how bug barriers (e.g. Ortho Home Defense, Raid Max Bug Barrier) kill a large variety of insects for 6+ months even afte its dry?
In: Biology
Those are best case scenario tests.
Basically, the spray is applied to an area. Then they put some bugs in the area. They count how many bugs die, and how many bugs come back to the area.
“Up to” is a very important part of the sentence. These products say they will prevent bugs for “up to” some amount of time. All they are is a product that kills bugs. You spray, bugs die.
Most bugs found in a home are scout bugs, they find a new source a food and tell the colony where it is. If you kill the scout, it will take a long time for a new scout to come along.
So, when testing, they see which bugs come to check out and area and then die, and then time how long it takes for a new scout to come along.
Unless you have lots of bugs in your house, it is best to not use pesticides, and instead continue to keep the house clean of unsealed food and other food like items for bugs. For example, cardboard is a wonderful source of food for cockroaches. Then mice will eat cockroaches.
If you have a really large bug problem, keep all food in a sealed container, plastic or glass. Mind you, cockroaches can find any opening and rats will eat through a lot of stuff, so it must be sealed right.
I believe they way they conduct the test to get those results is how they can say it last that long.
There is something that kills bugs and does remain effective for a long time. When we had carpenter ants, the bug guys sprayed diatomaceous earth where we had seen them. Diatomaceous earth (food grade anyway) isn’t toxic to humans or pets. It kills bugs by making lots of small scratches on their exoskeleton, which makes them dry out and die.
I got some and put it around, and it did a much better job than the ant baits ever did. I sprayed some around the outside perimeter of our kitchen last month, and so far NO ants. It does lose some effectiveness if it gets wet. It works as a bug barrier, and some of the commercial products use it.
The poison has a wax in it. So when sprayed on baseboards, pipes and other things bugs touch its still there sometimes up to a year indoors. The outdoor stuff is similar. The mosquito misting companies that recently started up blow a mist up under leaves and eaves. That poison mist has a wax in it also and it takes awhile for rain and weather to remove it. So as mosquitoes or any insect comes across the leaves, eaves whatever, its dead soon after.
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