When to Use a Bug Bomb to Control Pests

Bug bombs—also known as total release foggers or insect foggers—use an aerosol propellant to fill an indoor space with chemical pesticides. These products are often marketed as all-purpose extermination tools that are easy for a homeowner to use. But is a bug bomb always the right choice when confronted with a home pest problem? Learn when to use a bug bomb—and when you shouldnt. Bug Bombs Work Best on Flying Insects Bug bombs are most effective on flying insects, such as flies or mosquitoes. They dont provide much control at all for cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, or other pests that most concern homeowners. So unless you live in the Amityville Horror house, you wont find a bug bomb to be of much help with your insect problem. Consumers are often fooled into using bug bombs for roaches and bed bugs because they believe the airborne pesticides will penetrate every crack and crevice where these insects hide. Quite the opposite is true, though. Once these hidden pests detect the chemical fog in the room, theyll retreat further into walls or other hideaways, where youll never be able to treat them effectively. Got Bed Bugs? Dont Bother With a Bug Bomb Are you battling bed bugs? Entomologists at The Ohio State University say not to bother using a bug bomb. Their 2012 study showed bug bomb products to be ineffective for treating bed bug infestations. The researchers studied three brands of insect foggers that list pyrethroids as their active ingredient. They used five different bedbug populations collected from Ohio homes as their variables and a laboratory-raised bed bug strain known as Harlan as their control. The Harlan bed bug population is known to be susceptible to pyrethroids. They conducted the experiment in a vacant office building on campus. The OSU entomologists found that the insect foggers had little adverse effect on the five bed bug populations collected from the field. In other words, the bug bombs were virtually useless on the bed bugs that are actually living in peoples homes. Just one strain of the field-collected bed bugs succumbed to the pyrethroid foggers, but that was only when those bed bugs were out in the open and directly exposed to the insecticide mist. The foggers did not kill bed bugs that were hiding, even when they were only protected by a thin layer of cloth. In fact, even the Harlan strain—bed bugs that are known to be susceptible to pyrethroids—survived when they could take shelter under a piece of cloth. The bottom line is this: If you have bed bugs, save your money for a professional exterminator, and dont waste your time using bug bombs. Using ineffective pesticides inappropriately only contributes to pesticide resistance, and it wont solve your problem. Bug Bombs Can Be Hazardous Regardless of the targeted pest, a bug bomb should really be a pesticide of last resort, anyway. First of all, the aerosol propellants used in bug bombs are highly flammable and pose a serious risk of fire or explosion if the product is used improperly. Second, do you really want to coat every surface in your home with toxic pesticides? When you use a bug bomb, a chemical cocktail rains down on your counters, furniture, floors, and walls, leaving behind an oily and toxic residue. If you still feel a bug bomb is your best option for pest control, be sure to read and follow all directions on the label. Remember that when it comes to pesticide use, the label is the law!  If the bug bomb treatment doesn’t work the first time, dont try it again—its not going to work. Consult your county extension office or a pest-control professional for help. Sources Jones, Susan C., and Joshua L. Bryant. â€Å"Ineffectiveness of Over-the-Counter Total-Release Foggers Against the Bed Bug (Heteroptera: Cimicidae).†Ã‚  Journal of Economic Entomology, vol. 105, no. 3, 1 June 2012, pp. 957–963.