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In such cases, you might want to resort to calling an exterminator, but the best way to get rid of the fleas is just buying and using a fogger. Also called “flea bombs,” these insecticides are easy to use and will usually get rid of not just fleas but also other insects that you might have trouble with.
Here’s how useful the best flea foggers can be and why you should get them even if you only have a minor flea problem.
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Why Buying a Flea Fogger?
Flea foggers are one of the finest ways out there to get rid of flea infestations quickly and efficiently. They are insecticides that use a few different targeted chemicals for killing fleas. Pyrethrin and pyrethroid are the most common ones, though there are products that use others, like nylar, tetramethrin and so on. Some contain only one of these chemicals, but the better brands usually contain two, three or more of them to make sure the fleas are dead.
Get rid of bloodsucking pests with the best flea fogger
Using flea foggers is mostly simple. You just place them in a room and let them fill it with the gas. Of course, you should make sure that everyone is out of the room beforehand since these chemicals can be dangerous to inhale. You also need to make sure the windows are closed, and all the drawers and similar places where the fleas could hide are open, and the gas can get into them.
Turn off any electrical appliances beforehand, just in case, as the gas can be flammable. Cover or put away any food, so it doesn’t get contaminated. After around two or four hours it will all be done, and you can come back in and air out the place. The fleas should be dead in a matter of days if not hours.
Of course, they usually leave eggs, which the flea fogger won’t kill, so you might have to repeat the process once or twice after a few weeks, but that will get rid of them completely. Make sure to vacuum before and after the process as well.
But what if you have no flea problems? Well, despite the name, flea foggers are usually good at killing more than flees and can work on other insects or arachnids you might have in your home. They can work on mosquitoes, centipedes, spiders, scorpions, cockroaches and more. Be sure to check the label to see what the product works on.
Of course, flea foggers are not an entirely surefire solution, and you also have to treat your pets for fleas to make sure they don’t bring them back in. Still, they will get rid of almost all the fleas in a few treatments and are one of the best and cheapest ways to deal with flea infestations.
Not all foggers are equally good, however, and some will do little more than stink up your place, leaving the bugs alive and well. Unfortunately, it is difficult to tell if this is the case before you buy and use the product, so you might end up with a dud without knowing it if you’re not careful.
Not a lot of people have the knowledge necessary to spot a good fogger at first glance, but we have decided to impart that knowledge upon you. Here we will discuss the best products we found during our testing process, review them, add in some opinions from genuine users and discuss the most important aspects of foggers.
Meet the Best Flea Foggers
The Good: Effective immediately, non-flammable and doesn’t leave any nasty smells around
The Bad: Not effective in the long run and doesn’t offer a lot of cans for the price.
The Bottom Line: Overall, this is quite an effective product in the short term, more than any other out there. Even though it lacks longevity, we still believe it is more than worth its high price due to how well it works.
The Good: You get a lot of it for the price, and it can last for quite a while.
The Bad: Leaves a smell, is quite flammable and doesn’t kill a lot of insects.
The Bottom Line: Despite some upsides this product has, the main issue with it can’t be overlooked – it doesn’t work well and isn’t effective at killing most insects. Because of that, it is a difficult sell even at this price point.
The Good: It’s long-lasting and effective while being able to cover a huge area.
The Bad: The can is poor at dispersing the chemicals, and it costs much more than other products.
The Bottom Line: There’s no doubt that this is an effective and long-lasting flea fogger. However, it’s hampered by how poor the can it comes in is, and it costs far too much for us to be able to recommend it.
This is what we think about the foggers in general. Scroll down below to see why.
All of the Factors Considered
Foggers are quite different from normal bug spray even though they might seem alike at first glance. Applying the same strategy to buying them as you do for bug strays is a mistake a lot of people make, and they end up with a bad product because of it. Because of that, we decided to write up a list of the most important things you should consider when buying a fogger, based on our extensive testing.
Effectiveness
What matters most about a flea fogger is how effective it is. There’s no point to it if it doesn’t kill fleas, after all.
There are a few ways you can gauge the effectiveness of a given product before you even use it. The first one is by looking at which chemicals are used. The more different flea-killing chemicals there are in a product, the more certain it is that it will kill most of the fleas in your house.
Another thing you should check it is the length of its effectiveness. Some products may stay effective weeks or months after use, and that can prevent any resurgence, which makes them more effective.
If you’re looking to kill more than fleas you should see what bugs the fogger can affect. Some foggers can kill a huge range of common pests, and that can be a large bonus, even if you’re only looking to get rid of fleas.
Coverage
When using foggers, you should use only one can per each room, no more and no less. However, rooms can vary in size, and some might just be too large for one can to cover. Because of this you should always check out the coverage of each fogger before purchasing it and compare it to the size of the rooms you’re going to use them with.
Coverage is mostly expressed in cubic meters or cubic feet, depending on your location and knowing how large your rooms are is easy if you know how high up the ceiling is and what size is the surface of the room.
Of course, you also don’t want to use a can with extremely large coverage in an incredibly small room since it might be difficult to air it all out. You should only use them in rooms that aren’t small than half the coverage of the product.
Safety
These products can be highly unsafe if you don’t go about using them properly and they can’t be made much safer than they already are. However, there are ways in which some can be safer than others.
For example, a product coming with a detailed instruction manual is always a good thing. It should detail the exact ways in which you can avoid getting harmed by it or harming others with it.
Some products are also less prone to bursting into flames than others and are safer as a result. Shoddy packaging can also lead to a product being unsafe and leaking before use, so make sure the bottle is durably made and has no leaks.
Smell
The smell of an insecticide like this can be awfully pungent, and it can linger for quite a while. That can be a huge problem considering that the best way to use them is to fill your house with them. If your house smells horrible for months after use, it might not be a good product.
You should always check out the experiences of other users when it comes to this. See what they say about how smelly the product is and for how long does the smell linger inside the house.
Now that you’re aware of all this check out how our top products measured up.
In-depth Reviews of 3 Best Flea Foggers
Hot Shot 20177 Fogger
Key Features
Effective in the Short Run Doesn’t Stay
The effectiveness of this product can’t be argued with – it will kill not only fleas but ants, spiders, centipedes, crickets and most other insects incredibly quickly. However, its effects will dissipate equally fast, so if you want some long-term treatment, you will have to use it again and again.
Plenty of Coverage
In the pack, you get three foggers, and each one is good for a room of up to 2000 cubic feet. This is decent for a product at this price point, and you can use it for larger rooms without any problems. However, if you have a house with more than three rooms you will have to buy multiple packs and considering that it doesn’t last for long, the cost could pile up.
Incredibly Safe
This is a supremely safe product because it isn’t flammable and you can easily leave most of your lights on while it is still in the house. It also doesn’t stick around for too long. The quality of the cans it comes in is suspect though.
Leaves no Smell
There’s no smell left after using these foggers, and you won’t even notice that they were used. You don’t have to worry about your furniture smelling horrible after using it.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
If you want to see results almost immediately, this is the product for you. It is also quite suitable for people who want a fogger that is safer than most and not flammable or one that doesn’t leave any smells. It works for more than fleas as well, and you can get rid of loads of different pests with it.
What to Watch Out For
If you want something that will work over a longer period and stay effective weeks after use, you should look elsewhere as this product dissipates in a matter of days. You also don’t get a lot of it for the price since only three cans are in a pack. It can be unreliable as well since cans have failed to spray at times.
The Conclusion
This product is great in some regards, especially how effective it is in the short run and how much safer it is than other products out there. The issue is the cost and the fact that it fails to be effective in the long run. Still, we think it is worth the cost because it is more effective than most other products out there.
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Black Flag HG-11079 Fogger
Key Features
Long Lasting but not Effective Enough
The effects of this product can linger for up to 12 weeks, which is quite a lot. The problem is that it is not good at killing a lot of different things and it barely even kills fleas properly.
Decent Coverage
Each can is able to cover around 2000 cubic feet, which is enough. That’s not amazing but is quite standard when everything is considered. It does come with six cans in a pack, meaning that you can cover plenty of space with just one purchase.
Not Safe Enough
Most of these products are flammable due to how they’re made and the chemicals they use. The issue with this one is that it is more flammable than most, so you should take extra care when using it or even when just handling the cans.
The Smell Lingers
The product leaves an odor after use, and the manufacturer is at least honest about the smell can remain for a day or two as well, so you should make sure that you’ll be out of the house for a while when using it or you will have to deal with the stink.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
For those that want a lot of value for their money, this is the product to get. You get six cans in total, and each can is able to cover a decent 2000 cubic feet. The product is also long-lasting and can work for up to 12 weeks after the initial use. On the surface, this looks like good value for the price.
What to Watch Out For
When you get down to it, this is not a product that is effective enough, and it can’t kill a lot of insects, not in the short run or the long run. It is only effective for a few species of insects, mostly fleas, and roaches and it won’t kill off most of them either. It is also potentially unsafe since it’s extremely flammable.
The Conclusion
Overall, despite how much you get for the relatively low price, this product isn’t particularly worth buying. The reason is that it lacks quality, so it tries to make up for that with quantity. It doesn’t kill insects well, and that is its greatest downfall, even though it has some other flaws as well.
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Precor Plus IGR Fogger
Key Features
Effective but Difficult to Use
This is an effective product, there’s no doubt about that, and it lasts for an extremely long time, up to seven months. That’s just in theory since the cans it comes in are of poor quality. They spray badly, and you can’t place it on the floor like most foggers – you have to place it quite high up for it to work well. Even then, it still might not disperse well enough.
Great Coverage & High Cost
It can cover a room of up to 750 square feet in size with no issues, which is more than most other products. The issue is that a six-pack of these foggers costs quite a bit more than most others, almost three times more. Also, because of this, it won’t work well in smaller rooms.
Reasonably Safe
While not any safer than most other products of this ilk, it is not more unsafe than them either. You still have to follow the same protocol as with other foggers, but you will have no extra worries.
No Smells Left
Due to its formula this product won’t leave any lingering smells and will dissipate an hour or so after use. You don’t need to worry about staying out of the house for a day or two due to using these foggers.
Customer Reviews
Who Should Buy this Product
This fogger is ideal for people who need a long-lasting product since this is the best one out there when it comes to that. It will last an astounding seven months, which covers the entire bug season, from early spring to late summer. It is the ideal product for people who don’t want to keep spraying and have large houses.
What to Watch Out For
The largest issues here are the cost and the lack of effectiveness this product has due to the can it comes in. The sprayer isn’t effective at dispersing it properly, meaning that it will mostly stay low to the ground and in the area near it, dispersing quicker than it should. This can be remedied a bit, but it’s difficult. For such a costly product, this is highly disappointing.
The Conclusion
If this product was half the cost that it is, we might still be able to recommend it, but at this price, its flaws are simply unacceptable. The fact that it doesn’t disperse properly is the largest one and makes all its benefits moot. It’s a shame, but we have to say that this product is not worth buying, not at this cost. Wait for a discount, and it might be worth your cash.
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The Best Flea Fogger – Hot Shot 20177
It is difficult to pick the best flea fogger as there are no perfect products out there and people might need them for different things. Some products function well for people who want to kill a wide variety of bugs while they might not work for others due to the smell. It is a difficult thing to do, picking just one product as the best. However, we still tried and our pick for the best fogger this time is the Hot Shot 20177 Fogger.
This product is exceptionally effective as it can kill loads of different insect species besides fleas and it works almost immediately, making insects drop dead within hours. It has its issues, and it is not good for long-term use, but we still believe it is worth the high price as its effectiveness is almost unrivaled. Because of that, we chose it as the best flea fogger out there.
The Conclusion
In the end, whether you agree or disagree, we just hope we managed to help you with the information we presented in this article. In the end, we just wanted to make you well-informed and help you pick a good flea fogger when you go shopping. If managed in that goal, share this article around as that will help us out a lot and it might help other people as well. We hope you will be able to keep your house bug free and, until next time, have a good day.
