Bug Bombs Don’t Get Rid of Bugs, Study Suggests | Hacker News Reader

Bug Bombs Don’t Get Rid of Bugs, Study Suggests

sciencemag.org

43 pointsPharmakon26 comments

The only bugs I've had issues with are fruit flies and cockroaches.

Fruit flies are easily dealt with by putting cider vinegar in a container and rubber banding saran wrap over it (with a couple holes) - they get in but not out. That, combined with taking out the trash twice a week solved the issue.

For cockraoches, there are bait traps so that they take poisoned food back to their buddies.

Both resulted in no bugs for the rest of my lease.

The key for both was utilizing the solution when you see the first bug.

just a footnote: boric acid, which is a common cockroach poison taken back to the nests, is that it's toxic to human kidneys

Do bait traps leave it behind in such a way to be toxic to humans?

> Do bait traps leave it behind in such a way to be toxic to humans?

They're like little domed things the roaches go into... I don't see how it could spread the stuff around. Just wash your counters and cutting boards regularly.

idk about bait traps. a long time ago I used the boric acid that is sold in a big squeeze bottle and i just put lines of the stuff near cupboard doors and on the floor. looking back now, i don't think that was a great idea. i wouldn't want to ingest any of it.

>idk about bait traps. a long time ago I used the boric acid that is sold in a big squeeze bottle and i just put lines of the stuff near cupboard doors and on the floor. looking back now, i don't think that was a great idea. i wouldn't want to ingest any of it.

then uh, don't lick them?

now you tell me

Even before the treatments, the middles of countertops, floors, and other areas heavily trafficked by humans (but not bugs) had residue

There's pesticide in the middle of countertops before the bug bomb was used?

I imagine the residents had previously tried such things outside of the study.

I don’t understand why people would poison themselves like thi (bug bomb), especially when safe alternatives like Diatomaceous Earth are available

Likely because people don't know it exists.

I worked in pest control when I was younger (friend's family business) and I live in an area where there's 2 very common unwanted pests. Pest control is a somewhat common topic and nearly every person I know (except myself) has "bombed" their house multiple times.

Your post is the first time I've heard of DE.

I highly recommend the stuff. Works great, supposedly harmless for us mammals, and ridiculously cheap. I bought a bag for a few bucks years ago and I’m maybe a quarter of the way through it now. Any time I see unwanted bugs, I dust around likely entrances and they stop coming.

Breathing certain forms of diatomaceous earth can cause silicosis and other lung problems:

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/degen.html

Apparently breathing the amorphous form causes only mild and reversible lung inflammation. Breathing the crystalline form can be more dangerous.

Good to know. It sounds like normal household use is fine, but frolicking in the stuff might be good to avoid.

Doesn't work all that great on fleas. We had a bad flea infestation and it basically took my wife on her hands and knees with a can of Hot Shot flea killer. Bug bombs did nothing. Took us nearly 2 weeks of this to get the area clear, but it eventually worked.

Also have to be careful with DE. If you try to vacuum it up you’ll probably end up with a ruined vacuum, at least according to a lot of people online - I don’t want to find out for myself.

My wife vacuumed it daily for 2 weeks. It didn't seem to affect our Dyson, that's still going strong months later.

Dyson should be safe, they filter out a lot more than cheaper vacs. Some more info:

https://www.saferbrand.com/articles/clean-up-diatomaceous-ea...

The problem with DE is it takes awhile for the bug to actually die, where as poison is instant

DE is for exterior boundary use.

These is also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant_chalk

I was introduced to this product in early 2000 (my keyboard developed an ant nest after a lan party), seemed shady AF and a typical Chinese scam, but worked great and got rid of ants in a ~week.

Not legal in the U.S., and very toxic.

Borax solutions like Terro work very well. Diatomaceous earth is a natural solution for exterior boundary use.

Diatomaceous earth doesn't work well in wet areas unfortunately. Bug bombs are useless.

They may not work on bugs so well, but when it's time to clean out the pantry of food I don't want to eat I've been known to leave a counter door open "by mistake".

"Sorry honey, must not have been closed all the way. Guess all this Hamburger Helper has gotta go."

Can you explain this more? How does leaving a pantry door force you to get rid of food?

"Even before the treatments, the middles of countertops, floors, and other areas heavily trafficked by humans (but not bugs) had residue"

How can there be residue from the bombs before they were used?

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