2) The active pesticide contained in bug bombs, probably isn’t going to help much, depending on the bugs you are using them on. Cockroaches, bed bugs in particular are hearty bugs. Over time they have developed a resistance to many chemicals on the market. They are a tough bug to kill as it is, and where they are resistant to the chemical, all a fogger accomplishes is just sending the bugs deeper into the crevices of your home and sharing them with your neighborhood. When we are finally called onto the scene as bugs reappear, it makes the job a lot more difficult than it had to be, and is a really great way to tick off your neighborhood.
3) Foggers contain little to no residual in their pesticide. You have one shot to annihilate a colony. (Unless of course you set off multiple bug bombs, which is just as futile, a little dangerous and pretty expensive) As professionals, the pesticides we use have a residual effect. We expect it to not only stay where it is placed for a period of time to reach as many bugs as possible, but also it should stick to the bug. This is important because with many bugs we are not only treating the bugs you see running around, but we are also hoping to treat those who may come out of the cracks and crevices at night, as well as it’s friend’s and neighbors. We also take into account a bug’s egg cycles. We will treat with a residual over a timed cycle usually a minimum of 3 treatments to fully eradicate your bugs. If the egg cycles are not addressed, you will just see them come back over time. A waste of your time and money. Foggers can not compete with professional treatments even if you use a timed cycle, because they contain little residual effect and like we mentioned above the active pesticide just isn’t as effective in this day and age as it once was due to resistance.
So are bug bomb’s always a bad idea? Not necessarily, they can be effective for flying insects if what you need is a one time blast to deal with a sudden house fly or fruit fly problem that is just more than your fly swatter can handle any more. As it is an aerosol it can be an effective option to consider, when used cautiously for winged insects on a temporary basis. For other insects, the best advice we can give, is if you are planning to call a professional (and we recommend you do) the best thing you can do is to leave the bugs alone until we get there. Many times there are steps you can take as we work with you to get rid of your infestation, such as drying your bedding and laundry to help kill the bedbugs, and making sure cockroaches don’t have a ready supply of food and water on hand to encourage them. These are very helpful steps in exterminating your pests. Just whatever you do, don’t set off a bug bomb!