Entrepreneur Justin Huang’s Cup-a-Bug tool allows users to catch everything from bed bugs to small lizards at a safe distance without killing them.
Huang, 33, says the Cup-a-Bug is based on the “cup and paper method,” which involves putting a cup over an insect and slipping a piece of paper under the cup to avoid harming the pest.
Thanks to its long mechanical stick, the Cup-a-Bug gets rid of the fear factor by letting its users catch bugs from afar.
As demonstrated on his social media, the mini container at the end of the stick is manually controlled by a handle, which opens and closes the container’s lid. Any critters caught by the Cup-a-Bug can then be gently released to the user’s preferred location.
Huang shares that he invented the Cup-a-bug because his arachnophobia prevents him from doing the cup and paper method.
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“Unable to overcome my fears like a functioning adult,” Huang tells NextShark jokingly. “I came up with the Cup-a-Bug.”
Huang also reminds customers that the invention is an alternative to killing bugs that play a vital role in the ecosystem.
“I’ve always hated spiders and would squish them with no remorse,” he says. “It took me some 30 years to finally realize that wasn’t very nice.”
Once a self-proclaimed “couch potato,” Huang says “it clicked” at one point that “life’s a journey.” Since then, he has been down several paths and has worn different hats as an entrepreneur, an engineer, a DoorDasher and, now, a TikToker.
After countless prototypes, a sleek and finalized version of the Cup-a-Bug will be available in August. Over 700 units have already been pre-ordered since Huang first created his Kickstarter campaign to raise funds.
Featured Image via Instagram @thesolidfactory
