A fly swatter with a hitting grid and a stem, whereby the hitting grid is joint to the stem by a joint; the hitting grid is rotatable against the force of a spring from a relaxed position about an axis which lies in the plane of the hitting grid and runs perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the stem; the hitting grid is lockable in a pre-loaded position with a locking device, and the locking mechanism of the locking device is releasable by way of a trigger, is characterized in that the joint with the turning axis of the hitting grid is assembled between the stem and the hitting grid; the locking device is assembled remote to the trigger; and a string, a wire or different transmission are provided, which transfer a triggering force from the trigger onto the locking device.