What Pesticides do Exterminators Use?

1. Pyrethroids And Pyrethrins

Permethrin is a very common active ingredient in insecticides often applied by the licensed exterminators. It’s part of the large class of chemical insecticides called pyrethroids. They are capable of mimicking pyrethrins – botanical insecticides which are derived from African and Australian chrysanthemum flower varieties. The purpose of pyrethroids and pyrethrins is to first paralyze and then kill a vast variety of insects.

Pyrethroids and pyrethrins are included in agriculture, a lot of registered products for household insect mitigation, mosquito control, and pet protection. In general, they are safer to humans as well as other mammals than a lot of other alternatives. Additionally, they don’t trigger allergic reactions and asthma.

However, it’s worth mentioning that they are very toxic to aquatic organisms, which means that you should do everything to minimize spray drift as well as runoff that might get into the water.

2. Piperonyl Butoxide

Piperonyl butoxide and MGK-264 are among various popular chemicals which are usually added to pyrethrins as well as other insecticide agents. Additives don’t act alone as pesticides. Instead, by inhibiting insect metabolism, they enhance the effectiveness of all the other chemicals. Piperonyl butoxide is classified as a potential carcinogen by the EPA but also notes that it has quite a low human toxicity.