Killing flies and cockroaches got easier with the invention of the Bug-A-Salt, a plastic shotgun that fires salt at the bugs, knocking them out and leaving them ready for the garbage.
An advertising video for the gun has become popular recently in social networks because of its humor. The short commercial pokes fun at absurd television infomercials and action movies.
The video shows inventor Lorenzo Maggiore firing the plastic shotgun from various positions, including from behind a tree.
But the product's real job is to kill flies without damaging anything around them. All of the "shots" end with a slow-motion sequence of the insects being knocked out.
Skell Inc., which sells the product, hit the market in 2012 after Maggiore launched a fundraising campaign on Indiegogo.com. His video attracted clients and media reports around the world.
By the end of that year, the California-based company had received orders for more than 20,000 units and raised $577,000.
Bug-A-Salt, which fires regular table salt, sells for at least $40 on Amazon and its own web page. Its latest model includes a laser scope to improve the shooter's aim.
The salt pistol was listed on the Reddit website before Christmas as a possible holiday gift.
"This is an action shotgun that you fill with table salt so you can shoot flies without damaging the walls with lead pellets. It also kills them without splashing their guts all over!!" one user wrote in a post that drew 1,694 comments.
