CHOOSING THE BEST FLEA FOGGER (FLEA BOMB) FOR YOUR HOUSE: A COMPREHENSIVE BUYING AND USER GUIDE FOR 2018.
Raid Flea Fogger
Raid® is a very popular brand of insecticide products which belongs to SC Johnson. As of now, this brand has a total of five product lines which aim to kill and control ants, fleas, flying insects, roaches, and multiple other insects.
Hot Shot Flea Fogger
Aside from Raid®, another name which is often regarded as the best flea fogger (flea bomb) brand on the market is Hot Shot®. It is owned by Spectrum Brands Holdings – a multi-national consumer products corporation.
Other Flea Fogger Brands
Raid and Hot Shot are the main brands when it comes to choosing the best flea fogger. However, there are other well-known brands of flea fogger on the market. In this post, we will introduce another three brands in this category.
Check NowTable of ContentsIntroductionWhat is flea fogger (flea bomb)?How does it work?How long does the impact last?Why should you choose the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house?The best flea fogger (flea bomb) brands on the market that we highly recommendRaid® Flea FoggerHot Shot® Flea FoggerOther Flea Fogger BrandsWhere can you buy flea bombs for your house?Things you should consider when choosing the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your houseHow to use flea foggerImportant tips you should know when using a flea foggerHandy tips for effective treatmentSafety warnings about the use of a flea foggerAlternatives to flea foggersFlea SprayFlea TrapFlea PowderFlea control products for pets- why do we need them?Flea collarFlea shampoosFlea sprays for petsOther things you should know about fleasTo Sum Up FAQs
Introduction
Fleas are tiny insects that are always on the lookout for new hosts to suck blood from. Although these animals do not have wings, they can appear anywhere in your house by jumping from one place to another, and by hiding in hard-to-reach areas like cracks.
However, instead of taking this seriously, people usually tend to underestimate the hazards caused by flea infestation. Do you know that you and your pet might experience hair loss, skin bumps, irritability, and itching if you get bitten by a flea?
Apart from that, more rarely, fatal conditions and diseases such as tapeworm infection, anemia, and the most dangerous one – plague, are all caused by fleas.
Hence, getting rid of fleas is an urgent requirement in order to protect yourself, your family members, and your pets from health risks. The question is: how could you do that? One of the most effective flea killers available on the market right now is the flea fogger. The wide range of options can make you confused, therefore, today we will provide you with an in-depth buying guide to help you choose the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house.
What is flea fogger (flea bomb)?
A flea fogger or flea bomb is a chemical flea killer that makes use of insecticides. The product can also eliminate many other common kinds of household pests, such as spiders, ants, cockroaches, and mosquitoes, with a high rate of success. Flea bombs are often used in houses, offices, gardens, apartments, garages and other places which are prone to heavy flea infestation.
Normally, flea bombs come in the shape of the aerosol can with a nozzle on the top. Once you activate the spray nozzle, all the liquid inside escapes from the container and covers the targeted space. Therefore, people also call it a total-release aerosol (TRA), total-release fogger (TFG) or simply a bug bomb.
Fogging in this manner will deliver the contents to every corner of the room, even hard-to-access places like curtains, pet beds, carpets, and other furniture where you cannot easily kill mature fleas, eggs, and their larvae. Please take a look at the video below for more information:
How does it work?
What is the hidden secret that makes flea foggers so effective? The answer can be found in the list of ingredients used in each product. These active components are primarily responsible for finishing adult fleas off. Normally, manufacturers will use these main ingredients:
S-methoprene – this poison is not extremely dangerous to humans and pets, but is dangerous for aquatic wildlife. This substance is not known to cause cancer or any other long-term harm. The efficiency of s-methoprene will be reduced if it is used outdoors, as the sunlight changes the chemical composition, leading to its failure. You will find this chemical in pet shampoos, flea bombs, dips, and flea collars.
Permethrin, cypermethrin, and tetramethrin belong to the family of pyrethroids, which are considered to be very hazardous to humans and pets, especially to the nervous system. They can cause serious symptoms such as allergic reactions or asthma. Also, they are classified as ingredients that are likely to cause cancers. These ingredients are often used in sprays, dusts, spot-on treatments, pet shampoos or dips.
Etofenprox – Although etofenprox is also a pyrethroid, its level of toxicity is much lower than the three components mentioned above. In addition, the EPA has announced that the possibility of suffering from cancer is not high if you use this chemical in small doses.
Pyrethrin – similar to tetramethrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin, this active ingredient is highly toxic to both people and pets as it can badly affect the nervous system. Furthermore, asthma and allergies can be triggered, and there is a chance of it causing cancer. The biggest difference between pyrethroid and pyrethrin is that while the former is synthetic, the latter is naturally derived. This substance is often found in sprays, pet shampoos, dips, or powders.
Via: noblerate.com
As we said before, flea foggers are widely advertised as being able to exterminate fleas at any stage of their life cycle. Nevertheless, the ingredients mentioned above are most effective at killing adults rather than eggs and larvae. Hence, to help you get rid of fleas, two other substances are usually added. These are known as Insect Growth Regulators (IGR). They are insecticides that mimic young insects’ hormones to break their development as well as inhibit reproduction.
Don’t think though that IGRs will destroy the insects immediately. They have a long-term effect, preventing the eggs and larvae from developing until all have been eliminated. After being exposed to these chemicals:
- Young fleas cannot hatch from their eggs. In the few cases that the young fleas still hatch, they will not be able to live long.
- The development of the larvae will be disrupted so that it is impossible for them to mature to adulthood.
- Pupae, which are insects in the stage of development between a larva and an adult, will have their development halted.
Users can take advantage of total-release foggers to eliminate mosquitoes, cockroaches, bugs, bees and so on besides just fleas. Apart from this, the insect growth regulators are not known to be highly toxic to human health.
How long does the impact last?
The best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house will not only kill fleas in a short period of time, but will also make sure that these jumping insects do not come back to your living area after use. In fact, depending on the active ingredients in the bomb and where you use it, it can be efficient for up to about six months if the product is used indoors.
If used outdoors, the flea treatment will remain effective for about thirty days. It is easy to understand why this difference occurs: outdoor spaces are open so the contents of the bomb will be diffused very quickly. Also, when it’s activated indoors, the substances are converted into a powder that forms a layer of protection to inhibit fleas from reproducing.
Why should you choose the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house?
It is annoying and dangerous to have a house infested with fleas. However, have you ever asked yourself why people tend to buy a flea fogger rather than another method when it comes to this situation? The fact that flea foggers are high on the list of top flea treatments is not accidental. They are well-loved by customers because the best flea fogger (flea bomb) will:
Help you eliminate mature fleas, larvae, and eggs with a high rate of success. In other words, fleas at any stage of their development. This is all due to the combination of active ingredients that manufacturers use. Adults normally die quickly after being exposed to a flea fogger contents. If an adult flea still survives after being exposed to the chemicals, it will return to the nest with toxins sticking to its body. Consequently, the chemicals will be transferred to the eggs and larvae, and all of them will not able to develop and will die after a few days.
Be aimed at fully protecting your living environment for a long time after use. Apart from killing fleas and their offspring at the first exposure, flea bombs have the ability to prevent further infestations of these tiny insects for the next 6 months inside your house, and for about 30 days in open areas like gardens.
Achieve full impact over a large area. A flea fogger can cover a 293 square foot space. This is the entire area of a modest-sized house. Therefore, you will not need to buy a lot of bombs to achieve maximum efficiency because one can is powerful enough to deliver the chemicals to every corner of your house.
Save you a lot of money! Firstly, a good flea fogger can help you eliminate many other insects such as mosquitoes, cockroaches, bugs and so on, so you need to make just one payment to keep your living space free of all these annoying pests. Secondly, flea bombs remain effective for a long time, which means that you need to reapply less often, leading to a small amount of money having to be spent on flea treatments. Lastly, a large space will be covered. Therefore, you will need to buy just one product at a time instead of several different ones.
Be not too expensive. Flea foggers are usually very affordable so that anyone can purchase even the products from famous brands.
Easy to clean! Another special advantage that you get is that flea bombs do not make any terrible mess. You will not be left with stubborn stains or unpleasant odors. Cleaning up after fumigation is simple, and involves just using your vacuum cleaner and wiping surfaces down with a wet cloth.
The best flea fogger (flea bomb) brands on the market that we highly recommend
Due to an increased demand for flea treatments, manufacturers have launched many different products to meet customers’ requirements. Thus, to cut through the confusion, today we will introduce and do brief reviews of a few flea bombs coming from big names in this industry.
Raid® Flea Fogger
Raid® is a very popular pest control brand of insecticide products which belongs to SC Johnson – a family company. This giant corporation is one of the leading firms in the scent and household cleaning market with other different brands, for example, Allout®, Autan®, Baygon®, Drano®, Duck®, Glade®, Grand Pix®, Mr. Muscle®, And Kiwi®.
It was founded by Samuel C. Johnson in 1886 as a parquet flooring company. Since that time, the small business has been growing and expanding very fast and has become a large global enterprise operating in over seventy countries around the world. Their key categories are pest control, air care, home cleaning, home storage, shoe care, auto care and professional products.
Raid House & Garden was the first non-wax product that SC Johnson introduced in 1956. At the moment, this brand has five product lines in total which aim to kill ants, fleas, flying insects, roaches, and multiple insects. The reasons Raid® can be nominated as the best flea fogger (flea bomb) brand which has achieved widespread popularity are:
- They make use of a concentrated formula to build an effective defense system that will help customers in attacking, controlling, and preventing bugs
- Fogging is powerful enough to reach hard-to-access areas like crevices and cracks in which insects live and make nests
- The products perform well on all surfaces
- They are multi-functional that often eliminate different kinds of common bugs
- These products do not leave the targeted room with stubborn stains or wet residues
- The impact persists for several months after application
- The SC Johnson Greenlist™ process is created and reviewed annually to help their scientists choose the substances that ensure the efficiency of the product while caring for the health of consumers
Beside that, the manufacturer strictly follows and meets regulations and laws when it comes to selecting ingredients to minimize the impact on health and environment, including: the Federal Hazardous Substances Act that forces the company to inform users about potential health risks publicly; the Toxic Substances Control Act requires all ingredients to be evaluated and win the approval of EPA; the Clean Air Act controls how many volatile organic compounds can be used in a product; the State of California’s Proposition 65 asks the products to give consumers clear warnings about the risk of birth defects or cancers caused by the ingredients used.
Raid Concentrated Deep Reach Fogger
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One of the most famous flea foggers in this industry is Raid Concentrated Deep Reach. Thanks to the concentrated formula which takes advantage of cypermethrin, a comprehensive system is created to eliminate and inhibit further flea infestation. Apart from fleas, the active ingredient is highly effective in killing spiders, roaches, ants and other common insects, excluding bed bugs.
In addition, one bomb is adequate for a 625-square foot room and the killing impact will last up to 2 months. The product is suitable for campers, homes, apartments, garages, and so on. Furthermore, the contents will be delivered to places in which fleas often hide, for instance, crevices or cracks, to improve the efficiency. After the 4-hour application, you will not have to clean up wet residues or stubborn stains. Also, this pest treatment comes with a very detailed instructions for safety reasons.
Johnson Fogger/Fumgtr.35oz 3pk
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The Raid Fumigato takes advantage of a unique smoke formula that can easily reach into the areas which pests, especially fleas, often use to hide. Likewise, the scent after fogging is very fresh as the manufacturer does not add oily residue into the contents.
The active ingredient – permethrin, which accounts for 12.6 percent, will effectively get rid of fleas, ants, mosquitos, water bugs, ticks, spiders, roaches, and palmetto bugs within 3 hours.
S C JOHNSON WAX 41654 Raid 5 oz Flea Fogger
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The SC Johnson Wax Raid Flea Fogger 41654 is different from the two above-mentioned pest control products because it also destroys eggs and not only mature fleas.
It also kills other types of pests in order to prevent a further outbreak from occurring. This is due to the addition of the insect growth regulator in the list of ingredients.
Moreover, the influence can extend for up to four months, resulting in a pest free living environment.
S C JOHNSON 74251 Raid Fogger
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This package contains four foggers, so it will be more convenient for those who have several larger rooms to deal with.
The active ingredient that the developers have selected to use is cypermethrin which will eliminate adult fleas, spiders, ants, and other kinds of bugs in your house, but not bed bugs.
Thanks to the Concentrated Deep Reach™, the chemical can easily get into hard-to-access places to help you completely destroy annoying fleas after a 4-hour treatment. The product remains effective for up to two months, which protects your family from the ‘comeback’ of any insects.
Raid Max Concentrated Deep Reach Fogger
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The Raid® Max Concentrated Deep Reach Fogger is especially produced for handling heavy infestations, particularly in the flea season.
Similar to some Raid flea bombs, this product uses cypermethrin as the active ingredient to cope with stubborn insects hiding in your living space. This version is formulated to be used in a large room (about 875-square feet).
After application, the killing impact remains for about two months. A distinctive feature of the brand is that it does not leave stubborn stains or wet residues behind after the four-hour treatment.
Hot Shot® Flea Fogger
Via: www.hotshot.com
Hot Shot® was launched in 1950 using insecticides to keep uninvited pests away from us. Their products are divided into seven categories in order to meet the specific requirements of consumers – ant and roach control, bed bug control, general insect control, natural insect control, spider control, flying insect control, wasp and hornet control. Currently, they have twenty-two pest control treatments available in the market. To become a market-leading pest control brand, Hot Shot® has provided their customers with great benefits:
- The foggers are able to inhibit heavy infestations
- They will kill more than twenty types of insects on contact due to at least two active ingredients
- The time of treatment is shorter
- The addition of an odor neutralizer leaves your targeted space with a fresh scent
- The killing impact might occur up to seven months
- Each product has a Safety Data Sheet (SDS), aside from the information on the label, so that users can have detailed instructions, information about the health risks, emergency contact numbers, and so on
- Products are guaranteed to work. In case users are not satisfied, they can get a refund
Let’s take a look at some outstanding flea foggers of Hot Shot brand:
Hot Shot 96181 Indoor Pest Control Fogger
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Hot Shot Indoor Pest Control Fogger 96181 has two substances in its active ingredients, cypermethrin and tetramethrin, that will both help you to say goodbye to unwelcome pests, including fleas.
Instead of waiting for three or four hours like with other flea bombs on the market, this model just needs two hours to kill fleas hiding in carpet fibers or crevices. Also, Hot Shot® Indoor Pest Control does not give off a terrible smell thanks to the odor neutralizer.
Hot Shot 20177-1 No-Mess! Fogger
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To address heavy infestations and various different insects, Hot Shot® No-Mess!™ Fogger 20177-1 uses three different active ingredients – tetramethrin, cypermethrin, and piperonyl butoxide. The last one serves to boost the efficiency of the two other chemicals.
Because of the dry-fog formula, insects, and especially fleas, will be forced to leave their homes and be killed on contact. This product will not damage your furniture. Also, you will not have to turn the pilot lights off when this fogger is in use.
Hot Shot Fogger6 With Odor Neutralizer (HG-26180)
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Hot Shot HG-26180 Fogger6 with Odor Neutralizer contains two packs offering purchasers six foggers in total. Each bomb can treat a big room (2000 cu. feet), so they are suitable for customers who have several spaces to treat, such as apartment blocks or office buildings.
The use of two different chemicals in the active ingredients makes the product doubly effective at killing fleas who are good at hiding. The impact can last for approximately two months, preventing further infestation.
United Industries Corp HG20137 Hot Shot Indoor Fogger
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Although Hot Shot® Indoor Fogger is a water-based product, it does not leave wet and stubborn stains after treating your targeted room.
The three bombs provided are able to handle a 6000 cu feet space. The effects of cypermethrin and tetramethrin are taken advantage of in order to force fleas evacuate their nests and be killed on contact. In addition, your living space will be filled with fresh smell because of the odor neutralizer.
Hot Shot Bedbug & Flea Fogger 3 ea
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Besides eliminating mature fleas and bedbugs due to the pytherins as the main active ingredient, Hot Shot® Flea and Bedbug Fogger can stop young fleas from turning into adults as the scientists add NYLAR® – an insect growth regulator.
This combination leads to a much longer killing impact which can remain for up to seven months. In case you feel that their product does not perform as promised, you can approach them for your money back.
Other Flea Fogger Brands
Those are the most famous brands when it comes to choosing the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house. However, we will introduce you to another three well-known names in this category and show you their distinct advantages in order to offer you a wider choice of flea bombs.
Black Flag Flea Fogger
First launched in 1833, Black Flag® – which can be considered as the oldest insecticide firm in America – has aimed to assist people with eliminating and controlling common pests, for instance, yellow-jackets, flies, fleas, ants, mosquitos, roaches, spiders, and many more.
This brand was bought by the Spectrum Brands in 2011. Employing up-to-date technologies is the secret that has helped Black Flag® gain a high position in this industry.
They are proud of the fact that some of their products do not contain any artificial insecticides, but still manage to achieve great efficiency in inhibiting pests. Additionally, the proportions of active ingredients are small in order to prevent potential health hazards.
Precor Flea Fogger
Precor flea fogger is produced under the brand Zoecon®, which specialize in pest control products. On the market, you will see four different products in the Precor line which all aim to eliminate fleas.
This brand is actually owned by Central Life Sciences® which is a member of Central Garden & Pet – a top innovator, producer, and marketer in the garden, lawn and pet supplies.
The Precor® Plus Fogger makes use of two active ingredients – (S)-methoprene (0.09%) and permethrin (0.58%). The combination of the core ingredient and an insect growth regulator has been applied for more than thirty-five years to control flea infestations. Aside from killing mature fleas, the product breaks their life cycle in order to prevent eggs from hatching and fleas from becoming breeding adults.
Vet-Kem Flea Fogger
Vet-Kem® is a line that belongs to PRN® Pharma – a company which provides customers with a wide variety of products for animal health in order to meet the demands of the veterinary medicine industry. Their key categories consist of critical care support, wound and disinfectants care, equine health, livestock health, medical devices, nutritional therapeutics, neurology and behavior, parasite control, skin and coat products, sutures, and urinary health.
Permethrin and s-methoprene are two of the active ingredients in the Vet-Kem® fogger that will work together to finish adult fleas and larvae off. Therefore, this product can inhibit the comeback of ticks and fleas for about thirty weeks. After fogging the targeted room, Vet-Kem® Siphotrol® Plus Fogger will not leave the surfaces with any sticky mess or stubborn stains. Another plus point which users will like is that the bomb does not create a strong and sharp scent.
Where can you buy flea bombs for your house?
After identifying your best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house, the next question that arises is: “Where can we buy flea foggers?”. Recently, flea foggers have become very popular, so it will not be difficult to find a store or a supermarket near your house that sells insect treatments. However, those places often have a limited space, therefore, they cannot sell all the brands available on the market.
There is a much more convenient way to purchase your preferred items – shopping online at Amazon. This website brings you many benefits that shopping offline cannot offer. Let’s see why Amazon comes so highly recommended:
Does not require physical effort
Instead of getting dressed, walking a long way to the store, and searching in vain for your favorite products, you can just stay at home and use your laptop or smartphone. With a few clicks, your order will be successfully made. This is a huge help for people who work all day and don’t have time to go to the store.
Guaranteed delivery
Another special feature which Amazon has is that your purchased goods will be directly shipped to your home after you have confirmed your order and given your address, even if it is just a flea bomb! Also, the item will be packaged carefully in order to make sure that the product is in the best condition when you receive it.
An enormously wide range of available choices
Aside from playing a role as a seller, Amazon allows many sellers to use it as a channel to introduce what they offer to the market. Therefore, you will see hundreds of selections popping up if you type the keywords “flea fogger” in their search box. Likewise, after clicking the link to a specific product, you will see a comparison table for its basic features and those of others in the same category. As a huge shopping channel, Amazon definitely sells different flea bombs from many brands.
Do you see the box “Check Price” button under each of our reviewed products? If you do not know where to start your online shopping trip, just click that button and it will direct you to the chosen item that is available for sale on Amazon.
Things you should consider when choosing the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house
Not all of the flea bombs on the market are good products. Among the thousands of choices, how can you know which one is best able to suit your personal needs? It is quite tricky, right? To give you a hand, here are the most important factors to figure out the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house, which you must take into consideration before making your online payment.
How powerful is it?
Nobody wants to buy a flea bomb that does not kill anything! To prevent this situation, you should read the product reviews carefully to check whether that fogger is effective at eliminating fleas or not. In addition, you can check the list of active ingredients and search for information on them to measure their efficiency.
Apart from helping you to get rid of mature fleas, the flea bomb should be able to prevent hatching eggs and larvae from developing. To achieve this, the manufacturers often add an insect growth regulator into the formula because these chemicals greatly affect the development of eggs, larvae, and young insects while the common pesticides tend to take adult ones off only.
Can it go into hard-to-reach areas?
You should be aware that insects, especially fleas, often hide and build their nest inside places that you usually do not pay attention to, for example, cracks, crevices, under furniture, in the carpet fibers, and more. Thus, the contents need to penetrate into those places to force stubborn fleas out and become fully exposed to chemicals.
How long does the killing impact last to prevent further outbreaks?
Insects, in general, and fleas, in particular, develop rapidly and can come back to your living space any time even after harsh chemical treatment. To prevent this recurrence, you need to look for a flea bomb, which retains its killing impact for at least two months to inhibit further infestations.
Again, a good flea fogger will finish larvae and eggs off so that they cannot turn to adults leading to another horrific attack.
Is it formulated to kill several kinds of insects?
Besides fleas, ants, mosquitoes, roaches, or spiders will definitely visit your house. To save your money and time, a multi-functional fogger is highly recommended. It needs to be designed to eliminate more than one type of insect at a time.
Does not leave an awful mess
Due to the use of chemicals, many products on the market release a very strong and unpleasant scent after fogging. You need to pick a product with an odor neutralizer or without oily residues.
Furthermore, a dry flea bomb is better than other types because you will not have to spend time removing stubborn stains on the floors after fogging time. This is also a very simple way to protect your furniture and other household objects from being damaged by the chemicals in the ingredients.
The size of treated room
The last thing you must pay attention to is the size of your room. Some flea foggers on the market are able to handle a 625-square foot space, therefore, do not activate two bombs in your targeted room before checking the instructions. On the contrary, some areas are too small to use a flea fogger, in which case you will need to use other treatment.
Both too much fogger or a deficiency will impair the efficiency, and even bring you health problems, so read all the information printed on the label first and identify the size of your infested area as well.
How to use flea fogger
After purchasing your best flea fogger (flea bomb), the next step is to use it. The application will go through 3 crucial stages – preparation, bombing, and cleaning. In this part, we show you essential steps a user ought to take.
Preparation
Via: cdn.instructables.com
The foremost thing you have to do right away is getting all living things, your family members, pets, and plants out of your house to make sure that they are not exposed to hazardous chemicals. In terms of fish, in case you cannot move the tank out of the treated area, use a large wrap to seal it up tightly, since the active ingredients in the flea fogger are particularly toxic to fish life.
Secondly, all lights or anything that uses electricity in your house have to be turned off. For safety reasons, the main circuit breaker should be shut off too, as the substances in the flea bombs are highly flammable. We are sure that you do not want to see your whole house burnt down as a result of trying to exterminate the fleas.
Thirdly, use old newspaper or cloths to cover any floor or any furniture that is too heavy to carry. Cover kitchen counters, babies’ toys, cooking utensils, pet beds, and other sensitive items that you do not want to be touched by the toxins. This will make it much more convenient when it comes to cleaning after fogging.
Fourthly, ensure that all windows, exits, and exterior doors are closed so that your entire room will be filled with the contents of the fogger.
Finally, put a mask on to prevent you and other family members from breathing the contaminated air before bombing your house.
Bombing
Via: fleascience.com
Read the directions carefully to see if there are any special points you need to consider. After that, place the fogger above a plastic bag or chair to avoid stains dropping on the floor. If your room just needs one bomb, position it in the middle of the room. On the other hand, if you need to place several bombs, start from the place furthest from the door.
After marking the correct position for each canister, shake it thoroughly to mix the liquid well. Remove its safety tab and press the release button to activate the fogger. Once it starts working, get out of the room as quickly as possible to avoid any chemical exposure. However, do not forget to shut the door tightly behind you.
Do not re-enter that room while the fogger is working and wait for at least two hours. Some products require users to stay outside for up to eight hours. Make an advance plan to stay somewhere for that time that you have to be out of your home.
Cleaning
Once you arrive back home, make sure that each member of your family wears a mask because the air will still be filled with chemicals. The first thing you will need to do is to open all doors and windows and let the smell of the substances come out of the room. Then, turn on the electrical power to use fans which will help you remove the air quickly.
You should stay outside for at least thirty minutes to one hour to ensure that your space is clear of a heavy scent from insecticides. When you are sure that the fresh air has come back into your room, you can remove all the coverings. For safety reasons, use a damp cloth to clean your furniture.
In case you think some items, for instance, bedding materials or clothes, have been exposed to the insecticides, wash them before using them again. Now, you can move all living things like house plants, pets and so on back into your house. Two days after spraying, mop and vacuum the floors to collect all the dead fleas and larvae.
Important tips you should know when using a flea fogger
Those are the general steps when it comes to the application. However, there are a lot of things that affect the efficiency of the best flea fogger (flea bomb). You might not understand why you should take some of the above-mentioned actions. Actually, all of them are designed to support you in getting the most out of the product as well as providing a safe environment for your family.
In this part, our crucial tips will be separated into ‘Effective’ and ‘Safety’ use, which should make it easier for you to follow and to remember.
Handy tips for effective treatment
Most bombs on the market can completely eliminate fleas, eggs, and larvae if the room is completely empty, for example in a vacated apartment. However, this isn’t usually the case. In places with furniture and other items, a flea fogger will only kill about 80 percent of insects as there are so many places for fleas to hide. In spite of this, those stubborn survivors can be taken out after three spraying treatments. Thus, repeat the deployment of a flea fogger several times with an average frequency of one per week.
Your pet is a perfect host, so you should ensure that it is kept clean, especially before letting it come into your house which has been treated with the flea fogger.
In order to increase the success rate, you need to make the fleas come out of their nests and become highly active. The easiest way to do this to vacuum the room before deploying your flea bomb.
You are asked to shut all the doors and windows to prevent the toxins from getting out, but unfortunately, sometimes they cannot be closed tightly due to errors during the installation. If this problem occurs, seal any gaps with household tape.
It’s difficult to know whether the insecticides will kill your houseplants, so play it safe by removing them.
Cupboards are ideal places for fleas to live and hide. Therefore, it is necessary to open their doors to let the contents of the fogger penetrate every corner.
The release valve must be opened properly. If you do not push it down hard enough, the valve will stop working once the pressure from your finger has been released. Of course, then the chemicals cannot get out to kill the fleas.
Try not to clean the floors immediately to allow the chemical residues to kill the survivors, larvae, and eggs. After two days, you can use your vacuum cleaner to remove the dead bodies.
Safety warnings about the use of a flea fogger
All electrical equipment must be shut off, as mentioned before. Insecticides can be highly flammable. Also, turn the gas ignition system off in order to avoid fire hazards.
Although insecticides are also used in flea sprays for pets, do not apply flea foggers onto your pets because the fumes will lead to severe illness or even death. The reason is that the contents are formulated for a heavily infested space, and not for animals.
The best solution is to take all foods out of the treated space to avoid exposure to harmful chemicals.
Always put a mask on to protect yourself and others from breathing in the gas from the fogger since it contains hazardous substances which can cause health risks.
Avoid applying more than one fogger per room. It’s important to check the recommended room size on the label. Trying to use too many products in one room might pose a major risk to human health.
Apart from dogs and cats, fish need protecting too. Do not think that they are not exposed to the toxins when swimming in the water. It would be much better if you could remove the tank from that room. However, in case it is not portable, a big cloth should be used to cover the whole aquarium.
If somebody in your family suffers from allergies or asthma, be careful! That person will be more sensitive to the fumes that can result in an allergic reaction or asthmatic attack.
Keep your face as far away from the fogger can as possible when activating it. All flea foggers spray their contents out vertically. It could cause serious damage to your skin or eyes if it spays onto them.
Alternatives to flea foggers
Flea Spray
When it comes to flea infestation, flea spray has been a popular choice for many years. Similar to flea foggers, flea sprays also make use of active insecticide ingredients and insect growth regulators in order to kill mature fleas and stop the eggs from hatching as well. Therefore, they can help homeowners to get rid of insects.
It is not difficult to use a flea spray. Wherever you think fleas are hiding, for example, in the pet bed, in cracks, crevices, or cupboards, spray the insecticide there. In other words, the dark corners should be your targeted areas because they often come in contact with fleas.
In spite of this, you will need to make the fleas become active and vacate their hiding places to maximize the efficiency of the flea spray. Thus, do not forget to vacuum your rooms before deploying the chemicals. After that, wait for two weeks after spraying to clean everything again. This is to make sure that all survivors and eggs have been eliminated.
You might be asking yourself, “Why do flea sprays gain in popularity?” Here are some of the advantages of using a flea spray:
- Flea sprays do not have an offensive chemical smell. Instead, they are specially manufactured to provide the living space with a fresh scent.
- Thanks to the active ingredients, flea sprays are able to kill the fleas at any stage of their life cycle and prevent any re-infestation for the next few months.
- They are effective at eliminating other common insects such as mosquitoes and ticks.
- Flea sprays are more gentle than foggers so you do not need to spend time on covering all furniture and other items. You also do not need to vacate the house for the day like you have to with a fogger.
- They are user-friendly, and importantly, there will be no mess after applying.
Flea sprays have some disadvantages which you should take into consideration before you purchase one:
- It will be quite challenging to spread the fumes over a large space, therefore, you might miss some spots in which fleas are living.
- You should not clean the treated areas until fourteen days from the date of deployment. Vacuuming your house immediately means that you are saving the survivors and their eggs. This two week waiting period can be very inconvenient.
Flea Trap
Using a flea trap is a practical method that you can use in order to monitor the flea population in your living space because it detects and catch the fleas. The fact remains, though, that flea traps cannot help you to completely get rid of fleas. Instead, these devices are useful if employed with other flea treatments.
Basically, there are two major types of flea trap, namely, electric traps and homemade or DIY traps. In general, flea traps take advantage of light and heat to attract the insects and catch them with water or sticky substances.
As the name suggests, electric trap runs on electrical power. It consists of a medium-sized light bulb inside a container. Normally, fleas and other insects will be attracted by the warmth and light since they are similar to a host. Once the fleas try to get there, they become stuck in a special sticky substance which has been placed underneath the container. Electric traps can also kill other kinds of common insects like ants, gnats, and so on.
In terms of homemade traps, there are many variations, such as cup traps, candle traps, bowl traps, lamp traps, and T.V. traps. When you feel that the market price for an electric trap is too high, DIY flea traps are a good choice. You can use items you already have in your home to make one.
Cup trap: A cup filled with water and a dish containing dishwasher soap are all that you need to prepare this trap. Remember not to form bubbles while you are mixing the soap with water. Then, place your trap near a light source.
Candle trap: This is probably the simplest homemade trap ever! All you will need is a thick candle. Light the candle and securely position it somewhere in your house.
Bowl trap: This kind of insect catcher is an updated version of the candle trap. You will need a bowl of water mixed with soap (the size depends on how serious the infestation is). Light and put a candle in the center of that bowl
Lamp trap: To set the trap, you will need a bowl or a dish with a mixture of water and dishwasher soap. However, never create bubbles when mixing because they will let insects escape from the substance easily. After that, angle the lamp so that the light bulb flashes on above the water
T.V trap: Who says we cannot be entertained while catching fleas? Well, the fact is it will be possible to do two things at the same time if you use your television. Turn on your T.V, set and place a pan of soap and water nearby. You will see that fleas stupidly jump into the catcher while you are enjoying your favorite reality show.
There are many reasons why people should use a flea trap to control the pest population in their house. Here’s a list of some of them:
- Flea traps are relatively inexpensive to buy, and even cheaper if you make your own. Also, flea traps are reusable. You’ll just need to replace the bait or the substance that traps and kills the insects.
- They are very user-friendly so that even a child can set them with just a few simple steps.
- This kind of catcher can eliminate other types of small insects, for example, ants or tiny mosquitoes.
- Flea traps are not highly hazardous to human and pet health like other products as they do not use insecticides.
- You will not need to use your vacuum cleaner as much since the trap collects all the dead fleas instead of letting them die everywhere in your house. Moreover, it will not fill your room with a strong odor or leave your living space with any wet stains on the surfaces.
Despite this, flea traps also have some real disadvantages that users cannot avoid:
- They are not able to eliminate larvae and hatching eggs, so cannot prevent further infestation due to the lack of insect growth regulators.
- Flea catchers do not get to dark and hard-to-reach areas where fleas often hide and build their nests.
- It is impossible to cover a large room because the traps sit at one place and passively waits for insects jumping into the trap.
- Users will have to identify where the fleas would likely be attracted to in order to set the trap. This could lead to some spots being missed.
Flea Powder
Another sort of flea repellent presented are flea powders. Similar to most of the other flea treatments available on the market, flea control powders also use active insecticide ingredients as well as insect growth regulators to kill adult fleas and the damaged larvae, hatching eggs, and pupae. Hence, they can deliver a professional performance when it comes to flea control.
Flea powder is mainly produced for application on carpets and upholstery where fleas prefer to hide before finding a host. Our advice is to put on a pair of gloves when applying it to prevent your hands from coming into contact with harmful chemicals. It’s also a good idea to wear a mask to prevent inhalation of the powder.
Carpets: apply the powder evenly on your carpet. After that, use a broom to brush the surface gently. This will allow the powder to penetrate into the carpet fibers to kill both fleas and larvae. After about 60 minutes, use your vacuum cleaner to remove the visible contents only. You are advised to choose the lowest speed mode. In order to ensure that fleas hide deeply in the carpets are eliminated, wait twenty-four hours before completely vacuuming properly.
Upholstery: before applying the powder, it’s a good idea to do a test on the fabric before applying. In some cases, the product will change the color of and stain the fibers which leaves a dirty look. If you find out that the powder sticks too firmly to the fabric, brush it down right away and clean that area as soon as possible by employing the vacuum device.
First, you need to take the cushions out to deploy the powder easily. Shake and lightly brush the contents along the creases and corners. After twenty-four hours, thoroughly vacuum your upholstery to gather up the dead fleas, larvae, and eggs. Use old newspapers to cover the contents with several layers.
Everything has its own advantages and disadvantages, so we will look at the advantages of flea powders in helping homeowners get rid of insects before mentioning some drawbacks:
Flea powder treatments are effective in repelling mature fleas and ticks due to the active insecticide ingredients.
- They also prevent further outbreaks thanks to the use of insect growth regulators.
- The killing impact can last for up to a year.
- One container is enough for two 400-square feet rooms.
- The waiting period is short and will not affect your daily routines.
Along with the above-mentioned benefits, there are a few disadvantages which you might experience when it comes to deploying flea powder:
- The powder is too easy to breathe in.
- You will have to identify areas where fleas are hiding.
Flea control products for pets- why do we need them?
As you might know, dogs and cats are fleas’ favorite hosts. Hence, to completely get rid of fleas, you must also use flea control products that have been specially formulated for pets. In this section, we are going to introduce you three popular kinds of pet flea treatment – flea collars, flea shampoos, and flea sprays for pets.
Flea collar
Thanks to modern technology, a large amount of tick and flea collars bring your pets great benefits when they are being attacked by annoying fleas – treating and inhibiting re-infestation. In terms of treatment, there are two ways that a flea collar works:
The first type uses medication that is easily absorbed into the pet’s skin. Therefore, fleas have to bite your pet in order to be eliminated.
The second type takes advantage of active ingredients which tend to kill fleas on contact. The contents are spread over the pet through the skin oils.
When your pet is suffering a serious attack by fleas, let it wear the flea collar for four to five hours, and then remove it. Remember to store the collar in an airtight bag for the next time.
In case your dog just needs monthly treatment, do not forget to take it off after one day instead of overmedicating your pets that might result in severe illnesses.
Pet owners choose flea collas because they are reasonably priced, but still achieve great efficiency in eliminating insects. Also, plenty of collars can be used for up to eight months! However, flea collars using insecticides focus on the neck and face only and are unable to repel insects living on other parts of their body. Meanwhile, they might be dangerous to your children if they often play with and embrace the pets.
Flea shampoos
Flea shampoos are a popular choice when it comes to flea treatments for pets because they can finish the fleas off on contact. As flea shampoos contain active insecticide ingredients, they should only be used for pets who are at least twelve weeks old. If your pet is pregnant or has some skin problems, it would be better to consult with a vet before using a flea shampoo.
When you bath your pet with flea shampoo, use warm water, not cold or too hot. Always begin with the neck and face first to prevent fleas in other parts from jumping upwards. Read the instructions carefully to ensure that you use a correct dose of the shampoo in order to protect your pets from any health hazards.
At the end of the bath, you must rinse the pet off thoroughly because flea shampoo tends to dry their skin. Do not use flea shampoos too often on your pet as the chemicals may cause harm. Due to the use of insecticides in the components, flea shampoos easily kill and repel fleas on contact.
Furthermore, they are very easy to apply. It’s similar to giving your kid a bath! Pet shampoos can be easily found in any supermarkets or pet shops. In spite of these advantages, keep in mind that the ingredients in the shampoo are easily absorbed by the skin, and can make the pet’s skin dry and even affect their health.
Flea sprays for pets
Most flea sprays contain active ingredients that eliminate mature fleas as well as larvae, and the eggs sticking to the pet’s skin. Moreover, the killing impact can remain for a long time, killing any fleas left after spraying.
Nevertheless, these products might cause health hazards, so it’s wise to have a consultation with a vet if you plan to use the flea spray for your cat. Before deploying the mist, read the directions carefully as to how to spray in the right way, and what you have to avoid.
In general, you will need to cover the animal’s entire coat, including the stomach, legs, and tail, but not the eyes, face or genitals. After that, use your gloved hands to massage the spray into the skin. It should not merely remain on the surface of the fur.
The biggest advantage of flea sprays is that they kill the fleas immediately. Also, they are effective at stopping larvae and eggs from developing, thus preventing future infestations. Nevertheless, the skin does absorb the substances, including the active ingredients. This means that if you apply flea spray too frequently, your pet will be prone to some health risks.
Other things you should know about fleas
As mentioned at the beginning, fleas are tiny insects that live by sucking on their host to consume blood. These animals do not have wings, instead, they have hind legs for jumping from one place to another.
There are more than 2,500 types of fleas in the world. Some groups of fleas stick exclusively to a single host. For instance, the chimaeropsyllidae flea is found on the elephant shrews only, or the ischnopsyllidae flea is only found on bats. The flea family that we often mention as a vector of plague is xenopsylla cheopis that lives on rodents, especially black rats.
Fleas usually have a dark color and they are between 1.5 – 3.3 mm long. Interestingly, these insects do not have eyes, but some of them do posses 2 eyespots.
Thanks to their compressed bodies, they can easily hide deeply in the hair of their hosts and in the fibers of carpets. The tough body can cope with the intense pressure, so they do not easily die when we scratch or squash them.
Their tiny eggs are white and oval. Although the larvae do not have eyes, they are born with mouthparts to bite already. While the adult fleas consume fresh blood, the larvae eat feces containing dried blood.
In general, flea have a four-stage development, from eggs to larva, then pupa, and lastly adult. A female flea can produce between one hundred to several thousand eggs in her lifetime. The eggs will normally be laid in the nest or in places that the host lies, for example, pet bedding. Flea eggs hatch in between two to fourteen days.
After the egg hatches, the young flea is called a larva. Instead of consuming fresh blood, larvae eat organic materials, for instance, eggs, feces, dead insects, and vegetables. Studies have shown that the majority of larvae that feed on addled eggs are more likely to develop into mature fleas.
If a larva receives enough nutrients, it will develop into a pupa after three larval stages. In order to reach adulthood, the pre-emergent flea needs at least four days. In some cases, this period might be longer due to poor living conditions.
The final stage is that of an adult flea, eager for fresh blood. If it has an ideal living environment that includes humidity, a good food supply, and a moderate temperature, a flea is able to live for up to one and a half years. Nevertheless, they will die after three or four days if there is no host to bite and suck the fresh blood.
To Sum Up
That is all the basic information that you’ll need when it comes to flea treatments. It is a known fact that we are at risk of diseases when our living area is infested with insects, especially fleas. Therefore, buying and learning how to use a flea fogger is the best solution to heavy infestation.
Remember that there are six key factors which you must take into account in order to get the best flea fogger (flea bomb) for your house – its ability to eliminate adults, larvae and their eggs, the ability to penetrate into hard-to-reach areas, the length of the killing impact, whether it can kill other common insects aside from fleas, whether or not it contains an odor neutralizer and no oily residues, and the size of your targeted space.
Do not forget to cover all of the sensitive items and foodstuffs, and to turn off the electrical power. Please remove all living things from the room to be treated. Please always remember these safety tips as well as the useful advice that we recommended. To get rid of fleas, remember also to keep your pets as clean as possible.
Last, but not least, to avoid wasting your precious time, click ‘Check Price’ button under each product review of us to quickly figure out and purchase the best flea bombs on the market.
FAQs
#1. Are flea foggers safe?
Most of the time, though, an infestation usually tends to become worse and worse, and a flea bomb is then the one and only solution. The manufacturers take advantage of active ingredients such as cypermethrin, methoprene, nylar, permethrin, and tetramethrin to help you kill adult fleas and hatching eggs on contact to prevent further attacks. Also, these chemicals are able to prolong the killing effect which will protect your house for up to several months.
The substances that they use are insecticides, so the fumes are hazardous to human and pet health. As a result, you are required to leave the treated premises for at least two, or even up to eight hours before re-entering the room to do the cleaning. Again, here is a recap of the safety tips you have to remember when employing a flea fogger:
- Turn off all electrical devices and the gas ignition system.
- Never use flea foggers on your pets.
- Take all food out of the treated space.
- Always put a mask on and wear a pair of gloves.
- Avoid applying more than one fogger per room. Instead, check the recommended room size on the label.
- Fish need to be protected too. Do not think that they are not exposed to the toxins when swimming in the water. It would be much better if you can move the tank out of that room. However, in case it is not portable, a big cloth should be used to cover the whole aquarium.
- If somebody in your family suffers from allergies or asthma, you must be especially careful.
- Never put your face too near to the bomb.
If you follow the instructions from the manufacturer and all our warning steps, a flea fogger will not cause serious harm to your family.
#2. Do flea foggers really work?
The answer is YES! Flea bombs are the most effective way to get rid of fleas. The combination of active components and insect growth regulators is the secret to dealing with mature fleas as well as preventing the eggs from hatching and the larvae developing into adult fleas.
To be more specific, after being exposed to harmful chemicals such as cypermethrin, methoprene, nylar, permethrin, or tetramethrin, the fleas will be killed on contact by the active ingredients while the insect growth regulators will ensure that all stages of their life cycle are broken:
- Eggs nearly cannot emerge from the shell. In some cases, the young fleas still hatch, but they will not be able to live for long.
- The development of larvae will be disrupted, making it impossible for them to become mature fleas.
- Pupae – insects in the stage of development between a larva and an adult – will be destroyed as well.
In addition, flea bombs are specially manufactured to help the fumes penetrate into the hard-to-reach positions that are ideal places for fleas to hide. Importantly, the killing impact can occur for a very long time, up to 7 months, which means that if a flea enters your house, it will die immediately. Therefore, flea foggers are a comprehensive solution when your house is suffering from a serious attack of fleas in particular, and insects in general.
#3. Do I need to clean my home after applying flea fogger?
Although you have to take everything out and use cloths to wrap sensitive pieces of furniture to protect them from long exposure to toxins, cleaning is still required because you need to gather up the dead bodies, and bad flea eggs to throw them away. You might get confused about what you should do when it comes to cleaning your house after applying flea bomb. Here’s a checklist to work through:
Kitchen utensils: we will start with your kitchen. You will need to wash any appliances and utensils that have not been covered. Moreover, kitchen countertops, the refrigerator, the sink, the microwave and other kitchen equipment will need cleaning as well. If any foods have come into contact with the fumes, they must be thrown away.
Clothes and coverings: your skin is directly in contact with your clothes, and those chemicals are easily absorbed by the skin. If any clothing has been exposed to the fogger, soak it in soapy water and then put it all into a washing machine to remove the rest of the toxins. Remember to do the same thing with other coverings in your house to prevent potential health risks and completely get rid of those annoying insects.
Pets’ possessions: as we have mentioned many times already, your pet tends to carry a lot of fleas. Consequently, its belongings, for instance, the pet bed, could be a major source of flea survivors, larvae, and eggs. Thus, after fogging, wash everything that your dog or cat has touched to remove dead fleas and the chemicals.
Flooring: floors, particularly carpets, are one of the favorite places where fleas choose to hide before finding a host. After applying the flea fogger, use your vacuum cleaner and choose the lowest speed mode to deeply clean the floors after two days. The first time is to remove excess chemicals and dead bodies, but still keep some of the fumes inside your floorings to execute the survivors. The second cleaning session will gather up all stubborn fleas and the rest of the toxins.
Thanks for reading!
