'Pesticide' in apartment?

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

I'll be moving into my apartment on Sunday and I had opted out of having it sprayed for insects. However, the previous tenets opted for it so it's going to be sprayed this week, she said probably today. She did say that it would probably 'dissipate' by the time I moved in, should I be worried? How long does the pesticide last?

skippydude · Aug 5, 2014

You should definitely be worried. Most pesticides for home use are residuals. They are made to lasts for weeks

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

skippydude said:
You should definitely be worried. Most pesticides for home use are residuals. They are made to lasts for weeks

Just got called back, they're not going to be spraying the apartment, however last month, it has been sprayed because of the previous tenants. Would it have had time to dissipate?

korg · Aug 5, 2014

What kind of pesticide? How's the ventilation? Where and how much did they spray? There are about a million variables here that nobody is going to be able to balance correctly to give you a concrete answer. I imagine there's at least some kind of chance there will be residual pesticide... hopefully not, and hopefully this won't affect your spiders.

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

korg said:
What kind of pesticide? How's the ventilation? Where and how much did they spray? There are about a million variables here that nobody is going to be able to balance correctly to give you a concrete answer. I imagine there's at least some kind of chance there will be residual pesticide... hopefully not, and hopefully this won't affect your spiders.

I asked similar questions to my landlord, she didn't know and the only thing she said that 'it should have dissipated' by now. Since I just started keeping T's I only have one, but I'd hate to lose it and I did plan on getting more in the future.

dredrickt · Aug 5, 2014

Depends on the pesticide, and the application. If its a repellant, it can last for months, and affect insects for up to a year. If its an exterminator, it won't last as long, but its almost a guarantee it will make your T's sick at the very least.

This probably won't help a ton, but you could try washing the base of the walls in your T room with soap and water, and vacuuming several times. I'm not saying there is any implicit guarantee that will prevent any of your T's from getting sick, but its better than nothing.

I have a similar predicament (pre-pesticide though), I have a horrible infestation of false widow spiders in my house, I've already killed probably 200 of them. I want to spray, but I can't justify the risk to my collection, even if I skip that room. I have to settle for spraying the perimeter outside the house, except walkways, so I don't track it into the house.

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

I just called the pest company and they said that it shouldn't last more than 3-4 weeks. So hopefully by the time I move in it's gone. He also said it's very mild, not sure if that comforts me at all, but it's a little less worrisome I guess.

dredrickt · Aug 5, 2014

That just tells me pest control is a scam of a business, LOL. Only lasts 3-4 weeks and is very mild? haha, what a joke. I would still hold back moving in your favorite T's until a bit longer has passed. Keep a window open at the very least for air changes.

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

dredrickt said:
That just tells me pest control is a scam of a business, LOL. Only lasts 3-4 weeks and is very mild? haha, what a joke. I would still hold back moving in your favorite T's until a bit longer has passed. Keep a window open at the very least for air changes.

Haha, but I'm glad it is!
I only have one T, a .75" P. cancerides, but I did plan on getting around 4 more in October. However, I don't have anywhere to keep it other than my place since my parents won't take care of it and I live about 6 hours away from my uni. So hopefully me keeping the window open will help. Think I should keep a fan on at all?

dredrickt · Aug 5, 2014

Pampho85 said:
Haha, but I'm glad it is!
I only have one T, a .75" P. cancerides, but I did plan on getting around 4 more in October. However, I don't have anywhere to keep it other than my place since my parents won't take care of it and I live about 6 hours away from my uni. So hopefully me keeping the window open will help. Think I should keep a fan on at all?

I wouldn't worry about a fan. I would clean the base of the walls with soap and water and vacuum before moving it in though, just as a precaution.

antinous · Aug 5, 2014

dredrickt said:
I wouldn't worry about a fan. I would clean the base of the walls with soap and water and vacuum before moving it in though, just as a precaution.

I don't think I'll have the luxury of vacuuming, but I can do a quick sponging of the base of the walls with soap and water. My parents will just be dropping me off with my stuff so I'll have to move quickly, but I'll be able to manage.

laurenkane · Aug 5, 2014

I JUST had a similar problem. We had ants BAD. They come in in search of water during summer and it is a real problem for a lot of Southern Californians. I had to move all my T's out of the house for almost a month. I sprayed all around my baseboards with Raid. I finally moved everyone back in and no problems so far (two weeks since then now) *knocks on wood - SERIOUSLY I am knocking on wood right now*. I made sure to wipe all around base boards and floor with floor cleaner and also vacuumed.

I also have a friend who is an avid, old school T keeper and dealer. She said she has had to spray pest killer in the house before with the T's in the vicinity! I wouldn't go that far to do that but she has not had an issue.

So, I wouldn't worry too much. Take precautions, do a little extra cleaning and airing out, and it should be no biggie.

awiec · Aug 5, 2014

My parents regularly put Frontline on their dogs, which can cause DKS in spiders. So I just avoid touching the animals and my T's for about 3-5 days (my parents are usually considerate enough to do it when I leave for the weekend); I've had no problems as of yet. All you can do is circulate the air in the room and wipe the surfaces so any residue pesticides may be wiped up. There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to this stuff as we don't even know what is a lethal dose for a T and some pesticides have proprietary formulas for some time; who knows what is in them.

'Pesticide' in apartment?

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