or to consider alternatives once they are made possible.

To answer another post, I think killing in video games is completely OK and
something I often enjoy doing.

I'm also enjoying the tone you've set for discussion and I'd like to hear your
personal views.

~~~
loco5niner
I kill flies and mosquitoes in my house because they spread disease.

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phasetransition
FYI, Kevin Kelly's "Cool Tools" is a solid, and useful coffee table book. Some
things from 2013 don't age well, but for it is useful for lots of items. A
quick skim of my copy didn't find the bug salt shotgun, but there is a water-
based bug sprayer for the garden on pp. 214.

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sunbear-lover
OH I GET IT!

Bug Assault => bug-a-salt

That took too long, I need my morning coffee

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thewebcount
I met the inventor at a party once as we had a mutual friend in common. He's a
really interesting guy! Very low key. I wasn't sure that there would be an
audience for it, but apparently there's a big one. Good for him!

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JensRex
Not available in Europe. We can never have the fun toys. :(

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shmulkey18
Has anyone modified these things to give them a little more power? I have a
"gen 1" Bug-a-Salt and it doesn't have enough grunt to kill a fly. I suspect
that a stronger spring would do the trick, but haven't seen any tear-downs or
mods online.

I have seen "bug killer" add-ons for air-powered pellet guns, but they seem
kind of iffy for indoor use.

[edit: grammar and spelling]

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yellowapple
I have two of these in my closet, still in the box (meant to keep one and give
the other to my Dad for a Christmas gag gift, but got him something else
instead). I live in a desert and haven't needed to open one, though it's
dawning on me now that we get scorpions here...

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et2o
What’s the volume of salt? Not sure if I’d rather have a fly buzzing around or
salt all over my house

~~~
evilduck
A tablespoon in the hopper will last for a couple dozen shots. It's a very
small amount per shot. Its a functional novelty though and not meant to be
your primary means of pest control. For a one or two flies a week you're
probably not going to notice the salt and its actually pretty nice for killing
flies in hard to reach places like high ceilings or corners, or "zoomers" who
barely sit still long enough to be swatted.

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dang
A small thread from last year:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20001334](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20001334)

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fenwick67
Does anyone know if this works on carpenter ants? Their exoskeletons are thick
enough that sometimes they survive being swatted.

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bbarn
Mine worked great for about 25 uses then got clogged internally. I can’t
unclog it with destroying it. Expensive novelty

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tomerico
I wonder if washing with water would work, given that salt dissolves quickly

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mrfusion
Would this work for mosquitos in the house? I can’t figure out a good way to
kill them.

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jmpman
I killed a dozen last night with mine. Works like a champ. The mosquitoes in
my house tend to land on the ceiling, where they’re perfect targets.

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towndrunk
I have one of these and it works fantastically. Highly recommended.

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dusted
Does it really kill them though? I'm a fan of my electric swatter (because I
can catch them in-flight with it) but I have to keep it buzzing for a bit to
make sure they're really dead, and then it smells slightly burnt.

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FroshKiller
It kills. Roaches might take two or three shots depending on their size and
your aim, but it kills.

~~~
iak8god
Amazon reviewers claim the 'Bug-A-Salt 2.0 Lawn & Garden Model' works well on
palmetto bugs, which I think it just what they call giant roaches in Florida?

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K2h
I wonder if it would work with a single load of small crushed ice?

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metabagel
I think I’ll pass on sowing my own backyard with salt.

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ThrowawayR2
Coarse sand might work in place of salt, though there's the risk of the
increased abrasiveness wearing out the device faster.

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trevyn
A creme brulee torch is another fun option!

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bdcravens
We have one in the office. They’re fun.

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jonahbenton
Does this work on larger insects?

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xutopia
What is the range on this thing?

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draw_down
Would be interesting to try with diatomaceous earth.

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phalangion
Seems to me that DE is probably too powdery for this.

~~~
iak8god
Also dangerous to inhale, so maybe not the best idea to be launching it into
the air in one's living space.

