As a long-time resident of the South Florida area, I have long been aware that the almost year-round warmth and humidity of the region help create a very bug-friendly environment. I’ve had more than my share of “close encounters of the worst kind” with “no see ‘ums,” mosquitoes, fleas (when I’ve owned pets), fire ants, and various species of cockroaches. Yes, I know they are part of nature and that insects far outnumber humans (and will probably inherit the Earth if we are stupid enough to have a Third World War with nukes and other weapons of mass destruction), but I still have nightmares about being chased out of a pool at the age of nine by a palmetto bug the size of a Nimitz- class aircraft carrier….or the time a German cockroach crawled up my leg during my third period English class in ninth grade.
Until recently, we relied heavily on the services of a professional pest control guy named Armando, who had been coming to our humble Miami-area house every two months since 1988, but when he started living up to the old adage that familiarity breeds contempt and started showing up at whatever time he felt like rather than the time agreed upon, my mom decided to discontinue his services.
At first we considered hiring another professional pest control company (Sears, supposedly, has a good extermination service, while Truly Nolen and Orkin have good reputations), but after we saw a television commercial for the Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray, we decided to try doing the job ourselves. Not only would it be a bit more economical (at least that’s what we hope), but we wouldn’t have to worry about the “bug man” missing an appointed visit or showing up whenever he felt like it.
So we went to Home Depot a few weeks ago and came back with a 1.33 gallon container/applicator of Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray; as you can imagine it isn’t as light as an ordinary spray can of, say, Raid Ant and Roach Killer, but since we were going to act as our own pest control company, we figured that I could handle the weight as I lugged the plastic jug around both outside and inside Chez Diaz-Granados.
While it has only been a week since I first used the Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray system, I can’t claim that I can embark on a new career as a pest control dude, but I can make a few relevant and useful observations.
Ease of Use:
The first thing I noticed – other than the weight of a 1.33-gallon container – is that the Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray is relatively easy to set up and use. Okay, it’s not as simple as your average spray can or trigger-handle bottle, but it doesn’t take a Ph.D in Physics to figure out how to attach the hose/spray nozzle to the container. All you have to do is lift up a tab on the container that mates to the “female” plug of the hose, press gently but firmly, and when you hear a slight click, you know it’s attached.
You can (and should!) also adjust the width of the spray stream, depending on whether you are applying it indoors or outdoors. (See directions of use below.) A rule of thumb I have adopted is: the more delicate the target area is (say, kitchen cabinets and underside of drawers), the narrower the stream. This can be done by twisting the “nose” of the nozzle to the desired setting.
To “load” your weapon, you have to pull a lever at the base of the trigger mechanism out very slowly and count to three, then release. This allows you to dispense just the right amount of pesticide until the lever retracts all the way back to its original position and locks the trigger. To continue spraying, simply repeat the “pull and hold for a 3-count” process as many times as necessary until you have completed your rounds in and out of your home.
Results:
Although it’s not a barrel of fun to lug a 1.33 gallon container of Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray up and down stairs or outside in 90 degree weather, it’s not one of the 12 Labors of Heracles (Hercules, as the Romans called the dude). Admittedly, climbing up the 14 steps of our “grand staircase” with this thing requires a careful tread and a steady grip, but once I had the hang of it I wasn’t too worried about breaking my neck on a bug hunt. I sprayed the indoors part first, adjusting the spray nozzle from time to time (and, alas, forgetting to pull the lever back to “reload” the “gun” a few times); spraying three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a pantry, a utility/laundry room, a kitchen/dining area, and a living room took me no more than 20 minutes, even allowing for having to open cabinets and drawers. I just copied what I’d seen Armando do before, except, of course, tick off my mom after being late for an
appointed visit.
The first day, of course, there were no obvious results; Armando’s visits had helped keep the roaches and ants pretty much under control, so we hadn’t seen any live ones for two months. There were no roaches out and about on that day; in the downstairs bathroom, a few ants were walking about on top of the sink and the cabinet below it, marching, foraging for food, or whatever it is that ants do in their daily routines.
But by Day Three, there were the first signs that the Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray was working: I saw two small roach corpses close to the front door – these were promptly vacuumed (I don’t like picking dead roaches up…ugh) within five minutes of having been discovered. I also checked the downstairs bathroom’s garrison of black ants. They were still there, but not as lively as before; the 10 or so ants that I counted staggered on the sink and the cabinet as if they had gone on a 24-hour drinking binge, zig-zagging sluggishly to and fro as the pesticide attacked their nervous systems. By Day Four, no live ants remained.
Directions for use:
INDOORS
Apply a 4 inch-wide band along the interior of your home in areas where insects are a re-occuring problem.
Spray until lightly wet, but not soaking.
Apply along baseboards, beneath and behind applicances, sinks and cabinets, in pantries, on floor coverings (including carpet, tile, linoleum and wood floors), around plumbing and garbage cans, in cracks and crevices in walls, around window frames and doorways and in attics.
OUTDOORS :
Apply a 12 inch-wide band along the exterior perimeter of your home.
Spray until slightly wet, but not soaking.
Apply along the foundation, around window frames and doorways, on porches and patios, along eaves and exterior siding.
When to Apply
Used as a preventive treatment to create a bug barrier, keeping bugs out for an entire season.
Apply indoor or outdoors when insects are present.
Children and pets may re-enter the treated area once product has dried completely.
What It Controls
Ants, asian lady beetle, black widow spider, brown recluse spider, box elder bugs, carpet beetles, carpenter ants, centipedes, clover mites, confused flour beetle, daddy long legs spider, earwigs, fire ants, firebrats, fleas, flies, granary weevil, grasshopper, hobo spider, houseflies, indian meal moth, millipedes, mosquitoes, moths, pill bugs, red flour beetle, rice weevil, roaches, saw-toothed grain beetle, scorpions, silverfish, sow bugs, spiders, ticks (including ticks that transmit Lyme disease)
Cautions
Keep out of reach of children. Avoid contact with eyes or clothing.
