| | |  | Maniquick Manicure Pedicure Sets | Home » » » » Flowtron BK-80D 1-1/2 Acre Electronic Insect Killer | | | | | | | Description: | | Effective, Environmentally Friendly, Maintenance Free. Attracts and Kills Flying Insect Pests. Recommended for areas up to 1-1/2 acresRid your outdoor living areas of flying insect pests - without harming the environment! Insect remains, uncontaminated by pesticides, fall to the ground to be naturally reabsorbed into the ecosystem. Maintenance free operation features UV light and an electrified grid that eliminates thousands of flying pests for just pennies a day. The decorative lantern even doubles as security lighting! Add optional Octenol attractant for improved effectiveness. Two 40-watt, high-intensity, "U" shaped, ultraviolet (black light) bulbs BF-150. Transformer-powered Vertical Rod killing grid system. FREE USDA-tested Octenol mosquito attractant slow release cartridge. Easy bulb replacement - no tools required. Avoids the continuing expense and inconvenience of chemical insecticides. Operates for pennies a day. Specifications: UL and CSA listed, Assembled unit size: 11"L x 11"W x 18-1/2"H, Carton size: 11-1/4"L x 11-1/4"W x 19"H. | | | Features: | |
• Patented, high efficiency, non-clogging killing grid.
• Easy bulb replacement - no tools required.
• Rugged, weatherproof polycarbonate construction.
• Transformer-powered Vertical Rod killing grid system.
• Two-year limited warranty.
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Weight:
| 6.0 pounds | | Package Length:
| 18.6 inches | | Package Width:
| 11.2 inches | | Package Height:
| 11.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 9.28 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 271 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 271 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
220 of 222 found the following review helpful:
 Stinger vs Flowtron (Winner!)Sep 09, 2006
By scottls1
"scottls1"
Stinger:
Pros- With mosquito lure, killed lotsa bad insects- BUT!
Cons- Their electric wire grid uses square wires that QUICKLY clog up. Pretty soon it was packed solid & killing nothing!
I had to keep blowing it out ( air compressor) every couple of
days- HASSLE!
Flowtron BK-80D (took the wimpy 40w back!)-
UPDATE-
NOTE!- Spray electrical grid bars with PAM when new for easier cleaning later, but be SURE & remove bulbs FIRST or they will crack.
-I tried Carefully spraying Just the bars with water, and ruined the unit (saved the old bulbs)!
Pros- Killed lots more bugs, because it NEVER clogs up! The electric rods are straight up/down, so no cross wires to catch falling insects & clog. Dead insects fall out the bottom- Blow clean once a month.
Update!-
Forget the pricy attractant! My Flowtron 80w kills mosquitos!- Hundreds of dead ones underneath! My Flowtron 15w didn't do much, but 40w was pretty good (much cheaper bulbs)!
My theory!- Mosquitos are attracted to the heat that is generated when moths... are zapped!
I've watched the mosquitos come as moths are being zapped!- Love the zapping noise (not that loud)!
Cons- The only con is that the outer protective plastic cage HAD bars only about 1/2" apart (same with Stinger)- This kept larger moths... from being able to easily get in to the electric grid.
I used a large wire cutter, to cut out every 3d bar, on top 2/3ds of cage. Alternating..., so cut bar was in the middle of two solid bars on adajacent side- Still rigid!
I put it on an outside timer (for when evenings cool down- Not much insect activity below 55 degrees...). Adjust accordingly.
Never hang it near a door, as their is always a 10'+ swarm of insects around it.
Try to hang it over head high, in a DRY (electric) area.
Removing the bulbs to clean them WILL cause the socket contacts to fail!- I never did figire out how to thoroughly clean the bulbs (High psi compressor helps, and IS a must!- Vacuum cleaner is too wimpy!)!?
158 of 160 found the following review helpful:
Allows us to enjoy the outdoors again!!Jul 04, 2001
By momof2greatboys
"momof2greatboys"
Here in Houston we have had a particularly difficult time with mosquitos this year (due to heavy rainfall). I almost felt like we were held "hostage" inside our house, since going outdoors meant a barrage of mosquitos! But thanks to the Flowtron bug killer which we now have on our back patio, we can enjoy the out-of-doors again! We purchased the 80-watt model, even though our yard is only 1/3 acre. It has been very effective in eliminating our mosquito problem. One word of caution: the zapping noise generated by the Flowtron really bothers our Golden Retriever. He has even tried to escape from the back yard! We're hoping he eventually becomes accustomed to it. Just keep this in mind if you have pets ............
124 of 125 found the following review helpful:
No Problems.Apr 10, 2001
By Rheumor
The last one I had was 40 watts and while it was pretty effective, this summer's Louisiana mosquitos seemed a little more reluctant to die by uV. However, this 80 watt light has been a bit hit, attracting the little blood suckers by a pound, and virtually clearing my 1.75 acres.
93 of 94 found the following review helpful:
MORE THAN FIVE STARS!Jul 07, 2007
By R. Johns
I ordered the Flowtron BK-80D bug zapper after having used a different, smaller model, which was also made by Flowtron (model BK-7). The BK-7 model worked okay, but quickly clogged up with bugs (pretty much each night). After about a week of this, it shorted out so badly that it melted a hole in the plastic part which held the wires apart. That was the end of that. The BK-7 model used a series of round wires that go horizontally, but this tended to trap the bugs. Even with constant cleaning, it was always giving me problems.
After it went out, I decided to give Flowtron one last shot. I saw the model BK-80 on Amazon.com and ordered it after reading the reviews. I have installed the unit on the corner of my house and it works amazingly well!
I put the zapper on an outdoor timer, which turns the unit on around 7 pm in the evening and then off automatically around 8 am when the sun comes up. This works great! The timer I used was the Intermatic model HB31R (sold on Amazon and at local building stores). It's a very simple little timer with a nice cover to keep the weather out. I ran the power cords with a "J" loop in them, so any rain water would drip off the bottom of the "J" and not get into the socket.
Anyway, the timer is very simple to use and makes a great additon to the Flowtron. The Flowtron BK-80D is well made and straight forward. On my unit (as I had done with the previous BK-7 model and as mentioned by another reviewer), I took some pruning sheers and cut out every other plastic slat in order to allow easier cleaning and so that larger bugs can get in more quickly.
The unit gives off a lot of light and is able to attract bugs from both the first level and 2nd level of my house (I have it mounted above the 2nd story deck on the corner). It draws all of the moths that used to hang out on our windows - from as far away as about 30 or 40 feet. One zap and they are toast. The design of the BK-80D is much better than other models I have seen. The vertical rods are well made and allow the bugs to slide down and fall out of the unit after they are killed. Not all bugs fall out, but I would say about 95% or so do fall out of their own accord. By morning time, the wind has also helped blow some of the rest out of the unit and they have fallen on the deck.
Interestingly enough, where I live, yellowjackets have figured out that any bugs stuck in the rods are a free lunch - and since my unit goes off at dawn via the timer, the yellowjackets can get in there and remove any stuck moth bodies without being zapped in the afternoon. It's a great deal for me, since it saves a little clean up. I have actually seen the yellowjackets wiggle the stuck insect bodies until they come loose from the rods, then they fly off with them! It also seems like they clean up the ones that have fallen on the deck, although that may be birds stopping by in the morning and/or the wind blowing them off the side of the deck. I'm not sure. Whatever the case, the unit requires almost zero cleaning and doesn't clog up hardly at all.
While this unit is a little more pricey than some, the extra few bucks are well worth it. The gold ring at the top (used to hang the unit) is sort of poorly designed, but it's easy to replace with a little work if you want (mine had a big gap in it - almost enough to allow the ring to come off the mounting point, which I didn't like. However, this may actually be there to help taking the unit on and off a hook or something). In my case, I simply cut the ring off with some bolt cutters and put a smaller stainless steel split ring in its place. Most people probably wouldn't mind the standard gold ring that comes with the unit, but I am very picky :-)
Note that you will need to purchase an extension cord to use this unit. The cord that comes out of the unit is only about 6 inches in length. It's not long enough to reach anything. I bought a 12 foot extension cord and ran it along the house and over to the Intermatic timer. Then the timer plugs into any standard outdoor outlet.
Since using the unit, there have been almost zero moths bugging us. I live out in the forest, so there is no shortage of bugs flying around here. Even with other lights on, the bugs seem to favor the Flowtron. The unit does make noise when the bugs are zapped (as all units do), but since the bugs routinely fall away from the zapping rods pretty quickly (much better than with other units), it's only a short zap. Once in a while there will be a longer zap, but not too often. At the rate this unit kills bugs, I think I may make a dent in the bug population around here - which is fine with me.
The unit has two bulbs that are easy to replace. Each one is held into place with a plastic clip-in cup sort of affair. This cup also doubles as the holder for the MA-1000 Octenol attractant cartridges, although I have yet to use those. The unit does come with one sample cartridge so you can try it. The instructions say the light heats up the cartridge and then it gives off its scent to attract mosquitos. Like I say, I haven't had a chance to try it; it seems to work fine without it.
All in all, a top notch design; makes life a lot nicer without having to constantly fight moths and flying bugs. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better bug zapper for the home/yard.
92 of 93 found the following review helpful:
Newer technology is not always better (but tends to be more expensive either way!!)Jun 24, 2009
By Rick V
"Bargain hunter by day, shopaholic at night"
Background you can skip
Normally I stay away from writing reviews for items that have already been throughly reviewed and compared as I can be of more help writing about the stuff no one else has tried yet. In this case, since it became such a huge unsolvable problem for us, I felt compelled to write about going 'low tech' for a change.
Here's the scoop: we moved to a new home in late 06: 4 acres, large 12,000 gallon pond, about 1 acre grass, the rest trees/wooded.
Little did we know that the previous owners had put that pond in because of the excess water in the area. The trees were virtually always, except during summer, in puddles or swamp waters. With the recent turn-to-wet climate this problem got exacerbated. Net result: swarms and swarms of mosquitoes taking over our lot. Even the UPS guy and our postie complained when they had to deliver. We had the city come out but other than once a season spraying there was no solace.
So we looked online and finally settled for what we considered the high tech solution: the Mega Catch Premier.. We bought 2 and paid heftily for those...250$ a piece. The concept was a machine that fools mosquitoes into chasing it as it presents itself to mosquito senses as a living breeding and bleeding mammal. It basically looks like a black plastic square box with some openings. In the top part of the box are colored blinking lights (led) that rotate. Aparentlhy mosquitoes see this as movement. Secondly, under those lights, there is a large computer style fan that creates downdraft...into a compartment below when you keep octenol and a bowl with sugar water and hotdog bits. (?) Kid you not.
It actually did make a dent in the population. Let us not claim it was useless, because it was not. The problem with the MC was really about maintenance, cost of maintaining and ultimately durability. Both lasted about 1.5 years before they sputtered and died. The bowls with the liquid often filled up with mosquitoes and other flying insects (millions of moths) and then dried to a hard crust. Ipso facto: clean it often!! Horrendous. Secondly, the fans would become encrusted with insect bits and ultimately jammed until you scraped them. Finally, the octenol was expensive and not easily changed (little jamming door that would make the liquids spill).
To make a long story short: super high tech concept, often claimed to be better than the even more expensive (uses propane) Mosquito magnet.
Well it was, but not for long and it was a pain to keep up with nor did we want to spend such an amount again for a half-functioning solution.
We then started to read up on websites and found the long-been-around Flowtron 80D. The smaller models did not get great ratings (albeit not half bad for dirt cheap zappers) but the BK-80D stood out. Here on Amazon it got close to an avg. of a five. Other sites, with plenty of real life desperater people in similar situations as ours, it was listed as the simpelest and most effective remedy.
About the Flowtron BK-80D
So we shelled out 2x 80$ for 2. Thanks to Prime we got them 2 days later for free (did I say I heart Amazon?).
The units are larger than you might think, and in order to show the size I added some pictures up top with my hand next to it. I am a 6ft male so you can see that these aren't small units.
The unit is not heavy but bulky and make of very sturdy plastic that apprently can handle years of UV damage. Many folks have had these uinits for 5 years plus (it seems to have been in the market since the late 90's which is proof that it is a working concept).
The 80 watt light is big and in a U shape and on the bottom you have 2 Octenol slots. You get 1 x 30 day cartridge. You do not have to use Octenol but we know it works even better with it. (you can order cheap refills online nowadays with free ship for lesst than 5$ a cartide).
The outside grills, made of plastic are horizontal but the inside electric zapper grid is vertical in orientation. More so the bottom is left relatively open apart from the Octenol slots. This is VERY important, as other devices clog up. This one: you will collecvt a heap of insect parts below it. Much easier to clean.
That else is there to say: the electric cord is about 6 inches so you need to connect it to a longer outdoor extension cable to have any type of reach. The unit has a big ring so you can hang it on a planter pole or anywhere else.
Some important tips from others that do work
We read the manual and had picked up some good pointers online: do not hang these within 20 to 25 ft from where you want to sit! Effectively this thing attracts mosquitoes and other flying mini-bloodsuckers and unless you enjoy the pain (...) you would not want to sit in a cloud of those. As one (funny!!) reviewer commented: "Capt'n, the thing does not work, it actually attracted mosquitoes and I could not sit outside anymore". This person had put the Flowtron right next to their chair. Really: 25 ft or so is perfect: one of them, this morning, had at least 300 mosquitoes hanging around on the siding, staying close to the unit taking their mid day nap. At night, sunset, they become active and the zapping kicks into hight gear.
Tip #2: fo look at the source of the mosquitoes and strategically place these. Even though it cover 1.5 acres a piece, you can get more out of it placing it close to the source of the evil. DO NOT place it where it does not stand out, ie. do not choose to hide it out of sight, place it where you need it.
#3: Determine when mosquito-twilight starts. Ours starts at 7pm and lasts until about 7 AM when they disappear to the swamps. To save electricity, the bulbs and cleaning: but a timer or a dusk-til-dawn photocell timer for 5$ and add those.
#4: use the octenol. It does help. You can buy it cheap nowadays. What is 5$ for 40 days of mosquito-slaughtering. Revenge is priceless I'd say.
#5: Hang it between 4 and 6ft from the ground, not too close to a wall. Seems most effective,others noted, we tried and saw interesting pickup in bodyparts.
Other comments:
We, at first, thought we were duped. We hubg the Flowtrons at about 5PM and the occassional zap, one every minute or so, occurred. At that rate we'd never be able to get a habitable patio/outdoors.
But BEHOLD: around 7.30 PM to 8 in the evening when the sun heat started to recede, the party began... it became a NON-STOP zapping. I literally mean 1 or 2 a second. At it lasted all night. The kids even complained that the thing kept them up all night (had one right outside their window which was open, but with bugscreen;)) . We ran out after day 1 and there was a gray circle below the Flowtron on the ground. Just insect parts. So many it was gross.
This thing killed more mosquitoes in one night than the MegaCatch did in a week I am estimating.
After 2 (!!!) nights we experienced a significant decline in attacks and give or take a week or 2 more we will be able to stay outside without the bugsprays, citronella torches, long sleeves... what a relief!!
We are truly grateful we tried Low tech! For once.
PROS and CONS
Need we say more? See above (my fingers hurt from typing.) Hope the pictures do it justice.
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