Why I Bought it

We recently had a spell of very fine weather (yes I know, its hard to believe with all this rain) and I like to have my shop door open all the time as it presents a welcoming front to potential customers, and it works! One of the downsides to this are flying pests, last summer we had an epidemic of flying ants in the town, all traders here had to keep the doors shut but still some of the little blighters found their way in. This year I have been plagued by wasps, at the moment they are very dopey, mainly due to the change in weather, but I am terrified of them. I have never been stung and really don't want to experience it either.

So I decided I had to get some wasp/fly killer and solve the problem. In my local Wilkinson's I was presented with 2 options, either Raid at a princely sum of £2.99 or this one, Sanmex, on offer for 98p both were 300ml cans. The descriptive blurb told me it was 'fast acting, for a quick knockdown", I was sold.

The Blurb

This is a fairly innocuous looking can, with a bright red lid and a 'bolt of lightning' across the front with an appropriate dead fly underneath, giving the impression that it will kill with lightning speed. Hmm we shall see.

It states that it can be used as a household insecticide it's fast killing action works on flies, mosquitos, wasps, midges and other flying pests. Simply shake well before use and, for a quick knock down, spray directly at the offending insect from an approximate distance of 3 to 5 feet. It can also be used to generally clear a room of any unwanted pests simply by closing all doors and windows, spraying in short bursts around the room and then leaving the room for 15 minutes. I am sure I will never have need for the latter, luckily we are never bothered by flies or anything at home and really the main problem is the odd wasp in the shop.

Putting it to the Test

When I first got this back to the shop I didn't have any wasps to test it on, I did however, and unusually, find a small fly in the workroom and, armed with my new weapon, went in for the kill. Holding the can at arms length I 'fired' and scored a direct hit on the offending insect. The first thing I noticed was the smell, I was expecting a harsh chemical smell but, instead it was more perfumed, yes the chemicals were obvious but the smell was more pleasant than any other fly spray I have used in the past, on checking the can it does actually contain a certain amount of perfume . After spraying, the fine mist dissipated almost immediately, but there was one small problem.

The fly wasn't dead! Instead, where before it had actually been quite docile, this little beggar was now on a violent mission, it just constantly dive bombed me at great speed in a demented, haphazard way. I sprayed it again, but this just served to make it even more angry, finally I had to resort to a good old rolled up newspaper...so not off to a good start here then.

A few days later I had the opportunity to use it on my more feared adversary, the dreaded wasp. A rather dopey, tired looking, sting laden, pest wafted in through the doorway and, quick as a flash I was on him with my newly acquired weapon. In the split second that I pressed the trigger it did occur to me that, after the experience with the fly, this may turn out to be a very, very bad idea, so I instinctively 'ducked' as soon as I had sprayed, fully expecting to be dive bombed in fury again. Nothing happened, upon further investigation I found the wasp curled up, stone cold dead on the floor. Phew.

In Conclusion

It would appear that flies, or at least some, are seemingly immune to this stuff so if you want fly killer look elsewhere, however, it worked perfectly on the wasp and I shall be using this all throughout the summer. A bonus is the lack of a harsh chemically smell, indeed I can live with the smell this spray gives off and there is no residue left on any surfaces from what I have seen so far. I am very happy with this product and would recommend it.


It goes without saying that it is highly flammable and there are a whole ream of chemicals listed on the can, remember this is an insecticide, it is poisonous and not to be used around food stuffs or preparation areas. It is also poisonous to fish and tanks should always be covered before you use it.

You should shop around for the best price, mine was on offer but I have seen them in supermarkets as high as £2.50, so I clearly bagged a bargain.

P.S. My advice to Sanmex, change the picture of a dead fly on the can to a dead wasp!