Are you out of your wits trying to eliminate fleas in your home?
I hear you.
Fleas are a nuisance to both you and your pets.
They are also stubborn pests that seem to come back stronger and multiply every time you try to kill them.
But don’t worry. Fleas are not invincible. There are several flea foggers you can use to help you get rid of fleas.
In this post, I’ll go over the best flea foggers. So you can finally get your home back from these pesky bugs.
Let’s dive in!
Best Flea Foggers – Updated on 2023
Are you short on time?
Here is a quick guide to the 5 best flea foggers today.
If you want to learn more about each product continue reading and we will tell you everything you need to know.
- Precor Plus Fogger IGR – Best Overall Flea Fogger
- BASF Pyrethrum TR Fogger – Best Profesional Grade Flea Fogger
- Vet-Kem Siphotrol Plus – Best Mid-Range Fogger
- Bayer Animal Health Advantage Household Fogger – Best Flea Fogger For Pets
- Hot Shot Bedbug & Flea Fogger – Best Budget Flea Fogger
1.Precor Plus Fogger IGR – Best Overall
Pros
It comes with three cans – Treats a total of 1125 square feet
Kills adults on contact
Residual effect prevents fleas for seven months
Easy to start and won’t stain carpet
Cons
Strong Smell
Fleas build-up resistance
Must evacuate room for at least three hours.
Key Details
- Active Ingredient: Methoprene (0.09%), Permethrin (0.58%)
- How Fast Does It Work: Kills fleas on contact
- How Long Does It Last: Prevents flea infestations for 7 months
- Treatment Area: treats 750 square feet (3oz treats 375 square feet)
- For Use: Indoors & Outdoors: Indoors or Enclosed areas.
What I Like
Insecticide + IGR
Precor Plus is highly effective because it combines the use of an insecticide and insect growth regulator.
The insecticide will kill adult and juvenile fleas instantly. Simultaneously, the Insect growth regulator will stop adult fleas and eggs from hatching or reaching adulthood.
This gives this fogger a high instant kill and a residual effect that lasts seven months.
Multiple Canisters
Another great thing is that it comes with multiple canisters.
This is great if you need to treat multiple rooms or treat a room multiple times.
Another advantage is that this product also comes in different sizes.
For rooms of 375 square feet, use the 3 oz canister.
For larger rooms of 750 square feet, then resort to the 6 oz canister.
What I Dislike
Evacuation Time
When treating your house or room with a fogger, you need to evacuate the room for at least 3 hours.
This is unfortunate because it typically requires you to vacate your premise and remove any susceptible items in your home, such as food.
Resistance
Another disadvantage of this product is that fleas can build up resistance.
Permethrin, the active pesticide inside Precor, is often used overused.
When treating fleas half-heartedly, using over the counter products, this can build up flea resistance.
2. BASF Pyrethrum TR Fogger
Pros
Professional Strength
Works on multiple insects
Indoor and Outdoor use
Treats Large Area
Cons
Expensive
Small canister (2oz)
Must vacate the property for 8 hours.
No residual effect
Key Details
- Active Ingredient: Methoprene (0.09%), Permethrin (0.15%)
- How Fast Does It Work: Kills fleas on contact
- How Long Does It Last: Prevents flea infestations for 7 months
- Treatment Area: Treat 200 square feet
- For Use: Indoors & Outdoors: Indoors or Enclosed areas.
What I Like
Professional Strength
This product uses professional-level insecticides that are intended to kill all fleas that it comes in contact with.
Even fleas that have some resistance to common fleas insecticides will not be able to survive this flea fogger.
The use of an insecticide enhancer makes this product stronger than common foggers found inside department or hardware stores.
Treats Large Area
Another great thing about this flea fogger is that treats massive areas.
Compared to most flea foggers that treat between 350 and 750 square feet.
Even with a small bottle, it is able to treat enclosed spaces over 2000 square feet.
What I Dislike:
Expensive
One huge downside of this product is the price. It is much more expensive compared to other brands on the market.
For double the price you only get about 20% of the product when compared to other brands.
While this brand costs around $30 for 2oz, other brands typically cost around $22 for 9oz of foggers.
Small Canisters
Another downside of this product is that it only comes with one canister.
While most flea foggers come with several canisters for multiple treatments.
This fogger is sold as a single canister which only allows the treatment of one room.
3. Vet-Kem Siphotrol Plus Fogger
Pros
30 days of residual protection
Kills adults and eggs
Both indoors and outdoors
Inexpensive
Treats large area
Cons
Strong odor initially.
Over application for smaller rooms
Weak levels of concentrate compared to the competition
Some canisters don’t work.
Key Details
- Active Ingredient: Pyrethrins (4%), Piperonyl Butoxide (16%)
- How Fast Does It Work: Kills fleas on contact
- How Long Does It Last: 30 Weeks
- Treatment Area: 3000 square feet. Difficult areas 1500 – 3000 square feet.
- For Use: Indoors & Outdoors: Indoors or Enclosed areas.
What I Like:
Insecticide + IGR
While some foggers only use insecticide for an instant kill this product uses both an insecticide both insecticide and an IGR.
This gives it two methods of eliminating fleas.
- Instant kill with insecticide
- Stops flea growth and reproduction cycle with IGR.
Residual Effect
The benefit of this product is that is had a residual effect. The IGR used last up to 30 days.
This means that any juvenile fleas or eggs will not be able to mature for 7 months.
If any straggling are left behind they will likely die along with the rest of the infestation.
What I Dislike
Low Chemical Levels
One disadvantage to this product is that it has a very low insecticide and IGR levels compared to the competition.
If you have had fleas for an extended period and tried many other products I would avoid this product.
For fleas with resistance to pyrethrins this fogger may not be effective.
Likewise, IGR concentrations are low only offering 30 days residual coverage while other coffees provide 7 months coverage.
Canisters Not Working
A common complaint about this product is that some canisters do not work coming out of the box.
Two main issues take place here:
- Foggers don’t activate
- Foggers only activate for a short period of time before stopping abruptly
These foggers are inexpensive which explains the lack of quality.
If you only need one canister then one box will give three chances to get a working one.
On the other hand, if you need two or three canisters then I recommend buying two packets to be safe.
4. Bayer Animal Health Advantage Household Fogger – Best For Pets
Pros
Kills adults and eggs
Instant kill of adults is very effective
Trusted brand
Easy to find in stores and online
Designed for houses with pets
Cons
Indoor use only
Residual effect does not deliver as advertised
Hard to activate
Key Details
- Active Ingredient: Pyrethrins (0.05%), Esfenvalverate (0.10%), Piperonyl Butoxide (0.10%), MGK264 Synergist 0.16%
- How Fast Does It Work: Kills fleas on contact
- How Long Does It Last: 7 months
- Treatment Area: 2000 square feet. Difficult areas 1500 – 3000 square feet.
- For Use: Indoors & Outdoors: Indoors
What I Like
Instant Kill Is Effective
One major advantage of this product is that it uses a combination of pesticides to kill adult and juvenile fleas.
While other products rely on a single pesticide, Bayer uses two different pesticides and two different pesticide synergists.
This makes it more effective against fleas that have developed resistance to common pesticides.
Designed For Pets
This is perfect for pet owners who keep their dogs inside. This product is designed with pets in mind.
This product is pet-safe, after you activate the fogger and wait the designated time for your home to air out it is safe for your pets as well.
IGR
Another benefit is that this product contains an IGR. The IGR is what allows it to kill any flea eggs.
The IGR is also the lasting effect that remains after 7 months allowing it to prevent fleas from reproducing.
Keep in mind that the contact kill only last for 2 hours. After 2 hours the pesticide dissipates and does not offer contact kills.
What I Dislike:
Residual Effect
While this product does contain IGR that delivers some residual effect it does not deliver as advertised.
The concentrate of IGR is very minimal which does not guarantee a 7-month residual effect.
Products with a similar amount of IGR only deliver 30 days of residual coverage.
Hard To Use
Another common complaint about this product is that it is hard to activate.
The activation tab does not always work when pushed down.
In some cases even after pushing the activation tab down the fogger did not begin to release any insecticide.
5. Hot Shot Bedbug & Flea Fogger – Best Budget
Pros
Kills adults and eggs
Odor Neutralizer
Inexpensive
Easy to find in stores and online
Cons
Chemical concentrates are lower than the competition
Generic Insecticide not tailored to Fleas
What I Like
Instant Kill Is Effective
One major advantage of this product is that it uses a combination of pesticides to kill adult and juvenile fleas.
While other products rely on a single pesticide, Bayer uses two different pesticides and two different pesticide synergists.
This makes it more effective against fleas that have developed resistance to common pesticides.
Designed For Pets
This is perfect for pet owners who keep their dogs inside. This product is designed with pets in mind.
This product is pet-safe, after you activate the fogger and wait the designated time for your home to air out it is safe for your pets as well.
IGR
Another benefit is that this product contains an IGR. The IGR is what allows it to kill any flea eggs.
The IGR is also the lasting effect that remains after 7 months allowing it to prevent fleas from reproducing.
Keep in mind that the contact kill only last for 2 hours. After 2 hours the pesticide dissipates and does not offer contact kills.
What I Dislike:
Residual Effect
While this product does contain IGR that delivers some residual effect it does not deliver as advertised.
The concentrate of IGR is very minimal which does not guarantee a 7-month residual effect.
Products with a similar amount of IGR only deliver 30 days of residual coverage.
Hard To Use
Another common complaint about this product is that it is hard to activate.
The activation tab does not always work when pushed down.
In some cases even after pushing the activation tab down the fogger did not begin to release any insecticide.
How To Use Flea Foggers?
When using a fogger, follow the directions on the label.
Follow the steps below:
- Vacuum thoroughly to eliminate any dirt or objects from preventing the insecticide from reaching the fleas.
- Remove or cover exposed food, dishes, utensils, and surfaces that come in contact with food.
- Remove all living animals and plants.
- Turn off all ignition sources; this includes the gas in your home and other electronic appliances.
- Close all windows and other entry points other than your point of exit.
- Use one container for each 30 x 25 room.
- Only use one fogger per room.
- Don’t use foggers in small enclosed areas such as cabinets.
- Foggers should not be used in rooms smaller than 5’ x 5.’
- Place the fogger on an elevated surface. Ideally, between 12” and 24”.
- When activating the foggers, tilt away from your face and push down until the activator tab locks in place.
- Once activated, leave the room immediately and seal any remaining open windows and doors.
Pro Tip: Use Precor 200 Plus Premise Spray to spot treat any areas where foggers may not be able to penetrate.
This includes:
- Under furniture
- Under appliances
- Voids between furniture
- Small gaps or cracks
How Do Flea Foggers Work?
Foggers are quite simple to use.
Once activated, they eject all the materials inside the canister.
Using an aerosol, the insecticide is ejected straight up into the air.
The spray will dissipate into the air and spread across the entire room.
To activate the fogger, you need to push down on the tab at the canister’s top.
Once the tab locks in place, the insecticide will begin ejecting into the air.
Be sure to point the canister away from your face when pushing down on the activation tab.
How To Safely Use Flea Foggers?
Flea foggers are dangerous if not done properly.
Before you set off a flea fogger make sure you are following the proper safety precautions.
Safety Gear
Before setting off a flea fogger you want to make sure you have the proper safety gear. flea foggers activate quickly and begin release chemicals readily.
To avoid hurting yourself you wear the following safety equipment.
- Respirator and Googles
- Long Clothing to cover skin
Remove Vulnerable Items
Items such as food and food preparation should be stored or covered properly.
Likewise, clothes and other fabrics should also be stored while the flea fogger is activated.
Items can either be removed from the room that is being treated or placed inside vacuum seal bags to prevent them from coming in contact with any insecticides.
Furniture, carpets, and other large items can remain uncovered to ensure they get treated.
Safe Application
There are also some steps you should take when activating the flea fogger.
- Turn off all electrical and gas ignition points
- Point away from face when activating
- Evacuate room immediately
- Allow proper time for the room to ventilate (4-6 hours depending on the product)
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