FROM a distance it looks like a tennis racket.

But on closer inspection, the harmless-looking racket is really a death trap for pesky mosquitoes. This powerful ‘Electronic Mosquito Trap’ [shaped like a tennis racket] is designed to obliterate mosquitoes and bugs with just one touch.

And with the recent outbreak of malaria in Jamaica, one vendor told the Observer that the product was “flying off” the shelf.

“Dem a sell like hot bread,” said the vendor, who did not wish to be named. “Me have a whole heep, because my friend give me them to sell for him, and him sell a lot already because him get a lot of orders for it.”

He testified to the efficiency of the trap, saying that he has one at his home and he finds it very effective.

“All you have to do is wave it round, and when you here ‘paiee’, you know that is the mosquito it catch,” he said. “It better than mosquito destroyer, because it nuh have no chemical in it,” he added.

The Electronic Mosquito Trap, which was made in China, seems to have found its way to Jamaica, even though the Bureau of Standards says it has not heard about the product and plans to conduct an investigation.

“We haven’t approved that item,” Fae Anderson, manager for the Inspection Division of the Bureau of Standards told the Observer. “The product would have to be tested, and we have not heard anything about it as yet, but we will look for them.”

A representative at the Consumer Affairs Commission also told the Observer that the organisation had never heard of the product.

The label claims that the battery-operated trap will initiate static force around the net zone when switched on. It said that whenever small bugs come in contact with the outer net, they will be attracted to the inner net to be zapped and killed. It also noted that, normally, bugs are zapped into pieces in one or two shocks.

The description on the packaging said it features three layers of metal net and is “absolutely safe for people”.

The note on the label admits, however, that the product can be harmful to users if the instructions are not followed properly. It states that in order to prevent electric shock while operating the item, one should not touch the wire swatter. It went on to state that it was absolutely safe for people to touch the outer nets with bare fingers or body, but not safe to squeeze the nets.

The Observer tested the product and not only did it zap a mosquito, but even when the batteries were removed from the product, one still received a noticeable shock when the inner layer of wires on the swatter was touched with the fingers.

In terms of safety as it relates to children, the makers of the trap claim that the net meshes are too small to enable a child’s finger to get through, while a mosquito or fly can do so with its body.

Up to Friday, the number of reported malaria cases stood at 140.