A Flit gun is a hand-pumped insecticide

sprayer A sprayer is a device used to spray a liquid, where sprayers are commonly used for projection of water, weed killers, crop performance materials, pest maintenance chemicals, as well as manufacturing and production line ingredients. In agricultu ...

used to dispense FLIT, a brand-name insecticide widely used against

flies Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

and

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning "gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "lit ...

es between 1928 and the mid-1950s. Although named after the well-known brand, "Flit gun" became a generic name for this type of dispenser. Once commonly found in households, hand-operated Flit guns have been replaced by

aerosol spray Aerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. It comprises a can or bottle that contains a payload, and a propellant under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the payload is forced out ...

cans and fallen out of common use.

Design description

A Flit gun consists of a pneumatic pump cylinder with a hand-operated piston to force air through an air nozzle in the front. Below the front of the pneumatic tube hangs a cylindrical container which acts as a reservoir for liquid insecticide, this reservoir being set at 90 degrees to the pneumatic tube. In early versions, the reservoir is permanently secured to the pump and equipped with a removable, gasketed screw cap for filling. In later, improved versions, the insecticide reservoir is secured to the pump with a coarse screw fitting and a seal of cork composite or gasket paper, so that it can readily be unscrewed for filling. A venturi tube extends from the pump cylinder downward into the reservoir and the upper end of the venturi is positioned in front of a nozzle on the air pump. When a jet of high-velocity air exits the pump and streams across end of the venturi tube, it lowers the pressure in the venturi (

Venturi effect The Venturi effect is the reduction in fluid pressure that results when a fluid flows through a constricted section (or choke) of a pipe. The Venturi effect is named after its discoverer, the 18th century Italian physicist, Giovanni Battista ...

and

Bernoulli's principle In fluid dynamics, Bernoulli's principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure or a decrease in the fluid's potential energy. The principle is named after the Swiss mathematic ...

), drawing insecticide upward from the reservoir, which then atomizes the liquid as it is entrained in the air jet (it is an

atomizer nozzle Atomization refers to breaking bonds in some substance to obtain its constituent atoms in gas phase. By extension, it also means separating something into fine particles, for example: process of breaking bulk liquids into small droplets. Atomizati ...

). With each vigorous forward stroke of the pump handle a burst of spray is produced, similar to that of a modern aerosol spray can.

Uses in popular culture

* In 1927,

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
''

Judge'' featured Flit, eventually securing Seuss a 17-year ad campaign for the company, which supported his family through the Great Depression. * In the 1930

Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AF ...

film '' Animal Crackers'',

Harpo Marx Arthur "Harpo" Marx (born Adolph Marx; November 23, 1888 – September 28, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, mime artist, and harpist, and the second-oldest of the Marx Brothers. In contrast to the mainly verbal comedy of his brothers Gro ...

pours a

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with formula C H Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE. It is also a precursor to various re ...

-like substance into a Flit sprayer. Although the movie apparently didn't secure rights to show the Flit logo on-screen (the words "FLIT" on the sprayer are colored over directly on prints of the film), Flit used its appearance in the film for its print advertising, in an early example of film

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original pr ...

advertising. * In Ernest Hemingway's 1938 short story, "The Butterfly and the Tank", the central character uses a flit gun to spray patrons of a bar in Madrid with

Eau de Cologne Eau de Cologne (; German: ''Kölnisch Wasser'' ; meaning "Water from Cologne"), or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina (Giovanni Maria Farina) in 1709, it has since come to be a ...

during the Spanish Civil War, setting off a melee that ends poorly. * In

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has b ...

's 1972 book ''

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'' is a children's book by British author Roald Dahl. It is the sequel to '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', continuing the story of young Charlie Bucket and chocolatier Willy Wonka as they travel i ...

'', the spray for aging was delivered in a Flit gun while in Minusland in the 3rd edition with Quentin Blake's illustrations. * "The Flit Gun" is a poem by Pam Ayres, first published in ''Some More Of Me Poetry'' (1976). * In the second prologue of

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high ...

's 1979

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

The Dead Zone The Dead Zone may refer to: * ''The Dead Zone'' (novel), a 1979 novel by Stephen King * ''The Dead Zone'' (film), a 1983 film adaptation of the novel, starring Christopher Walken and directed by David Cronenberg * ''The Dead Zone'' (TV series), ...

'', Gregory Stillson uses a Flit gun to spray ammonia in the face of a farm dog, establishing Stillson as the book's villain. * Stanley, the main character in the 1983 videogame '' Donkey Kong 3'', sprays insecticide from a Flit-style sprayer. * Schwartz, a character in the 1983 American Christmas comedy film ''

A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'', with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey ...

'', tells his friends Ralphie and Flick on their way to school that he's getting his Old Man a Flit gun for Christmas. * Sarah questions Hoggle as he uses a Flit-style sprayer against minuscule

fairies A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, of ...

in the 1986 film, ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

''. The fairies are resentful, as the one Sarah cossets, bites her in reply. * Ray Ramono uses a Flit Gun to banish his floating mother in the season 2 intro of "Everybody Loves Raymond".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flit Gun Insecticides Insecticide brands