How nasty are pest control chemicals?

[terran]

I'm looking at a rental that includes regular (quarterly I think) inside and outside pest control. I got the impression this wasn't exactly optional as they feel it protects their investment. The pandemic is a whole different consideration, but how crazy am I being to not love the idea of chemicals being sprayed around inside my home?

[Igelfreundin]

In my experience, it depends on location and extent of the bug problem. I live in a single family home near DC, and I can keep insects under control with minimizing trash in the house plus rare, focused spraying. On the other hand, I had battelled fleas, termites, ants, fruit flies, and palmetto bugs on Miami. We didn't spray but sometimes used more targeted liquid or powder poison. In Albuquerque, monthly spraying was considered the bare minimum to try and keep roaches to reasonable numbers in an apartment building. Monthly wasn't even enough there, honestly. Ugh, that area is not good for people with bug phobias.

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[Steeze]

Pretty nasty, but not a big deal if you don’t have kids/pets.

I spray my place once a year DIY with some pro-grade chemicals instead of letting the building’s guy do it. Then I know what/where/how it was applied and that it was thorough.

The stuff I use, once properly diluted, is only harmful to pets when wet and humans when ingested according to the label. Might keep an eye on the guy so you know where it was applied then leave the house for a couple hours until it dries. Be sure to pack away any food and dishes beforehand.

If I had pets or kids I would think twice. My wife is pregnant so I probably won’t spray for the next year or two unless I have some unwanted guests.

[Steeze]

Worst I ever saw was in Houston while doing a property condition assessment. Units were nice but a handful of them had serious infestations. I mean 1000s of roaches crawling in and out of everything and everywhere in broad daylight. People still living in them too.

I’ll take the chemicals over that nightmare any day. I had suppressed that memory until just now. Thanks for that.

[terran]

@Igelfreundin, thanks, I'm not really wondering about what's necessary, we don't have too much of a problem in our current place. It's more that in the place we're looking they do this and I didn't get the impression it was optional.

@Steeze, thanks for your hands on knowledge. No pets, no kids. So it sounds like you wouldn't be worried about it getting into the air? I would think I could follow them around so I'd know where it was, and as long as I don't go licking those spots I shouldn't be worried?

[Steeze]

@Igelfreundin, thanks, I'm not really wondering about what's necessary, we don't have too much of a problem in our current place. It's more that in the place we're looking they do this and I didn't get the impression it was optional.

@Steeze, thanks for your hands on knowledge. No pets, no kids. So it sounds like you wouldn't be worried about it getting into the air? I would think I could follow them around so I'd know where it was, and as long as I don't go licking those spots I shouldn't be worried?

I wouldn’t worry then. Open a window, go for a walk, and no floor licking. I don’t think anything could stay airborne for any amount of time. At any rate, once it is diluted and dried it probably isn’t concentrated enough to do harm to a person unless you ingest a bunch of it. My stuff is like 1oz to 1 gallon, so it is >99% water when applied.

The concentrate though, I’m a bit scared of that stuff. I mix in growth inhibitor also which is even scarier stuff.

[Steeze]

Although I won’t spray, I will still apply diatomaceous earth in all the cracks and crevices. That stuff is not harmful at all, some people even eat it (I don’t).

Basically fine silica that shreds bugs to pieces when they walk through it. Not a chemical at all, just a very small sharp dust. Looks like chalk and you apply it with a bulb duster. That stuff is great. Makes roaches move in slow motion. I consider that my first line of defense against all crawling insects.

[terran]

Although I won’t spray, I will still apply diatomaceous earth in all the cracks and crevices. That stuff is not harmful at all, some people even eat it (I don’t).

Basically fine silica that shreds bugs to pieces when they walk through it. Not a chemical at all, just a very small sharp dust. Looks like chalk and you apply it with a bulb duster. That stuff is great. Makes roaches move in slow motion. I consider that my first line of defense against all crawling insects.

Yeah, that's what I use now.

[draco44]

It all depends on the specific pesticide products being used, what active ingredient(s) those products contain and in what concentration, and, assuming you are in the United States, ensuring that the products are being applied according to the federally approved label.

As others have said, pest pressure varies significantly by location.  And depending on what pests you are treating for, keeping your home clean is often the number one best thing to prevent problems from happening later.

If you ever have concerns that a pesticide is not being applied by the applicators (such as your landlord or a company they hire) according to the product label, you can contact your state officials to report a misuse incident. The National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) has information on how to find your state official: http://npic.orst.edu/reg/state_agencies.html#map

If your landlord will tell you what specific products are being applied, you can do more research. If you have the EPA registration number or trade name of a pesticide, you can look a copy of the product's full label online using the Pesticide Product and Label System (PPLS), available here: https://iaspub.epa.gov/apex/pesticides/f?p=PPLS:1

As a quick and dirty indicator, one part of the pesticide label you can look for to to get a general sense of a given pesticide product's toxicity to humans is the "signal word." This will appear near the top of the product's label, and will be either CAUTION, WARNING, OR DANGER. "CAUTION"  means  the  pesticide  product  is  slightly  toxic  if  eaten,  absorbed  through the skin, inhaled, or it causes slight eye or skin irritation. "WARNING"  indicates  the  pesticide  product  is  moderately  toxic  if  eaten,  absorbed through the skin, inhaled, or it causes moderate eye or skin irritation. "DANGER" means that the pesticide product is highly toxic by at least one route of exposure. For example, it may be corrosive, causing irreversible damage to the skin or eyes. Alternatively, it may be highly toxic if eaten, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled. If this is the case, then the word “POISON” must also be included on the product label.

[MDM]

I'm looking at a rental that includes regular (quarterly I think) inside and outside pest control...how crazy am I being to not love the idea of chemicals being sprayed around inside my home?

Not crazy to think twice about something that ends in -icide.  Having said that, insecticides are designed to be much more harmful to insects than to people.  Dosage is important: if you pour a concentrated version on your skin, or worse drink a glassful, well, that's not likely to be good.  And I wouldn't follow alongside the technician while it's being applied.

But living where an application is done only quarterly?  That would be far down the list of things in a rental that might be concerning. :)

[Metalcat]

Although I won’t spray, I will still apply diatomaceous earth in all the cracks and crevices. That stuff is not harmful at all, some people even eat it (I don’t).

Basically fine silica that shreds bugs to pieces when they walk through it. Not a chemical at all, just a very small sharp dust. Looks like chalk and you apply it with a bulb duster. That stuff is great. Makes roaches move in slow motion. I consider that my first line of defense against all crawling insects.

Yeah, that's what I use now.

My vet told me that DE can be quite dangerous for pets. It's is non toxic and edible, but is has the same effect on lungs as it does on bugs.

[MissPeach]

I'm very sensitive to chemicals in general so it would be a deal breaker for me on a regular basis inside. I've lived in a few places that regularly sprayed outside. Where I live outside pest control is enough to not have inside issues. My area mostly gets ants, spiders, termites, and maybe fleas if you have pets.

[Tempname23]

I had roaches also known as a Palmeto Bug in Florida :-)
The garage was worst but in the home also. In the late evening when you opened the door into the garage it was common to see 3 or 4 scurry away. I saw testimonials about a product on Amazon and tried it. It's a, take it back and contaminate your friends type chemical. The first night I put a styrofoam plate upside down and put about 30 dots of the material on the plate, the next morning the bait was ALL gone, every bit! The second night I did the same, about 3/4 of the dots were gone. The next night I couldn't see that any of it had been eaten. I went ahead and applied it in the house as recommended in a Youtube video.  This was done the last week in August and now it's been 10 weeks and I have not seen a single Roach. I used the whole 4 tubes, in the first round of applications.  Garage and whole house. When I saw it worked so well, I placed a second order to have on hand when I see them again. Now I'm reading and see that might not have been a good idea, customers say if it's old it is less effective.
 Here's the Amazon link.
https://www.amazon.com/advion-Plungers-Cockroach-Insecticide-Australian/dp/B00730QW70/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=avion&qid=1605289250&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1

Here's the Youtube video showing proper application.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9zE7RuNcq0