Best insect foggers

Also called "bug bombs," the best insect foggers exterminate by releasing a fine mist capable of sinking into every nook and cranny it settles upon. They do all the work instead of you, so there's no undignified crawling around your home with a big, unwieldy spray tank (though feel free if it strikes your fancy). This time, our staff pick is Hot Shot's indoor ant and roach fogger. It even includes an odor neutralizer, and the six-can pack is the best bang for your buck. I also touched upon thermal foggers and handheld fogger cans as well as the general dangers of using any heavy chemical exterminators. Check out the collection below, and choose a suitable insect fogger for your home and garden.

Why spray down every inch of your home by hand when you can use a can of Hot Shot's fogger mist? The formula's aimed at more than ants and roaches, but it's powerful enough to wipe out wasps, murder pantry moths, and finish off every last flea. Fire ants, as usual, will probably persist past treatment, despite a formulation with powerful tetramethrin and cypermethrin. Unfortunately, there are quite a few non-negotiable safety measures to take before fogging your home. All residents, including pets (especially birds), must be vacated for a few hours at a bare minimum. Furthermore, you can't let it contaminate your food or stick to your floors. 

Made to work in tandem with handheld bug foggers, Black Flag's liquid "fogger fuel" comes in an amply-sized 32-ounce jug. It's nice to have that fuel in stock at a moment's notice so that you and your pets can safely take advantage of a blissfully mosquito-less, biting fly-free backyard. Make sure you wait five minutes after fogging before re-entering the treated area. Multiple thermal fogger brands are compatible with Black Flag's formula, so if you already have a Black Flag, Burgess, Cutter, or Repel fogger, you're good to go.

Ortho's a heavyweight in the insecticide industry. Their Home Defense fogger is the de-facto answer in zones affected by mosquitoes carrying Zika and West Nile. Unfortunately, Ortho's fogger formula is so effective that using it is a potential scourge upon any critters near your home. I feel like this stuff is the nuclear option, perhaps more than we realize—runoff from permethrin is poisonous to small animals, spiders, fish, birds, and even bees. Saving the bees is of utmost importance, and at least anyone with a garden can do, so choose a different fogger if that's a cause we both believe in.

HARRIS' fogger can multipack provides quick, easy fogging for your entire home, capable of killing even the tiniest of pests like fleas and gnats. Just two of these three-packs should cover an apartment with up to 3 bedrooms, so it's cost-effective to opt for HARRIS' fogger too. It's made to work in the same manner as our staff pick, so clear the premises and allow plenty of time for the fog to disperse. The major upside of HARRIS' formula is that it provides 12 weeks of control over German cockroaches, the most common species, and the grossest one too. Salmonella and e.Coli are frequently found on their exoskeletons, and those are the sort of bacteria that you don't want in your home.

Fond summer memories usually don't include stepping on a wayward wasp or being swarmed by mosquitoes as you emerge from a lake. With OFF!'s outdoor fogger, you can spray down any surface that insects congregate on, including foliage, screening, and outdoor furniture (excluding seating and dining areas). Be sure to wait five minutes before re-entering the treated area. Even flies will be deterred from a 900 square foot area, so you can grill those baby-back ribs in peace. The scent isn't appetizing, though, but it's a price you pay for chemical foggers. 

Bottom line

The best insect foggers make it so much easier to regain control over an overrun home. Whether you're spraying it yourself or setting an automatic can to disperse over a couple of hours, you'll end your day with far fewer creepy crawlies than you started it with. Our best overall insect fogger is from Hot Shot, and it's formulated with the toughest bug-killing stuff there is—tetramethrin and cypermethrin. This, of course, means that you have to follow the can's directions to a T to keep you, your pets, and your food safe. 

If you'd rather spot-treat or need a fogger that controls outdoor pests like gnat clouds or persistent mosquitoes, either OFF!'s outdoor fogger or a thermal fogger filled with Black Flag's fogger fuel. OFF!'s product will cover 900 square feet per can and provides up to six hours of bug-free outdoor activities, so it's perfect for pretreating your yard before a gathering. Black Flag's formula is aimed at professionals or people with an infestation that will take time to bring under control; it also requires its own machine to be dispersed properly. 

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