Getting dialed in on DIY methods, but I know some of y'all have been after this much longer. Would love your input.

Outside:

- Tempo on foundation and up exterior walls. Primarily for scorpion control but of course knocks out anything that touches in. As needed pending rain and what I see living.

- Bifen granular broadcast in yard, gravel, around home. 4x a year.

Interior:

Here's where I'm a bit unsure. Kids and dogs. Lots of food prep inside. In past I've used Demon WP, Bengal in crevices.

Anything you'd suggest inside that's safe once dry? Tempo again? Note that we have a mix of surfaces - wood, tile, carpet. Interested in general pest control inside. It's a tight well built home but we get occasional spiders, scorpions, etc. No cockroaches in this area. Or at least not many.

TIA

CS78 said:

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Do you still get bugs inside after you started treating outside? I do bifen around my entire foundation and rarely see anything inside. Personally, I don't like the idea of treating inside unless absolutely necessary.

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Same here. I just treat outside either Bifen or Demon.

Very very few. The occasional spider or scorpion doesn't bother the majority of us. But I wasn't sure if a quarterly interior spraying at doors and base boards would be an acceptable addition to the outside work.

I get Ortho Home Defense and spray it on all outside window sills, around the door jams, and inside all breather slits in the brick on the house. I do this about every 4-5 months, and havent seen a bug of any type other than flies in the house.

I'd say yes. Either Demon or Bifen liquid inside

I have kids and a dog and feel safe using demon inside. I do all baseboards and behind furniture/appliances and inside non-food/cookware cabinets.

Thanks. I'll look and see if Demon is offered in something other than wettable powder. It leaves a bit of a cloudy residue on the hardwoods

TikkaShooter said:

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Thanks. I'll look and see if Demon is offered in something other than wettable powder. It leaves a bit of a cloudy residue on the hardwoods

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Demon does come in a liquid. I don't recall the full name. Something like Demon Max perhaps. You can find it on Amazon.

I haven't used it, so I do not know if it is any more likely to cause the cloudy residue.

C

I use Tempo inside. Little to no residue

You just mix Demon WP with water and spray it.

Yep. But as a wettable powder it leaves a chalky residue.

Will liquid bifen or demon liquid. Whatever Do My Own has in stock at best prices

Appreciate the input.

Mixed at the rates on the package, I've never had a residue left.

Straight from Demon. Just saying. You might not be mixing. Or maybe have lighter color floors and it doesn't show.

But it def dries cloudy

Probably the way I spray and where I spray. I'll have to test it out on a darker area.

This has been my method for the past 4-5 years and I almost never see an insect in my house.

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I recommend a multi-tier approach.

Outside
1. Bifen liquid (hose end sprayer) on the yard to try to get the existing population in check around your house with a quick effect.
2. Demand CS or other micro-encapsulated (long residual) chemical 4-6' out from the house and 4-6' in from the fence. This has a long residual effect.
3. Demon WP to all exposed foundation where the foundation meets the siding/brick. Pay close attention to the lower 1/3 of every door and window on the 1st floor. Also pay close attention to any other potential access point - weep holes, plumping/wiring runs (at the AC is a good example). This leaves behind a residual powder (WP) that has incredible knock down power but is completely useless if it gets washed off. Focus on areas that aren't routinely soaked.
4. Bifen granule to the whole property.

All of the chemicals will have suggested rates for infestation vs. maintenance. Follow the instructions.

Repeat all 4 of these @ 45 days. After that, maintenance application on items 2-4 every 90 days OR as soon as you see any activity. A particularly rainy stretch can render most of this stuff useless sooner than 90 days. Likewise, during a drought you can get more than 90 days out of a treatment.

Demon and Demand are safe to use indoors. Focus on doors and windows, bathroom plumbing, and along baseboards behind furniture and in other places where the kids and dogs won't get in it. I don't put anything where my kids or pets are going to get in it, mainly because it's not really necessary. Again, follow the label instructions, most of these chemicals are safe for humans and pets AFTER they dry completely.

You do all that you absolutely will not have a bug problem.

Good luck.

cbminers said:

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This has been my method for the past 4-5 years and I almost never see an insect in my house.

***

I recommend a multi-tier approach.

Outside
1. Bifen liquid (hose end sprayer) on the yard to try to get the existing population in check around your house with a quick effect.
2. Demand CS or other micro-encapsulated (long residual) chemical 4-6' out from the house and 4-6' in from the fence. This has a long residual effect.
3. Demon WP to all exposed foundation where the foundation meets the siding/brick. Pay close attention to the lower 1/3 of every door and window on the 1st floor. Also pay close attention to any other potential access point - weep holes, plumping/wiring runs (at the AC is a good example). This leaves behind a residual powder (WP) that has incredible knock down power but is completely useless if it gets washed off. Focus on areas that aren't routinely soaked.
4. Bifen granule to the whole property.

All of the chemicals will have suggested rates for infestation vs. maintenance. Follow the instructions.

Repeat all 4 of these @ 45 days. After that, maintenance application on items 2-4 every 90 days OR as soon as you see any activity. A particularly rainy stretch can render most of this stuff useless sooner than 90 days. Likewise, during a drought you can get more than 90 days out of a treatment.

Demon and Demand are safe to use indoors. Focus on doors and windows, bathroom plumbing, and along baseboards behind furniture and in other places where the kids and dogs won't get in it. I don't put anything where my kids or pets are going to get in it, mainly because it's not really necessary. Again, follow the label instructions, most of these chemicals are safe for humans and pets AFTER they dry completely.

You do all that you absolutely will not have a bug problem.

Good luck.

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Excellent protocol here, pretty close to what I do. Really the only thing I do differently is add in an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) concentrate to the liquid pesticides. I like NyGuard as my IGR, bit pricey but works. Admittedly the IGR may be overkill with all the other stuff, but if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Bumping this thread because I got busy, forgot to do exterior treatments, and have ants in the house. Forgot to treat the foundation this spring, leg leaves and mulch build up on the foundation, found ants in the bathroom on an exterior wall. Went out to flower bed, dug down and found an ant tube entering a crack in our mortar.

Hit the entire exterior with tempo ultra this weekend, spot treated with Tempo inside, working on sugar and protein baits inside, and will spread bifen granules this weekend.

I've been using a cheap plastic 1 gallon sprayer and I'm tired of the dripping and poor nozzle performance.

I can't see myself spending 350+ bucks on one of these...

bg-stainless-steel-sprayer-w-9-model-bg-n124-cc

So what do you guys recommend for a better/stainless steel sprayer?

Also, I wear long pants and long sleeve shirt and goggles but need to do better on a respirator. Recommend me a respirator that can handle aerosolized pesticides...

Something like this maybe?

https://diypestcontrol.com/gerson-disposable-dual-cartridge-respirator-ov-p95

Thanks fellas.

Onslaught FastCap. You're welcome……..