The Executioner review

25 May 2005 0:00 GMT / By Stuart Miles

Maybe it's the name, or the thought of what it does, but The Executioner is as deadly as it sounds.

The size of a squash racket, this bug-zapping device looks mean. The rim of the racket is a striking orange on black and the stings have been replaced with the zapping wires. The handle is perhaps slightly bulkier, mainly because it's this part that houses the batteries and the electrical gubbins.

Once loaded with two AA batteries (included) the system is ready to kill. For safety reasons you can't leave the device on all the time and there is a push button that while depressed, means you can zap anything in your path.

Charged with 3000 VA, The Executioner according to the details on the case is powerful enough to kill most mosquitoes and can take the wings off a fly. In our tests we found that smaller winged inspects perished instantly with the power of the zap. Larger insects such as wasps, put up a bit of a fight with the main problem being that for The Executioner to work you have to not only make a good contact, but actually hit them in the first place.

Verdict

Due to self-preservation we weren’t brave enough (that’s “stupid” enough - sub-Ed) to touch the zapping wires when it was on, so we really can’t say if it would hurt if a buyer were to do so. However, judging by the sparks that we got when hitting bugs or just catching it in the rain, we are sure that it would.

So should you invest in The Executioner and get ready for the summer? Going into any commercial kitchen will uncover one of those zapping devices next to the window doing its job, enticing in bugs via the blue glowing light. This, minus the light, is the same principle, just in a portable version. If you’ve got what it takes mentally to electrify those bugs this is for you. As for replacing the slipper, or rolled up newspaper it’s much of a muchness, this just looks meaner.

Unfortunately bugs were killed in the making of this review.

Score

Review Recap

Price as reviewed: £10
The good: Zaps bugs
The bad: A slipper would probably still surfice
Quick verdict: As for replacing the slipper, or rolled up newspaper its much of a muchness, this just looks meaner
Score