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I am planning on doing a perimeter spray around my house. There are a lot of different options for insecticide but I have not been able to find any comparison or description of the different products.

From what I have read a synthetic pyrethroid is the way to go. Pyrethroids are the most effective and least toxic of the general purpose insecticides while the synthetic variants are longer lasting.

Some of the synthetic pyrethroids I have found: Deltamethrin, Cypermethrin, and Lambda-Cyhalothrin.

  • What are the differences between these products?
  • Is one more or less effective or should I be aware of any special considerations between these?
  • Or are they all effectively the same and I should just go with the cheapest one?
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  • 2
    What kind of pests are your primary concern?
    – Lisa
    Aug 16, 2013 at 17:39
  • 1
    My main issue currently is spiders. However, I expect the spiders are here because it is a good hunting ground, so I am looking for a general purpose product. I don't want to kill the spiders and end up letting an even worse pest take hold. Are any of these more or less effective against a specific pest? Their descriptions all have similar explanations for what they are effective against.
    – oillio
    Aug 16, 2013 at 17:51
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    what harm are they doing?
    – mike
    Aug 16, 2013 at 21:32

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I have tried many different compounds, and found one to be particularly effective with low human toxicity:

Bifenthrin - A pyrethrin, only slightly toxic to mammals, nontoxic to plants

Talstar Pro -- Liquid concentrate, mix your own and spray

Ortho Home Defence Max Granules -- Granules, apply by shaking along perimeter

I use the liquid concentrate because it is much more cost effective, but the granules are much easier to apply. I have kids and I chose this compound due to it's relatively low mammal toxicity. I'm unsure what else is in the granules besides the active ingredient, and that also deters me from using it.

You can get the granules at your local home improvement store, and they also sell it in liquid form in a self-contained spray bottle but unless you fancy pulling a spray bottle trigger 1000 times to apply it, I would skip that option altogether.

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