Can you actually whack a flying insect in mid-air, with the average flyswatter and expect to rid yourself of said pestilence?
Or is it an excercise in futility?
(I’m kinda grossed out by smashing it on a surface.)
Midair, not so much, I wouldn’t think; without a surface to mash the fly against, it’s probably just going to push the fly away, unless it’s being swung at a really high rate of speed.
Dang it.
I’ve perfected my swing.
Seriously I’m ready for the majors.
Back to the drawing board.
Mid-air is extremely difficult, but I have managed to do it. I’d say my success rate is maybe around 1 or 2 percent, so it is mostly an exercise in futility. Swinging the flyswatter at a very high rate of speed is absolutely required.
I’ve successfully swatted yellowjackets out of the air with my bare hand. The trick is to smack them straight to the ground so they’re briefly stunned, long enough to be stepped on.
Don’t know if this method is workable for lower-mass targets like flies.
You need to encourage your cats to learn to hunt flies. Just don’t look once they catch them, as they eat them. (I speak from experience.)
Bear is a master at catching flying insects.
This morning he wasn’t into it.
And yes the ‘eating’ part is nasty. I heard him crunch a moth once.
That nearly done it…
Moved from FQ to IMHO.
My junior cat once brought down a dragonfly. He considers flies trivial entertainment.
My husband has a battery-powered flyswatter that zaps the bugs it hits (looks kinda like a mutant tennis racket).
This is the only situation for which I think “nom, nom, nom” is an accurate expression. It’s as if they are determined to enjoy this prey they’ve caught, so they can’t admit it tastes awful, and they’re putting on a show of it being delicious.
Speaking of which, I’ve had a fair amount of success swatting flies out of the air for my cats to pounce on once they hit the ground. The blow seems to only stun, not kill, them.
I have one on those flyswatters. Pick it up and flys disappear.
Which I guess is the whole idea.
I’ll get it out again.
The offensive Freddy Fly, it seems has died, or left for the coast.
It’s only a brief respite. It’s that time of year in Arkansas and I have grandkids who go in and out all day.
I had one of those battery bug zapper swatters. Because it’s mostly open space between the wires you can swing it really fast and hit a fly in midair. You might not be able to swing it fast enough to kill it if you hit it, and if it gets electrically zapped it’s usually only stunned, so either way it’ll be annoying the crap out of you again in short order.
I have done that before too. They can’t really sting you when you do that because they have no time or leverage to get the stinger in you. Just make sure you don’t miss!
This is what I have done to swat a fly with a flyswatter in midair. Because there is nothing to squish them against, it just stuns them briefly, so you can follow up with a second swat on the floor and they’re done. But it’s really hard to actually hit a fly; you might as well try to catch it with chopsticks.
This is what I normally use. I have one called “The Executioner” that I bought off Amazon. I’ve owned multiple versions but the one I have now is the only one that consistently works, because it’s pretty high-powered. It makes a very loud POP sound and huge sparks when it hits. Pretty dramatic and effective.
I don’t actually hit a fly with it though; typically what I do is wait for it to land somewhere, then I slowly and carefully put the swatter over a fly and hold the power button and lower it. I can either trap it between the swatter and the surface, or it will get startled and fly straight up into it, zapping itself.
I’ve gotten flies in mid-air. It’s usually how I get them, in fact. Most of the flies I get inside the house are flesh flies from the cat’s litter box, so they’re big and relatively slow.
Anyways, smaller ones are usually killed instantly. Larger ones are at least stunned long enough for me to scoop them up and dump them into the toilet and a watery grave, provided they got whacked someplace I can find them.
Ewwww. Flesh flies.
I don’t even wanna know.
Much like Mr. Miyagi, my taekwondo instructor when I was a kid, who was from South Korea, and had an 8th-degree black belt, could snatch flies out of the air with his bare hand. He’d be standing there, watching us practice or spar, his arms folded across his chest, when suddenly, one hand would snap out, and he’d catch a fly in his closed fist.
He’d then shake his fist for a few seconds, then let the fly go, and laugh as he watched it spin around dizzily. 
I’ve got a salt gun too, but that’s much harder to get them with in mid-air. Usually have to wait for them to land somewhere to use it. But it does work.
In the air? With my powerful electric swatter, no problem. Very satisfying blue spark, tiny puff of smoke and a pronounced snap. Executed.
Here’s a picture of my swatter.
Love this.
I will be getting one.