Bug Bombs for Bed Bugs Don’t Work!

Sometimes I feel like a broken record on the phone with bed bug infested customers at Tallman Scientific. This comes up so frequently, I decided I would dedicate an entire post to it. In theory, the concept of using a bug bomb for bed bugs makes sense- We often don’t know where bed bugs are hiding, so why not treat everywhere with an insecticide fumigant so they have no place to hide. The problem with this is the fumigant often times will not penetrate into the cracks and crevices where bed bugs prefer to infest. Additionally, bed bugs increased resistance to certain chemicals will result in bed bugs getting a sub lethal dose of the insecticide or buy the bed bugs time to migrate deeper into cracks and crevices or to other rooms to avoid the insecticides.

Besides being infective against bed bugs, fumigants can expose residents to dangerous levels of chemicals and cause bed bugs to spread to additional rooms or units within a building. Whatever you call them- bug bombs, fumigants or aerosol foggers, they are simply in effective against bed bugs. We have countless case study data supporting this from hundreds of customers over the years. Some customers treated their bed bug infestation themselves with bug bombs and others had an exterminator treat with them. And we usually always receive the same feedback- It appeared the treatment worked for anywhere from a few days to a week, and then the bed bugs started biting again. What happens is the bed bugs either get stunned by the sub lethal dose of fumigant and it takes them some time to return to normal feeding habits, or the fumigant drove the bed bugs away from their feed source so it took some time for them to migrate back.

And if case study data isn’t enough for you to believe they are infective, there are plenty of other sources indicating this as well.

Here’s something from the Department of Defense for the armed forces Pest Management Board: “Insecticides currently labeled for ULV, aerosols and foggers have little or no residual effects on bed bugs. Most will seldom penetrate cryptic bed bug harborages.” It goes on to say “bed bugs are seldom killed, even by prolonged or repeated exposure to such products.”

And here is a resource for the use of foggers being ineffective for home insect treatment in general