# Anyone else enjoy swatting?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [August 9, 2022, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374 "2022-08-09T16:36:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374/21 "2022-08-11T00:18:11Z")

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What I heard is that they take off backwards, and you must strike them from behind.  
The old bug a salt pump just stuns them and pisses them off on the first shot. Instant death on mosquitoes, though.

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**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2022, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374/22 "2022-08-11T00:39:36Z")

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I spent 2 summers in the rainforest of Belize doing archaeology. The first summer there were hardly any mosquitoes, but we ran into something that was referred to as a doctor fly, I see now that they are horse-flies and usually called yellow flies in the US. Those things gave you a painful, itchy bite. When we found out which plants were attracting them, we did some planning and went on the offensive. This one guy Paul ended up with a pile of about 50-60 dead ones one day after lunch.

The second year was overrun with mosquitoes. Like a heavy rain, you were pelted with mosquitoes every time you moved. 100% DEET every couple of hours and still plenty of swatting going on. Even with smoke from burning termite mounds the swarms were overwhelming.

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**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374/23 "2022-08-17T20:22:15Z")

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I may be late to the thread, but I once killed seven with one blow! They even wrote a story about it.

> **[Seven At One Blow - Brothers Grimm Tales | Bedtime Stories](https://www.storyberries.com/fairy-tales-seven-at-one-blow-by-brothers-grimm/)**
>
> A tailor kills seven flies with one blow. See how he uses that to succeed in life! Read fairy tales, bedtime stories and short stories for kids at Storyberries.

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**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2022, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-enjoy-swatting/969374/24 "2022-08-17T20:59:17Z")

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I’ve got one of [these bad boys](https://www.bugasalt.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwo_KXBhAaEiwA2RZ8hPo-vgJXvooGr4DWlCgLICk4ZPBsbJuXvyW2nUlbBzIVcIj6OmcoaxoCnlcQAvD_BwE) that gets pulled out whenever we’re getting ‘bugged’. Think rock salt shotgun from the fly’s point of view.

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