Harbor Freight Reviews

Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com

Item: Solar Insect Killer with Light
Item number: 95500
Retail price: $16.99
Frequent sale price: $14.99
Target price: $12.99
Item Link

You've got to be kidding, right? -- they're not, we are (this item is a joke ). One of the relatively few items sold by Harbor Freight™ that looks good but is really junk. (Most of the worse [i.e., absolute "junk"] items at Harbor Freight look cheap enough upon close inspection to forewarn the savvy shopper of their poor quality or inadequate design.) Buyer beware, this item will sucker you in unless you heed the warning written here or use a little common sense.

This item claims to attract insects to its metal grid and zap them like its bigger brothers that run on 120-volt AC power. A little common sense would suggest that it might be just a little difficult to generate sufficient power from a singe AA-cell battery to illuminate the LED brightly enough to attract insects AND a high enough voltage to fry them on the electric grid. Consider just the first point: when is the last time you saw a significant number of insects swarming around your solar-powered LED yard lights? Well, this unit has an ultraviolet LED and that should work, right? No again, it's simply not bright enough to attract more than the occasional stray insect.

The concept of a solar-powered insect killer is appealing, and being into saving-the-planet one-step-at-a-time, I have to admit I was really excited by the prospects of this product (e.g., bought three). Unfortunately, the manufacturer just hasn't succeeded in accomplishing even the first part of this task, and the few insects that do stumble upon the electrified grid seen to fly off unscathed.

We have tested three units and all have uniformly poor performance as insect killers. The attractive, well-constructed metal housing can fool one into thinking the electronics are similarly well designed, but this is not the case. Even the small switch used to select the white and ultraviolet lights deteriorates after only one or two Buffalo winters.

As an insect killer this product is a dismal failure. In fact, it only receives a target price (i.e., worthy of purchase at any price) because it's a cute little light if purchased cheaply enough. But because it's being seriously sold as an "insect killer," it makes our "Junk Buys" list. Harbor Freight should be embarrassed by this ridiculous product.

Bottom line: An interesting little light, but solar-powered insect killer it's not. Save your money for another Harbor Freight purchase unless you like the style or the soft glow of the ultraviolet light.