Tell me your experience with a pyrethrin fogger

September 20, 2024 11:30 AM

The Blah household has just been stood up repeatedly by an exterminator who was coming to do a fogger in our attic to get rid of mites (from rats, likely) that are coming into our house and biting us. We've dealt with this before; we know this is mites; we know this treatment works (along with getting rid of the rats). I looked through the paperwork from our last treatment a few years ago and see the company used a pyrethrin fogger to do the job. Is there a reason I can't purchase one and do this myself?

I see multiple pyrethrin foggers on Amazon like this, though nothing of that ilk seems to be in stock at my local Home Depot or similar big hardware store. This is for an attic space that covers about 75% of my house. So if we were mimicking the exterminator, who wants $575 for this process, we'd open our attic access, put the fogger inside and start it, close the access, and leave the house for 4 hours. Voila, dead mites.

We have cats; we can isolate them in a separate part of the house that is not covered by attic space. (This is what we've done in the past.) We can remove uncovered sources of food -- cat food, cat water, fruit in a bowl on the counter, etc. -- and other exposed things like toothbrushes and towels.

I'm clear on the fact that I know nothing about anything in this scenario, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. Is this a good idea? We absolutely could start over with a different exterminator instead.

posted by BlahLaLa to Home & Garden (3 answers total)

I can't tell you whether or not it's a good idea, but for D.I.Y. pest control, I've been really happy with DoMyOwn over Amazon or Home Deport or whatever.
posted by infinitywaltz at 12:11 PM on September 20

I have had the experience of finding things for sale via Amazon which are not legal for sale to the public where I live (California - which tends to have stricter than average environmental protections) What happened to me was often a frustrating cycle of placing orders and then either having them cancelled by the seller or just never shipped. So if you can't find it from any of your local hardware stores (even for on-line purchase) then it might be that it is only for sale to professionals in your state.
posted by metahawk at 1:46 PM on September 20 [1 favorite]

Not for mites, but for bedbugs and for fleas, I have gone to stores (in-person) that provide supplies to professional exterminators. It worked out fine. I definitely think trying to find a brick and mortar location that specifically deals in equipment/supplies for pest control would be better than going to a Home Depot or general hardware store.
posted by brookeb at 3:44 PM on September 20