This popular Amazon bug zapper got beat by my yard

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.

Doesn't live up to coverage area claim

Sunshine, ice cream, beach trips, pool days: These are the summer pleasantries I welcome. But you know what not one person that I know loves about summer? Mosquitoes.

Starting in the spring each year, I have my yard sprayed every couple of weeks for mosquitos and ticks from a service that uses a more natural approach to insect eradication than chemicals. (One year we opted out, and I didn’t spend a single evening on my own patio. It was awful.)

Despite the pest control, we still see a fair share of mosquitos, midges, gnats, flies, and moths during summer evenings, so I when I stumbled over the Livin’ Well Insect Zapper on Amazon with its nearly 7,400 4.3-star out of 5 rating, I was tempted to give it a try. Just to see if it could curtail those night-time nasties.

The Livin’ Well Insect Zapper is a high-voltage lamp that can be hung or placed outdoors to do away with tiny pests.

What you see is what you get with the Livin’ Well Insect Zapper, a black plastic unit that’s about 14 inches tall. It comes with a 18W UVA bulb, hanging ring, a detachable collection tray, and a whole sheet of safety precautions.

It can sit on a table or surface out of doors, or it can hang, but it can’t be near an open flame or where anyone can touch it. Basically, keep this high-voltage power house out of the way of people, especially children.

There are no chemicals involved, since this is, essentially, a high-wattage UVA lamp. But, we are killing bugs after all, and I’m not sure Mother Nature would be too psyched about it.

Livin’ Well indicates that it kills mosquitoes, moths, bees, and flies, as shown by the illustrations on the box, and while I don’t see the specific word “honeybee” or even “bee” in its language on the box or on its Amazon page, the suggestion is there, and that’s not cool, or eco-friendly.

In the first week that I used the zapper, it also fried a frog that was a couple inches in size.

The best thing about the Livin’ Well Insect Zapper is that you can hear it working as soon as you plug it in. There’s nothing more satisfying than listening to the zaps of mosquito annihilation at night and then seeing all the carcasses in the light of day.

I also love the absolute ease of set-up and use. There is no assembly when it comes to the bug zapper. You simply take it out of the box, plug it in, and it’s ready to roll.

One of the major inconveniences of the Livin’ Well insect zapper is that it needs to be placed near enough to a GFCI-protected outlet so that you can plug it in; you can use an extension cord marked SJW-A, SJEW-A or SJTW-A only.

Since my patio table is in the middle of my patio, this limits my options. I either can’t place it on the table, or I can by using an extension cord and risk anyone walking nearby tripping over the cord.

Instead, I decided to hang the bug zapper in my garden near my exterior electrical outlet, since it comes with a circular hanging ring. Unfortunately, I had to shell out an additional $20 to Amazon for a bird feeder pole to hang it on.

After two unsuccessful tries, I was finally able get the removable tray off in order to clean out its contents.

The Livin’ Well insect zapper is not as easy to clean as advertised. It took me three tries to remove the bottom tray and to do so I had to really prop the bug-filled zapper between my body and my elbow to hold it steady while I squeezed and twisted off the bottom.

One thing is for sure: Always, always unplug the unit before cleaning, and never use water!

Users might find the included instructions to be hard to understand.

When it comes to safety, the insect zapper’s instructions are, at points, just plain confusing.

On its site, Amazon calls the high-voltage zapper a “weatherproof mosquito killer,” but, the safety instructions included with the zapper boldly say, “Keep away from water.”

Sure, I won’t point a hose at it, or put it within sprinkler range, but my bigger question is, what happens when it rains out? Can I leave it outside? Insert shrug emoji here.

The Livin’ Well insect zapper simply doesn’t cover the area it claims to: 1,500 square feet.

At a recent evening barbeque, my ankles were eaten alive by midges, and a few of the ‘tweens present even asked for bug spray from their parents because the mosquitos were so bad. When does that happen? That’s right, never.

As mentioned, it killed a frog. Enough said.

The Livin' Well Insect Zapper isn't a great purchase for buyers who want to humanely get rid of insects and bugs.

The Livin’ Well Insect Zapper delivers the user high levels of false satisfaction with low levels of competency. I really wanted this bug zapper to work. In the end, it collected more moths than mosquitos, and it just wasn’t powerful enough to tackle the whole yard.

Given that it will also eliminate honeybees and frogs, this zapper is a no-go for me.

If you’re looking for other ways to ward off mosquitoes in your yard, make it less hospitable for them from the get-go. Try tactics like removing standing water or buying patio netting.

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

Doesn't live up to coverage area claim

©2022 Reviewed, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network LLC. All rights reserved. Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed’s editors. Purchases you make through our links may earn us a commission.