Dealing with the roaming power-off "enemies" in 1000 Amps

Any suggestions for dealing with the "enemies" in 1000 Amps that float around and shut off your lights/power?

I'm talking about the guy on the left in this image:

They seem to move randomly when I first enter the room. But if I turn a light back on right after they shut it off, they seem to come back to it quick.

Is it just a speed thing of coming into the room and hitting all the lights quick before they shut any off? Or is there some way to influence their behavior that I haven't picked up?

The enemies (the game calls them "pests") get easier to deal with after you get one of the four upgrades. So, you can skip some rooms and come back to them later. Or, the best strategy I've found so far is to just come into the room and quickly (generally by teleporting) try to turn on all the lights.