Racquet for killing flying insects

A means to kill or disable flying insects is provided having a lightweight, long-handled racquet, similar to a badminton racquet, with the elliptical hoop of the racquet being woven with tightly stretched, small diameter wire or other inelastic filaments and with the adjacent wires being spaced closely so that a flying insect will be hit by one or more of the strands when the racquet is swung to hit the insect. The small diameter wire is difficult for the insect to see and it does not build up an advance air pressure wave which might warn the insect to avoid the approaching racquet or move the insect out of the path of the racquet. The rigid racquet and the tightly stretched, relatively inelastic wire effectively convey the momentum of the racquet to the small area of the wire that hits the insect and so delivers a concentrated blow that is very damaging to the insect. The device can be used to control the flying insect population, indoors or outdoors, without the use of insecticides.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The racquet means for killing or disabling flying insects of the present invention may vary widely in its configuration and composition. The preferred embodiment described herein can easily be made with readily available equipment, technology and materials presently used to make badminton and other string racquets. FIG. 1 shows a typical embodiment of a lightweight, long-handled racquet 10 having a more or less elliptical hoop 11 which is woven with closely spaced, tightly stretched, small diameter wires 12 . The hoop 11 is attached via a handle extension 13 to a handle 14 . FIG. 2 shows an enlarged portion of the elliptical hoop 11 of the racquet showing the closely spaced wires 12 in a parallel arrangement. The wire used in this embodiment is0.006″ stainless steel with about 12 wires per inch. The entire racquet frame, including the hoop, the handle extension and the handle, can be made in one piece from graphite composition compounds. The dimensions of the racquet are similar to a common badminton racquet with the overall length being about 26 inches and with the hoop being about 8 inches wide and 10 inches long. The hoop frame and handle extension components are about ¼ inch in diameter and the diameter of the handle is about 1 inch. The description of the present invention contained herein is an exemplification of typical embodiments and is considered as illustrative only of the principles of this invention. Although this description contains various specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of this invention. The device of the present invention can be made with various materials and shapes. Other materials that can be used instead of stainless steel wire include various natural and synthetic fibers which could be braided strands or monofilament such as lightweight fishing line. The preferred embodiment shows 12 wires per inch; the device could have more or fewer wires per inch depending on the size of the target insect. The preferred embodiment shows the wires stretched parallel and without cross strands; other configurations that are not parallel may be used and cross strands may be included. The hoop could be padded to limit collateral damage or injury caused by the device. The hoop could be larger or smaller and it could be a shape other than an ellipse. The handle and the handle extension could be varying lengths and materials and the racquet frame could be made from various materials including steel and aluminum alloys. Other changes in size, color, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and do not depart from the scope of the present invention which is limited only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.