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This post is dedicated to those people who can’t stand the sporadic appearance of insects in their home, office, garden or other spaces. To get rid of them quickly, today we show you the best insecticide options that will help you keep pests under control.
Insecticides not only kill insects in specific places, but also serve as a preventive action for the reproduction and new appearances of these for the hygiene, health and cleanliness of your home or workplace.
Throughout this reading you will find the best insecticide options on the market today, the types of insecticides that are suitable for each space and occasion, and all the characteristics that you can take into account before choosing the option that best suits your needs.
Summary
- Insecticides are products specially designed to kill one, several or a large group of insects in a given area. Some of them attack the pest directly, while others create an uncomfortable environment for the pest to leave the area.
- You will find basically 3 types of commercially available insecticides: those with glue traps to trap and hold the insects, those in aerosol form to spray directly on the bugs and those with ultrasound technology to chase them away.
- Before buying the first insecticide you see, it is important to take into account the type of pest you are dealing with, the place where you plan to spread it, the function you need it to perform and the safety mechanisms it offers for you and your family.
The Best Insecticides: Our Picks
Buying guide: What you need to know about insecticides
There are many options when it comes to insecticides, but it is not enough just to know the most important products without knowing in depth what these products are about and which ones we can find. Below we will tell you more about them.
What is an insecticide and what are its advantages?
There are several benefits that these products can bring to our daily lives, from hygienic to aesthetic and health in general. That is why we will show you below the main advantages of equipping your home with insecticides.
Glue, aerosol or ultrasound insecticide – what to look out for?
Glue. These are sticky sheets or tubes with ultra-strong glue (usually non-toxic) that are placed in spaces where insects usually are and when they come into contact with it. Their effectiveness usually lasts for 2 to 3 months or until the glued space is full of insects.
On the downside, this type of process requires the user to dispose of the film after one or more animals come into contact with it, so it can be unpleasant while it is in place and at the time of disposal.
Aerosol. This is one of the fastest-acting options, but also one of the most toxic, as it is applied directly to the insects and the places where they are flying. The effect is immediate and can last for a couple of days if not cleaned with strong products, so it is not recommended for use around children and pets.
It can be used on cockroaches, ants, spiders and the like, and works very well when attacking groups of insects. This requires the insects to be removed after application and satisfactory effect.
Ultrasound. This is one of the most hygienic and harmless to humans and pets, as the sound emitted does not kill the insect, but drives it away because it is so annoying. Its range covers an entire room as long as the sound output is not interrupted and there are no walls in the way.
It does not need to be cleaned and will stay plugged into the socket, so it will not cause any great inconvenience. It can be used for mosquitoes, cockroaches and spiders mainly, but is not recommended for large infestations unless it is placed in every room.
| Glue | Aerosol | Ultrasound | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Range | Localised | Localised | Broad |
| Duration of effect | 2 or 3 months | 1 or 2 days | As long as it is on |
| Cleaning | Discard along with the insects in it | Not necessary | Not necessary |
| Appearance | Non-aesthetic | Invisible | Aesthetic |
| Pests | Mice, cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, etc. | Cockroaches, ants, spiders, etc. | Mosquitoes, cockroaches, spiders, etc. |
| Toxicity | No | Yes | No |
Purchasing criteria
Here are 4 of the main criteria you should take into account before choosing your preferred insecticide. In addition to knowing the format in which you prefer it, these specifications will help you to solve any doubts you may still have about these products and their effectiveness.
- Function
- Security
- Use
- Type of pest
Function
Before buying an insecticide, it is important to consider what function you want it to perform. Of course, we want to get rid of the insects we have around us, but it is up to us to decide whether we prefer to chase them away or kill them.
To repel. There are devices that create such an annoying environment that insects have no other way out than to look for alternative spaces, such as ultrasound. We recommend using it when you live in an area plagued with mosquitoes, so that you can protect your closest spaces from them.
To attack. When you want to eliminate the pest at its roots, it is important to kill them and prevent future appearances. Glue-based insecticides are recommended when there is a single threat, such as a mouse. If the threat is greater, such as a cockroach den, it is preferable to combine it with sprays and fumigations.
Safety
Before using an insecticide, it is important to read up on how to use and precautions. Fortunately many of them have technology that is harmless to pets and children, but it is of utmost importance to know this and how vulnerable your environment is to it. We explain more:
Chemicals. Depending on their presentation, they can affect more or less. Glues do not affect you unless you come into contact with them, so they should not be within reach of children and pets. Many of them are non-toxic, but they are very strong and can cause skin irritations or wounds when trying to remove them.
When it comes to sprays or fumigations, it is recommended to keep children, pets and (in some cases) adults away, depending on how invasive the treatment is. Most sprays now have discreet odours and technology that is friendly to the environment, pets and humans.
Ultrasonic. After checking that they comply with technology that won’t affect your pets and children, you can use them in bedrooms. These devices tend to ‘stir up’ pests and then chase them away, so it is recommended that they be placed in children’s rooms before the arrival of young babies.
Use
When we talk about insecticides we focus mainly on those suitable for the home, but if we want to combat or prevent pests in outdoor spaces such as gardens, we must locate very different products. We will tell you a little about them:
Indoors. As we said, the 3 options we have reviewed are suitable for indoor use, as they only affect the insects we want to attack if we use them in an accurate way. We can use them without any problems in bedrooms, garages, offices, living rooms and the like.
These insecticides are intended for pests such as cockroaches, mice, ants, spiders, mosquitoes, flies and the like that can be found in closed or semi-closed environments; as most of them are not very toxic to humans and work well in limited spaces.
Outdoors. In the event of needing insecticides for pests in gardens and patios, those mentioned above will not be effective, because these are outdoor areas and, possibly, there are plants that we want to take care of.
It is necessary to select curative or preventive pesticides that are adapted to the plants or the environment you have, and they can be in aerosol, liquid (for spraying) or for ingestion (of the insects). They are usually used when weed insects, caterpillars, chewing insects and fungi are present.
Type of pest
Although insecticides are mainly aimed at insects (as their name suggests), there are several types of pests that we can combat with them, and it is important to know their characteristics in order to choose the perfect insecticide that can kill them. Here we show you the most common ones.
Crawlers. Cockroaches, ants and the like are not as fast as mice and mosquitoes, so it is feasible to use insecticide sprays on them (if there are no children and pets). This will kill them almost instantly, but will probably not get to the root of the problem.
You can accompany this insecticide with ultrasound equipment in the most vulnerable areas such as bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms; and traps in less-trafficked areas such as basements, rooftops, garages and the like.
Arachnids. Spiders can be imperceptible and still weave their webs in inhospitable places in your home, so it is recommended to use ultrasonic equipment to prevent their arrival and scare off those that are already nearby. When you locate them, you can use insecticide spray on them.
Flyers. Mosquitoes and flies can be a real nuisance, not to mention their effects on our health and hygiene. It is recommended not to use insecticide sprays on them, as they fly very quickly from one room to another. In this case, it is better to use ultrasound and electric traps.
Rodents. Although they are not insects, mice are sneaky specialists and are difficult to catch. Ultrasonic insecticides can help you get rid of them in some rooms, but if they remain in your home, it is advisable to use glue traps in places where they tend to be, such as kitchens and garages.
(Featured image photo: Serezniy / 123rf.com)
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