Do Bug Bombs Really Work?

I am sure that you have done this before.  You made everyone clear out of the house and you set up a couple bug bombs around the house, set each of them off and then booked it out of the house.  Listen, I get it.  It seems like the perfect solution for your pest problem.  You nuke them with an aerosol that is supposed to get every nook and crevice.  Unfortunately, all it really accomplishes is coating your home in an oily chemical residue that is basically just a pesticide cocktail.

I remember when I was a kid my parents used these all the time to get rid of fleas.  We would have to leave the house for several hours and after we returned, the place stunk and it just felt gross.  That stuff had to be incredibly bad for us and pretty toxic.  Again, the logic seemed perfect, the fogger would get everything.  However, the only thing that really happens is that the pesticide pushes the insects even farther into walls, cracks, crevices, etc.  If you have had some success with foggers, it probably didn't last, right?  What happened was that the pests retreated and then came back with a week or so.

A recent study from Ohio State University concluded that bug bombs are entirely ineffective on crawling or biting insects.  They did so by placing bed bugs in plates around a room.  They placed various foggers around them and set them off.  The results?  Not much, only a few of them died while the rest seemed completely unharmed.  They did a second test with a tiny bit of paper placed over the dishes for shelter.  In this case, none of them were harmed.  The conclusion is that bed bugs are nearly immune to the effects of bug bombs and the same can be concluded for other types of crawling insects.

In addition to the limited effectiveness, there have been illnesses reported from inhaling the insecticide.  A study that included 8 states in 2008 reported that there were at least 466 injuries from the use of bug bombs and 21 of those had to be hospitalized.

So what are they good for?  Well, they actually work pretty well on flying insects.  If you are going to use them, this is your best bet because it should take care of flies, gnats, etc.  Other than that, they are kind of a waste of money that puts your family at risk.

If you have questions about foggers or any other pest questions, please do not hesitate to call or email.

If you would like assistance with Vancouver Washington pest control, please give us a call.