Buzz Off! (Raid Fly and Wasp Killer)

Member Name: rosebud2001

Product:	Raid Fly and Wasp Killer
Date:	06/06/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to use, relatively quick action

Disadvantages: The smell, the fumes

I have been using Raid Fly and Wasp spray for some years now - since I became less nimble at swatting insects really, despite the fact I do actually own a couple of fly swatters I picked up in IKEA a couple of years ago.

My daughter hates anything that moves that isn't human, and insects don't fall into the human category. She also isn't very bright in her behaviour towards wasps in particular - twice she has been stung for either not noticing them and standing on them, or, when she was smaller, mistaking them for ants and trying to touch them.

We seem to get a lot of insects coming into the house in their death throes too, particularly flies - you know they are at the end of their lifespan because they fly about manically for ages, restless and unable to stay still for longer than a second. These make my daughter even more agitated so it's always easier to put them out of their misery. This also puts my daughter out of her misery.

Raid Fly and Wasp killer is an aerosol spray which you are advised to use only in well ventilated areas. This, however, sometimes can be a problem for me as if one of my maniacal flies had it's way it would be all over the house at speeds that would put Usain Bolt to shame. So I have to close the door and hold my nose sadly.

Raid claim they have a fast acting product with a pleasant scent, something else I would strongly disagree with. I have yet to encounter a fly spray that had a pleasant scent and find I have to hold my breath when I use this product and exit the room as soon as I have sprayed to get my breath back.

You are advised to stand at least a metre away from walls and windows before spraying. This is sound advice as if you get any closer you get a lovely white deposit on your surfaces, which gives you an unnecessary and unpleasant future cleaning job.

The claim is that flies and wasps are killed in minutes, which gives you a false sense of security, thinking the buzzing pest will stop in its tracks and give up the ghost almost immediately.

Sadly this is not the case - I have had sprayed flies buzzing for 30 minutes before succumbing - and before any of you accuse me of cruelty to insects - I would have swatted them had I been able to reach them! I live in a period property with very high ceilings which sometimes means I quite simply cannot end their misery swiftly, especially since I am somewhat vertically challenged. Of course it means that Raid can keep their promise of how long it takes to kill an insect, but it's worth bearing in mind that the term "minutes" is honest even if it does take 59 of them for the product to do its job.

You really need to leave the room after you have sprayed the Raid for a while because the smell lingers and you can feel the product on your lungs. It goes without saying that you should ensure children and pets have been removed from the room before you spray this too. I would also suggest if there are any asthma sufferers in the family you think long and hard before purchasing.

You need to wash your hands after use too as this is strong stuff and could seriously upset you if ingested.

One last thing - this stuff shouldn't be used on bees. It doesn't kill them within minutes either - I learned the hard way that if you spray a bee with this it will buzz continuously for at least 2 hours before finally expiring from exhaustion, leaving me guilt-laden at not being able to reach the spot it had come to rest on following a shot from the can to swat it.

Overall this is handy if you aren't able to quickly swat an insect but should be used with caution in the home.

Summary: Easy way to kill off insects for the less nimble amongst us.