Should I Spray My House If It Has Bugs?

Nobody wants to deal with bugs in their house, and that’s why so many people call pest control services. However, people have become increasingly aware of the side effects associated with pesticides and insecticides. So, should I spray my house for bugs?

You should only spray your house for bugs if you do it occasionally and follow the safety protocols. Avoid the treatment area for as long as the directions recommend, so you won't have harmful side effects. However, you shouldn’t regularly use pesticides, as they can cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, sore throat, and more.

The long-term side effects can include cancer, and are more serious than the short-term illnesses associated with insecticides. Follow along as we explore everything you should know before spraying your house for bugs.

Is Spraying Your House To Get Rid Of Bugs Safe?

Spraying your house can be safe, but it’s often dangerous due to the nature of most pesticides and insecticides. That’s why these products have such long lists of ingredients and potential side effects. However, pesticide manufacturers aren’t even required to list all ingredients, which can easily make you feel uncomfortable. A pest control professional knows how to apply pesticides and insecticides as safely as possible.

However, they can’t control what happens after they leave. There’s always a chance that you’ll unknowingly spread the chemicals throughout the house before it dries. Even running the air conditioner can spread the harmful fumes throughout your house. Occasionally, spraying your house for bugs isn’t the end of the world, but becoming overly reliant on chemicals can be harmful.

Five Reasons To Stop Using Pesticides Indoors

While you can use pesticides indoors, especially in emergencies, you shouldn’t rely on them. Doing so can ensure you constantly reintroduce harmful chemicals into your home. It’s worth cutting back on using these products indoors for several reasons, including:

1. They Can Kill Beneficial Bugs

Pesticides and insecticides don’t discriminate, and they’ll kill nearly any pest they touch. That may sound great if you hate bugs and don’t want them anywhere near you, however, some of the bugs in your house can be more beneficial than harmful. For example, pesticides can kill pollinators, like bees and butterflies.

This is a common problem when spraying your whole home, inside and outside, with insecticides. The chemicals can also kill ladybugs and predatory mites, both of which can kill harmful bugs for you. The bug killers can also destroy household spiders, which won’t hurt you, but are benficial because they eat mosquitoes. You’re better off letting spiders and ladybugs kill these problematic pests than using chemicals.

2. Pesticides Can Quickly Spread

Most household pesticides and insecticides come in spray bottles, which makes them easy to use. However, that doesn’t mean that the chemicals will stay exactly where you spray them. The spots where you spray can stay wet for 30 minutes to a few hours after applied. During that time, the chemicals can easily spread throughout your house and cause more harm than good. Even just some light foot traffic can smear insecticide spray, weakening it and spreading it to other rooms.

This ultimately increases the chance of harmful side effects, especially if you have small children and pets. Many manufacturers recommend avoiding the application area for 2 to 4 hours after spraying. However, the chemicals will remain there for much longer than that, even if they aren’t wet. Spills and high indoor humidity can reactivate and spread these chemicals, which isn’t worth the risk.

3. The Health Risks Are Concerning

You’ve likely heard about the risks associated with pesticides and insecticides. However, you may not understand just how serious and common they are. Even short-term symptoms, like dizziness, headache, and nausea, are quite concerning. That’s especially true if you apply the chemicals in a confined area and accidentally inhale them. You may experience wheezing and chest tightness, even if you don’t have respiratory issues. Naturally, the respiratory side effects can be much worse if you have asthma, COPD, or emphysema.

That said, the long-term risks associated with pesticides and insecticides are much worse. Pesticides are associated with 45 types of cancer, and that alone should make you think twice about using them. It’s not worth spraying your house for bugs when you consider the long-term health risks you may experience.

4. Pests Can Develop Resistance

Have you been spraying your house for years and keep getting the same type of bugs? It may have been effective at first, but there’s a good chance the effectiveness has weakened over time. That’s because some pests can develop a tolerance to common pesticides and insecticides. Cockroaches are a great example, as they have infamously become quite tolerant to common commercial pesticides. They’ve always been resilient, but their newfound tolerances can not be ignored.

Because of that, spraying your house for bugs may not be as successful as you expected. Some sprays kill less than 20% of the cockroaches in a house, and that’s not worth the effort. In that case, you’ll take the risk of having bad chemicals in your house without actually killing the bugs. You’re better off using natural methods, like diatomaceous earth and rosemary oil.

5. It Can Get Expensive

Spraying your house for bugs won’t necessarily break the bank however, you can easily spend thousands of dollars on pest control if you live in the same house for many years. That’s because pesticides and insecticides are only effective for so long, At best, you can expect most indoor insecticides to last for 30 to 90 days, which isn’t that long.

If you want to keep up with it, you must regularly spray your home or hire a professional pest control service. The latter option is much more expensive, but it’s also often more effective than doing it yourself. That doesn’t mean you should necessarily hire someone to spray your house bugs. Once you start, you can find yourself in an endless cycle of trying to stay ahead of the problem. This is much pricier than using natural pest control solutions, which are far less risky. 

Four Natural Pest Control Solutions

Instead of spraying your house for bugs, you can use several natural pest control solutions, such as:

Diatomaceous Earth

Diatomaceous earth is unlike any other natural pest control solution. This soft powder consists of fossilized diatoms, and it doesn’t rely on chemicals to kill bugs. Instead, it dehydrates them, leaving their carcasses behind without any traces of chemicals. You can spread some diatomaceous earth around the border of any room in your house.

Many pests crawl along the borders, so doing so is your best bet. It may be slightly messy, but you don’t need to use very much. We also recommend spreading some diatomaceous earth at the bottom of your entry doors. Doing so will help deter bugs seeking shelter in your home on hot summer days.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are just as useful for deterring bugs as they are for making your home smell like a spa. Many essential oils, like lavender, eucalyptus, and lemongrass, can repel bugs. You can dilute these and other oils in a bottle with water and spray them throughout your home. However, you must do some research before using essential oils to deter bugs if you have children or pets.

That’s because some essential oils, like peppermint and tea tree oil, are bad for dogs and cats. Don't use these oils in any area your pets can access. Similarly, you should check to see if your children are allergic to the essential oils you plan to use. Otherwise, essential oils are much safer than pesticides and insecticides. You may need to reapply them more often, but they’re relatively cheap and low risk.

Introduce New Plants

If you want to deter bugs while also making your home more vibrant, you can use plants to your advantage. Rosemary, basil, chrysanthemums, and lemon balm, among others, can deter many bugs. You can plant them outside your home near your front door to keep bugs from coming inside.

However, you can also use them as houseplants for even better indoor pest control results. The key is to put these plants near windows and entry doors to make the biggest impact. Planting pest-deterring herbs will also help protect your other houseplants from pesky bugs.

Seal All Gaps

If your doors have big gaps beneath, it’s likely the main reason why you have so many bugs in your house. Wide door gaps let bugs walk into your home with little resistance, however, you’re better off sealing those gaps than spraying the area with harmful chemicals. You can install weatherstripping on all your home’s entry doors for under $20, in most cases. If that’s not an option, you can use a temporary solution, such as placing a rolled towel at the door base. Covering the gap beneath your doors will also prevent drafts, which can reduce your energy bills.

Summing It Up

Spraying your house for bugs is bad if you live in a small space and don’t closely follow the instructions. That’s because you can easily spread the chemicals, then ingest them and suffer side effects. This is especially problematic for those with respiratory issues, like COPD and asthma.

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