Best Insecticide for Your Home (2023)
Dealing with an insect problem? As a seasoned professional in the field of pest control, I understand the convenience of addressing a variety of pests with a single solution. That’s where general-use insecticides come in — versatile formulations that combat various insect species, effectively safeguarding your home from these unwanted invaders.
Below, I delve into the array of home insecticides, guiding you through the essential factors to weigh when selecting the right one. This guide provides an understanding of their mechanisms, their effectiveness, and the fundamental principles of application.
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Stay with me as I discuss everything you need to know to pick the best insecticide for your home.
There are four basic types of insecticide formulations on the market:
Each of these different types of insecticide have the potential to be the best for your home. Let’s take a closer look at each one.
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There are several important considerations homeowners should make before going all-in on one product. Here are the most important questions you should ask yourself before purchasing:
Certain insecticides are rated for indoor or outdoor use. Outdoor pesticides are often much stronger and can have a strong odor.
If you use an outdoor-rated insecticide inside your house, you risk exposing your family and pets to toxic fumes or odors that irritate the nose, mouth, throat, or lungs. So, be sure that the insecticide you choose is appropriate for where you are planning to apply it.
Certain pesticides can have off-target effects on other animals and ecosystems. In other words, you need to check if the pesticide you want to use will be dangerous to your pets or the wild organisms that visit your yard.
For instance, some insecticides have very high aquatic toxicity — killing everything from fish to tiny invertebrates in aquatic ecosystems. If you live near a river, drainage, or other body of water, be mindful of the toxicity of the active ingredients in your home pest control products.
If you have cats in the house, avoid using permethrin. It’s highly toxic to cats, but not to dogs or humans.
I’ve also explained how different products may target different insects. Application methods are another factor. If you plan to spray your basement, for example, you shouldn’t select insecticide dust that is intended for application without water. Mixing dust with water ruins the product, and it will not work, so areas prone to moisture are not ideal.
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The best insecticides for general home use vary from home to home, as each home has different pest issues and levels of severity.
Below, I break down seven of the best choices for general-use insecticides to employ in your DIY pest control battle:
Bifen IT is a great general insecticide. The active ingredient in Bifen IT is bifenthrin, one of the most effective and heavily-studied insecticides on the market.
Bifenthrin is effective against almost all insects. The Bifen IT label recommends spraying cracks, crevices, baseboards, and any other entry points that insects use. The product works as both an insecticide and a repellent — killing insects quickly enough that they cannot show their friends the way into your home.
In general, deltamethrin is considered one of the most powerful synthetic pyrethroid insecticides on the market. Plus, it is slightly less toxic than bifenthrin, so its uses are less restricted indoors.
Suspend SC uses the synthetic pyrethroid deltamethrin as an active ingredient. This product is safe for pets and families after it has dried — though it will harm bees, non-target insects, and aquatic wildlife if not used carefully.
Suspend SC is labeled for use “in and around residential buildings including kitchens and food/feed handling establishments.” This means that Suspend SC can be used pretty much anywhere, as long as you let it dry before using the area.
As a professional exterminator, I often rotate between Bifen IT and Suspend SC. Alternating between Bifen IT and Suspend SC on a monthly (or bi-monthly) basis ensures the insects don’t become resistant to either insecticide.
Taurus SC’s active ingredient is fipronil. Fipronil is a phenylpyrazole insecticide, first developed when insects started becoming resistant to pyrethroid insecticides.
Fipronil is a non-repellent insecticide. Social insects like ants and termites can cover themselves in the product, and carry it back to the colony. This insecticide typically causes the entire colony to die off in a relatively short amount of time.
The downside to Taurus SC is that it is incredibly toxic. Studies have shown that fipronil is toxic to almost all non-target species, and can take years to break down in the soil. That means you shouldn’t use it on flowers that bees frequent or near any body of water.
The upside is that Taurus SC is extremely good at getting rid of ants, termites, cockroaches, and wasps — all species that live socially. This product is great at curbing their populations before they come inside.
The main benefit of an insecticide like this is it’s natural ingredients. It’s much less toxic than others. Essentria IC3 can be used near waterways since it has almost no effect on aquatic organisms — unlike most synthetic pesticides.
Essentria IC3 uses botanical active ingredients such as rosemary oil, peppermint oil, and geraniol. Essentria IC3 has proven effective when applied directly to insects, though in the field essential oils are not as powerful as synthetic insecticides.
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The only real downside I’ve found to Essentria IC3 is that it can have a very strong odor. While the newest formula of the product does contain substances to mitigate the strong odor, people with asthma or those sensitive to strong smells may become irritated.
CimeXa works as a desiccant that dries out insects that come in contact with the powder. The active ingredient, silicon dioxide, sticks to the exoskeleton and dehydrates the insect.
Silicone dioxide is minimally toxic to most mammals, though you should still avoid getting it on yourself or pets directly. The great thing about insecticide dusts like CimeXa is that they can last up to 10 years if properly applied in areas with low-moisture conditions.
Though you should not directly dust areas that your pets or family will be using, this is a great way to protect attics, crawlspaces, and other areas where insects gain entry into your home.
There is really no “one-size-fits-all” approach to baits. Baits are formulated to attract specific insects, so they often fail to eliminate more than one insect pest at a time.
For insects that share a nest or hiding place, baits are extremely effective. For ant and cockroach infestations, this makes baits a must-have as part of your elimination strategy. Over the years, I discovered that, for most minor to moderate pest issues, a combination of foggers and baits is all you need for home pest control.
Though you should always follow the directions on the product label, I can give you a few general tips to help you apply insecticide more effectively:
It might sound like common sense, but this is one reason many DIY exterminations go poorly. Think like an insect — cover every crack, crevice, and pathway you would take if you were trying to invade your home. If you know where the nest or colony is, apply insecticide directly to that area. This approach gives you the best chance of ending your infestation.
Think of insecticide dust as a barrier. Though they don’t instantly kill insects, the insects that walk through them all eventually die. Apply dust in any cracks, crevices, or wall voids that you have access to. If you dust properly, no insect should be able to enter your home without first walking through the dust.
You don’t want dust covering the inside of your home. Thankfully, you know all about sprays now. Spray around foundations, along window seals, around door frames, and any other places where insects squeeze their way into your home. Some sprays work directly in living spaces, and these spaces are safe to enter once the spray dries.
Most insect sprays contain insecticides that are also insect repellants. If you use bait in the same areas that you have sprayed, most insects will avoid those areas and few will take the bait. In general, you place baits in areas where it’s unsafe to use a spray. Many baits come in family- and pet-safe containers that only insects can access.
You may not get it right on your first application of an insecticide. Don’t give up. Instead, analyze where you went wrong and try again. Maybe you selected the wrong insecticide, or maybe you didn’t cover the right areas. Figure out what happened, develop a new strategy, and try again. Trial and error is the best way to find the insect control method that works perfectly for your situation.
A reliable general-use insecticide makes all the difference in maintaining a pest-free home. These versatile solutions offer effective protection against a variety of common invaders, from cockroaches to fruit flies.
By selecting the right product for your needs, following safety guidelines, and considering natural alternatives, you can confidently create a pest-free environment and enjoy the comfort of your home without these unwanted guests.
Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Outdoor
This post was last modified on 14/10/2023 03:25
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