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I use Ortho home defense in the spring and in the fall. Its not expensive, and it works very well. I have never rotated it in the 10 yrs I have been in this house. It still works very well.

Just bumping this. Cheers.

We do our own pest control as well. I haven't heard about switching chemicals due to bugs becoming immune. I've used several different chemicals. I've used Ortho Home Defense, some bug stuff from Bayer(forget the name), Termidor recently (I had this from a previous house which I used for ants but it also works for other bugs) and Demand CS August through December for stink bugs. I only spray outside the house and we rarely have bugs in the house.

Thanks for the replies. My "bug guy" had years of experience in this. I wish (kicking myself again) that I'd asked him when to "rotate". I have a house full of pets also. The chemicals (I mentioned) are "pet safe" when applied properly. No worries. I'll start with Bifen IT and go from there. Cheer.s

I have to agree with kudzu.

I've never lived anywhere that required monthly indoor spraying - and I've lived in a lot of odd places. In our previous house, I let the big Huntsman spiders take care of most of the indoor bugs, and the tree frogs and lizards handle the outdoor ones. In our current house we haven't had a problem with bugs, and I've set up an "insect hotel" outdoors to attract the useful ones to the garden. Some of them go after the pests. Beats spraying, anyway.

I have an arrangement with how spiders are dealt with in the house - if I see them, they unfortunately will have to die. Much screaming like I've encountered a bear in the house or found a venomous snake in the tub transpires, at least that's the case when the mister is home because many times the spiders are in places that are difficult for me to reach unaided.

For other species of insect, I just keep my fingers crossed that I continue to not have to deal with in the house. Although mosquito and tick sprays designed for human use, as well as topical treatments against those and fleas that the vet recommends for the dog, are used during the warmer parts of the year when such pests are an issue in need of resolution. Whenever we have applied insect spray ahead of spending time outdoors, it's combined with appropriate clothing which goes into the washer after coming back into the house for the rest of the day/night. Showers and/or baths follow, so nobody is getting into bed with insect repellent on themselves. :P

Ah, Jenn - as I recall, we have different views on spiders ;)

We did use topical anti tick and flea treatments for our dog (the ticks where we used to live could kill a dog) and I confess to spraying when we had an infestation of pantry moths, but I've never sprayed on a monthly basis, even in India.

It always amazes me how much people freak out about bugs and critters. Unless it's actually venemous, there is no logical reason to be upset about a spider or snake or mouse. Try to be calm. You will live longer and so will your mate. :-D

I used to be very scared of bees, having stepped on at least two as a child and got stung on a bare foot. When I became a homeowner with gardends and landscape, I make a conscious effort to be calm around bees and watch them do their thing. I haven't been bothered by one since. Hornets, and yellow jackets, now that's a different thread...

What was the topic? Oh yeah. I would never spray inside my house unless I had an invasion and nothing else worked.

Talstar got off amazon is the best ever for my Deep South home. The other brands kept Some bugs out but not all. Telstar works so well I haven’t even seen an ant. This spring was my first application love the stuff

A Foster I am going to check out Talstar.

I set up a barrier around my house to keep the bugs out. I don't really care if they are outside I just don't need spiders skittering across my pillow.

When we first moved into our new house we had it all. Spiders, 4 inch long centipedes and mice in the house. No thank you. Took care of the mice inside but they wrecked havoc on my husbands car which is parked outside. We think we finally took care of those for now. After spraying a barrier around the house starting in the spring we have very few bugs in the house.

Recently I went around and got rid of 10 wasp nests which were under the porch roof, under the deck and under the eaves. Some were inactive and others were active. I hit the active ones with wasp spray and then got the nests off.

Thanks for the replies folks. To clarify....my "bug guy" focused most of the treatment around the exterior of my home...spraying the perimeter ground (and a bit up the wall) as well as the doorways, window casings and the seperate utility room and shed. The indoor spraying was only along the base boards, in closets, underneath the sinks and behind the stove and fridge. I live in ultra humid Florida and the main house intruders are ants, cockroaches and the like. No kids are in the house...and I've always kept my pets away until the applied solution has dried. I'm gonna start with Bifen (genetic Talstar) spraying the exterior once a month and the interior baseboards (etc) once every 3 months (per the directions). Cheers.

I am allergic to bee stings, so avoiding those is key to my remaining alive. :p

So what does that mean in terms of this discussion about pesticide use?

I was mostly responding to jmm1837.

And also to @toxcrusdr