Insecticides kill or repel the insect pests causing damage to your home, yard or business. They include baits, dusts, aerosols, foams and bug sprays.
People sometimes use the terms insecticide and pesticide in Canada to mean the same thing. Just to be clear: Insecticide refers specifically to products that kill insects. Pesticide has a broader meaning and includes products that kill all types of pests, including bugs, animals and microbes.
How are insecticides approved for use in Canada?
Insecticides in Canada must be approved by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Insecticide manufacturers submit data to the agency about an insecticide’s chemistry, toxicity and effectiveness for each type of insect the product intends to control. Collecting and evaluating this scientific data may take several years and hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Once registered, the insecticide product is assigned a registration or Pest Control Products number, and a label showing how to use the insecticide, where to use it, the insects it can control, how to dispose of the insecticide, and safety precautions.
It is illegal to use or sell any insecticide products not registered in Canada. So, before you buy any insecticides online or while visiting a different country, make sure they are designed and approved for use in the Canadian market. Rest assured, everything sold on Pest HQ meets Canada’s strict insecticide regulations. As well, Pest HQ is a 100% Canadian owned company.
How do I choose the best insecticide for my pest problem?
The best insecticide for your bug problem depends on several factors. These include the pest, the speed of kill, safety and ease of application. Here’s how common insecticide formulations compare:
Baits - Baits come in gel, liquid or tab forms. They are relatively easy to use and don’t pose a threat to the environment or non-target animals when used in an approved bait station. Baits are slow-acting pesticides that are especially effective at eliminating social insects.
For instance, if you’re dealing with a colony of ants where it’s important to kill the queen, a slow-acting bait is your best choice. This gives worker ants time to bring the pesticide back to the nest and to transfer it among nestmates and the queen through feeding and grooming. By comparison, a fast-acting product, such as a repellent bug spray, will kill the worker ant on contact before it can bring the insecticide back to the nest.
Baits also are a good choice for cockroaches. Roaches don’t have queens, but do they huddle together in tight spaces. They also eat dead cockroaches and the feces of cockroaches that have consumed the bait. These behaviours help transfer the insecticide through the population.
Baits take a little longer to work, but they help eliminate the pest problem completely.
Aerosols – Aerosols are fast-acting insecticides that instantly kill bugs on contact. Aerosols may deliver a stream of insecticide that you can safely apply from a distance, such as to a wasp or hornet nest. They also may have a spray tip or straw that you can insert in cracks and crevices to kill insects hiding in those locations. Aerosols also act as a repellent, creating a defensive barrier that insects won’t cross.
A type of aerosol is insecticide foam, which works well when inserted into wall voids. The foam clings to interior wall surfaces and fills up the void, leaving the insects hiding inside the wall little room to escape.
Always read the aerosol product label for application directions and for a list of insects on which it can be used. Please know, total fogging aerosols are no longer approved for use in Canada.
Dusts – Insecticide dusts are best used in cracks and crevices as a preventive measure to keep insects out of your home or business. Some dusts are environmentally friendly. Boric acid dust is a natural chemical that kills insects and generally doesn’t pose a risk to humans and pets due to its low toxicity. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a natural desiccant made of fossilized algae that kills insects by scratching their exoskeletons and drying them out. Dusts work quickly but not instantly to kill pests.
Apply dusts using the application tip provided with the package or with a hand-held bulb duster. Because dusts may be inhaled or cause eye irritation during application, wear a mask and eye protection when applying them. Clean up excess dust to minimize exposure to people and pets.
Liquid Sprays – Liquid bug sprays are fast-acting insecticides that kill bugs on contact. Some sprays have a residual; that is, they continue to kill bugs on treated surfaces, sometimes for several months after application. Insecticide sprays also are bug repellents. They create a defensive barrier that bugs won’t cross. As such, insecticide spray is a good option for pest prevention. Liquid sprays are not always effective at killing insect colonies or social insects.
Some insecticide sprays are made with natural or botanical oils, but most contain conventional chemical insecticides. Still, when applied and stored according to label directions, these generally are safe insecticides for people, pets and the environment.
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