# DIY Bug Treatment



## Mozart (Jul 17, 2018)

Hi guys,

I got my Chapin 20V Backpack Sprayer (thanks Mr. Ward for the great recommendation!) and would like to start using it to treat insects around my home.

I'd be surprised if I CAN'T get some great advice from this community on treatment options! 

So fellow lawn care fanatics, what professional products do you use to treat your home for mosquitos?

What do you use for spiders and fruit flies?

I actually am contracted with a pest control company to treat my home. Below is a screenshot of what they applied this week. Not sure if these are the "best" products as I still have spider issues! They did not treat for Mosquitos specifically (that would cost more - rather do it myself and I'm itching to try the sprayer).

Are these products top-of-the-line or can we do better?


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## MichiganGreen (Aug 7, 2018)

This may not help you at all but trying to keep my ecosystem in the backyard as whole as possible, I put up a bat house and i really have noticed far fewer mosquitos since they moved in. Inside, I have a dog and two cats. I ask them no questions, we have a pretty food deal worked out.


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

Holy crap, Batman, looking at that spreadsheet does your yard GLOW at night?!!!!!

Just kidding of course but, 
I mean, Wow. I live in the veritable jungle and I might spray a product with bifren or bifenthrin or imidcloprid in it (browse DoMyOwnPestControl.com) on my lawn once, mayyyybe twice, a season depending upon whether we're hosting any wedding parties, etc.

Then , I'll typically "band spray" around of our brick home (3 feet up the sides and 3 feet out) every 3 months, again, with a product with bifren or bifenthrin in it. I am just finishing up using a gallon of Lesco 'CrossCheck' we purchased back in 2014 and which I store away from extremes in temp either way.

Here's the thing about spiders: SPIDERS DO NOT "GROOM" THEMSELVES. Or, each other.

That is why active ingredients which work on insects that do "groom" themselves (picture an insect rubbing their antennae clean with forelegs and then transferring their "paws" into their mouths (or forceps) or groom others the way social colony insects (like ants) do.

Very few pest control companies will divulge: you wanna kill spiders you pretty much gotta get whatever active ingredient it is your using DIRECTLY ON THE SPIDER (or put it down in a way they daily "wallow" in it shortly after you do put it down).

Like snakes (and rodents), in order to get rid of spiders ya pretty much gotta focus on getting rid of their food source(s). I can't imagine too much being able to run a gauntlet like that one your pest folks are laying down but, I am over 700 miles away so, our situations are likely very, very different.

(Qualifier: NONE of the forgoing pertains to foundation treatments I might do for termites , carpenter ants, etc. I consider foundation treatments entirely separate from pest control throughout the $65 days of any given year.)

And, as crazy as this sounds, even though we live on a lakeshore, we are blessed with no mosquitoes! (Perhaps due to elevation, I dunno. I just know living in So. MD up unti 2014 was akin to hanging out in a mosquito research lab test tank. F living there, ever again!

Best medicine I've heard for mosquitos are those propane "attract and zap" devices you place at the corners of your property. The ones that produce the Co2 (replicating mammals respiratory exhales) which is what attracts mosquitos. From what I understand, THISE DANGED THINGS WORK!

Oh, and yes, you aren't likely going to do much better than the last 4 active ingredients at lower right column / corner of your spreadsheet (the "bi," "imidi" and "fip" ). But, you can get all those through online sources, do it all yourself and save $.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

@440mag Chlorothalonil is only banned for homeowner use on lawns. It is not banned from homeowner use in the garden for the tomatoes and it is sold at most stores. It is used in agriculture for tomatoes, cranberries, blueberries and other.


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## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

I do a perimeter spray of Cyzmic CS @ 0.2 oz per gallon (Generic Demand) tank mixed with NyGuard IGR @ 1 oz per gallon (Generic Archer) in early summer. Then follow up with monthly reapplications of Cyzmic CS @ same rate until early fall.

I used to use Talestar P, but find the Cyzmic lasts longer.

For ants I do a sprinkling of Maxforce Granular Bait around the foundation of my house.

Finally I have the aerosol of Temprid for any local infestations I notice around the house.


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## DR_GREENTHUMB (May 24, 2018)

I use Bifentherin, works great. XTS & IT

XTS outdoors & IT indoors


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## 440mag (Jan 29, 2018)

g-man said:


> @440mag Chlorothalonil is only banned for homeowner use on lawns. It is not banned from homeowner use in the garden for the tomatoes and it is sold at most stores. It is used in agriculture for tomatoes, cranberries, blueberries and other.


Thanks for the clarification - I was unawares of that!


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