CNBC:
If you hate [flies], then Lorenzo Maggiore is your patron saint.
"I was a weird kid, I didn't like flies," says the 57-year-old from Los Angeles. "I used to put them in my Hot Wheels cars and send them down the track. They land on poo, and then they land on your food. Anything that does that, I'm not really interested in."
Maggiore is the artistic madman behind Bug-A-Salt, a $40 "gun" which uses table salt as buckshot to stun or kill bugs, especially flies. Salt makes the product safe to use around food, and it also doesn't blow the bug to bits. "That's another thing that's beautiful about it, it leaves them whole," he says. A lot of times, Bug-A-Salt doesn't actually kill the bug, it just gets it off your table.
I liked the Make magazine article on zapping mosquitos with lasers better, myself.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday May 26 2019, @10:58AM (8 children)
They're fun. Also safe to shoot someone in the leg with. Not sure they're worth $40 but if you catch one on sale like I did, by all means.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday May 26 2019, @11:13AM (4 children)
Shooting people in fleshy parts with rock salt has a long history in the "South". Particularly if they were stealing watermelon, fishing for catfish where they had no business fishing for cats. But usually it was loaded in 12-gauge shells, replacing the buckshot, unless y'all forgot.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday May 26 2019, @01:14PM
Yeah, that's not entirely relegated to history either. Personal experience there. This is just table salt though.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Ethanol-fueled on Sunday May 26 2019, @05:29PM (2 children)
Shooting coons (raccoons) with salt is my favorite kind of assault.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @05:01AM (1 child)
We caught a racoon in our trash one night and sprayed it with a water fire extinguisher (starting pressure ~100 psi or ~6-7 bar). It went up a nearby tree as high as it could go...but was still in reach of the water spray. So we kept hosing it down. I don't remember it messing with our trash after that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 27 2019, @02:58PM
Also useful for repelling illegal immigrants from borders
(Score: 4, Funny) by takyon on Sunday May 26 2019, @11:20AM (2 children)
I heard that the things break really easily, so I lost interest in buying one. Or was that just salty Amazon reviewers?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday May 26 2019, @01:15PM
Depends on how often you use them I guess. I haven't tried using up a whole pound of salt in a day. I get bored after like a teaspoon worth.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by DaTrueDave on Sunday May 26 2019, @03:59PM
I've had mine since the original Indiegogo purchase in 2012 and it's still going strong.