Hunt Creepy Crawlers with X-SHOT Bug Attack

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

 There are some creepy crawlers on the loose and its up to you to hunt them down with the X-SHOT Bug Attack Value Pack from Zuru Toys.  It comes with a Eliminator Double Barrel Dart Blaster, 2 Predator TK-3 Dart Blasters, 24 foam darts, and 5 bugs.  Do you have the aim to knock off all the bugs as they crawl down a window or wall?

These aren't just menacing looking insects though!  These bugs have special sticky feet that will allow them to slowly flip over and over again down a surface.  Toss the bugs at a wall and watch them crawl!  Can you score a bulls eye to stop one of these creepy crawlers in its tracks?  The bugs are moving targets when you play with these foam dart blasters.

The two TK-3 Blasters are each front loaded with a three dart ammo capacity.  Swivel the barrel with your hand to prepare a foam dart to be shot, pull back the safety to arm the blaster, and touch the pressure sensitive trigger to fire a round at a creepy crawling bug.  The Eliminator provides double barrel action.  Load in two darts and fire them off one at a time. With either blaster type, darts can be rapidly launched by quickly swiveling, pulling, and pressing to get them to fire.

While these blasters don't have cartridges to load up multiple darts at once, these toys also don't jam up and the darts last longer because they aren't getting bent and mangled as they are being shot out.  While it may take a bit longer to load these blasters than some of their competitors there also isn't the frustration of the toys locking up and darts breaking that often occurs with cartridge based ones.  Two or three shot before having to reload really isn't that bad.  The extra step of having to pull an action handle before pulling the triggers is also a nice safe guard to avoid an accidental shot that could damage something or hit someone in the face.

The X-SHOT dart blasters have some nice oompfh to them allowing users to hit targets from a decent distance with plenty of power to knock one of the clinging bugs off a wall.  They're also very capable of holding their own in a backyard battle against other foam dart toy brands.  Bug Attack is a unique take on foam dart toys that lets X-SHOT stand out and provides a lot of fun.  I also like that it provides some truly amusing targets to shoot at as an alternative to kids firing at each other all the time when playing with these type of toys.  Of course kids will be kids and these toys also have the capabilities to allow a child to be a formidable opponent in neighborhood dart battles.

For more information about the X-SHOT Bug Attack Value Pack, please visit zuru.com

Viewing the world through a bug's eyes

This week's home work assignments for my kids involved learning about bugs.  Beyond being our family's resident bug killer when it comes to squashing the pesky ones we find lurking around our home, I didn't know a whole lot on the topic.  So we turned to makemegenius.com which provides free videos that explains scientific concepts to children in ways that are easy for them to comprehend.  Many of the videos like the one we viewed on bugs are portrayed as cartoons with an animated boy and girl explaining the topic so viewers appear to be learning from peers rather than being lectured to by an adult.  My children learned about the different types of bugs, the difference between arachnids (spiders, scorpions, ticks) and insects (ants, bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, praying mantis, true bugs and wasps) allowing them to easily answer their homework questions after we watched this seven minute video.



Other topics that makemegenius.com covers include astronomy, biology, chemistry, geography, and physics.  Videos can be sorted by age range (Kindergarten through 8th Grade) or by topic.  The animated sequences attempt to take concepts that my befuddle a student at school and explain them at the child's level to help him or her get a grasp on the information.  Videos range from being as simple as explaining why there is day and night to more complex subjects such as how does friction work, what are parallels of latitude, or understanding the digestive system.  The focus for all of these free videos which can be viewed either at makemegenius.com or on their youtube channel is to make science easy for kids.  If you have a child in elementary school or junior high this is a resource you should definitely check out!

Once my kids wrapped up answering their homework questions, we took a walk over to the neighborhood park to check out how the world looks through a bug's eyes.  Thanks to our Educational Insight's Animal Eye Viewers my twins were able to explore the playground through a pixelated bug's-eye view.  My son pretended he was flying like a bee soaring up and down on a swing while my daughter jumped all around the playground equipment like a giant grasshopper.

Unlike human eyes which are one big pupil, insects are made up of lots of little lenses.  Their eyes are too small to see as clearly as we see but they still provide a wide range of vision.  An insect's many little lenses help detect quick movements, which explains why flies can be so difficult to swat.  Also insects can see a broader spectrum of colors than human beings can which for example helps honeybees find nectar when examining flowers.  Using our insect viewer from our set of GeoSafari Jr. Animal Eye Viewers from Educational Insights, my kids were able to get a first hand perspective on how a bug views the world.

Educational Insights' GeoSafari Jr. Animal Eye Viewers comes as a three piece set that allows children to view the world around them as an insect, chameleon or shark.  Next week's homework  involves reptiles so we'll also be doing some exploring as well with their chameleon eye viewer to help make that assignment fun and interesting for them.  Hmm their teachers haven't given us enough advance notice to know if sharks is a topic that is coming up but I'm sure we'll have some fun with that version of the Animal Eye Viewers as well soon.

FTC Disclaimer:  A Geek Daddy was provided a complimentary Animal Eye Viewers set to review from Educational Insights.  Opinions are honest and my own.

Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite

Ugh! The Metro Detroit area where we live was just ranked second in a list that you don't want to be on ... Top Beg Bug Cities in the USA. Normally you want your community ranked high on lists, but not this one.  Each year the pest control company ORKIN ranks cities by the number of bed bug treatments they've performed.  Orkin just released their most recent ranking which covers from January through December of 2014 and Detroit jumped from fourth to second place which is obviously not a direction you want to see your community trending.  Other highly ranked cities included the Windy City (Chicago) in first place, the Buckeyes in Columbus Ohio were third and Cleveland was fifth showing that beg bugs appear to be taking a liking to the blood of us Midwesterners.  CLICK HERE to check out how your city may have fared in Orkin's top bed bug cities ranking.

Bed bugs are nasty pests - brownish oval insects about the size of an apple seed - that feed on the blood of animals or humans normally hiding in the daylight and sneaking out at night to eat while their victim is sleeping thus getting the name "bed bugs."  Fortunately, bed bugs aren't know to spread disease like mosquitoes but unfortunately their bites can leave itchy bloody welts on areas of skin that are exposed while sleeping.

To help spread the word about the growing bed bug problem in the United States, our friends at Orkin have provided A Geek Daddy blog with a new game they have released Bed Bug Feud.  Can you beat the clock and make it to the leader board?  E-mail your score to thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com and we'll randomly pick one entrant to get a free CleanRest Pillow Encasement (retail value $20.00) to help protect your bed from these pesky bugs.

UPDATE: Congrats to Peggy from Alexandria VA who won the Bed Bug Feud prize!



Think you have what it takes to make it on the leaderboard? Play Bed Bug Feud and beat the clock to be crowned the Bed Bug Champion!  One A Geek Daddy blog player will win this CleanRest Pillow Encasement:

Check out this informational chart from Orkin for some tips that may help you win the Bed Bug Feud:

Now don't panic, not every home has or will have a problem with bed bugs but I hope this game and these tips will give you the insight and information to keep an eye out for trouble and know what to do if you determine these pests have paid you a visit - call the Orkin man!  S.L.E.E.P. tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!  Remember to email us your scores at thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com for a chance to win a CleanRest Pillow Encasement which is not only good for protecting yourself from bed bugs but can also assist people with allergies get a good night's sleep.

 Disclaimer & Rules: You must be a US resident to enter over the age of 18. A Geek Daddy Blog will select a random winner on Sunday, February 8, 2015 ( 1 winner will be selected from a random draw of all eligible entries - each submitted entry will be assigned a number and a random number will be drawn to select a winner based upon total entries ). A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but ORKIN LLC is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize. By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion. A Geek Daddy Blog hosted this contest and blog post based upon ORKIN LLC providing the prize to the selected winner. Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Prize will be delivered by UPS or FedEx so no P.O. Boxes are allowed as mailing addresses. A Geek Daddy Blog is hosting this giveaway as a benefit to our readers. Information for this post was provided by ORKIN LLC. A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive any financial compensation for publishing this post but did receive one of the prizes for personal use.

FACT or FICTION: Do you know the TRUTH when it comes to a Bug's Life?

 Take Orkin's Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake Quiz

for a chance to win a Scientific Back-to-School prize pack

You've heard the myths about bugs before.  Do you know what's fact and what's fake?  Take the Orkin Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake Quiz below to test your knowledge.  Be sure to watch every clip for the scoop on these infamous bug myths.

A Geek Daddy Blog is giving away a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack courtesy of our friends at Orkin.  The prize pack includes:

• Clip-on Fisheye Lens (iPhone, Galazy, Android compatible)

• Orkin On-the-Go Drink Tumbler

• Orkin Drawstring Bag

• Orkin "Field Notes" Notebook w/ Pen

For the win, watch all of the Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake videos above and than do one or all of the following (Entries will not be judged) to earn up to 3 entries:

ENTRY 1 - email thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com with your own creative bug myth.  Include your full name and mailing address.

ENTRY 2 - Tweet about a bug myth you had been fooled about including @Geeky_Dad and #OrkinMan within your message.

ENTRY 3 - Leave a comment on this blog post regarding which Scientific Fact or Scientific Fake video is your favorite & why.

Contest ends Thursday, August 28th at 11:59 pm EST.  You must be a US resident to enter over the age of 18.  One random winner will be selected on Friday, August 29, 2014 (Each eligible entry will be assigned a number and winner will be selected from a random number draw). 

A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but ORKIN LLC is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize.  By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion. A Geek Daddy Blog hosted this contest and blog post based upon ORKIN LLC providing a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack to the selected winner. Each household is only eligible to win a Scientific Back-to-School Prize Pack via blog reviews and giveaways once.  Only one entrant per mailing address per giveaway.  If you have won the same prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Prize will be delivered by UPS or FedEx so no P.O. Boxes are allowed as mailing addresses.

For more information about the insects in our world check out ORKIN's resources on Facebook and its website.

DISCLAIMER:  In addition to awarding a prize pack to the winner of this contest, ORKIN LLC also provided A GEEK DADDY Blog with a prize pack as part of the blog's participation in this promotion.