Delta Dust Insecticide - Questions & Answers

Delta Dust Insecticide has a 5 year shelf life but is best stored in a cool dry place, below 90 degrees and above freezing.  The efficacy may be reduced if repeatedly exposed to higher temps.

You can use Delta Dust Insecticide for wasps such as Cicada Killers. Keep in mind that this is a residual dust that may take many hours to kill the insects after they contact it. Since these are solitary wasps, you need to treat each hole you see individually for best results. You do not need to apply every day. Keep in mind, too, that these insects prefer sandy soil that is dry, so for longterm control, you may consider adding mulch or topsoil and keeping the area moist while these insects are active in the summer.

If you need something for quick knockdown of flying, stinging insects, then you can use Wasp Freeze for almost immediate knockdown.

Yes, Delta Dust is labeled for roaches. You will want to apply the product in the areas where roaches typically crawl and hide. 

Delta Dust Insecticide is effective for targeting bees by dusting the entrance of the nest and the surrounding areas in the evening, when they are less active. Insecticide dust should be applied using a bellow duster or bulb duster. 

You cannot apply Delta Dust to the sand in a children's sandbox. We do not recommend applying any insecticides to the sand or any other play equipment for safety reasons. If you are worried about the wasps in the sand box you can frequently turn the sand with a shovel so that it will not be suitable for the wasps.

Talstar P will kill mud daubers like Cicada Killers that come into contact with treated areas for a sufficient amount of time to receive a lethal dose. You will need to dilute 1 fl oz of Talstar P per gallon of water and broadcast spray over the areas where you have noticed activity. Most folks notice only very limited results from broadcast sprays of insecticides for cicada killers because they don't land and walk around for a long enough time before entering their underground burrow. Please read below for the most effective treatment method:

Cicada Killer wasps thrive in disturbed environments, such as landscaped yards and places where bare soil is exposed. You can discourage the wasps from nesting in your yard by cutting your grass on the highest setting and by adding a thick layer of mulch to flower beds during the Cicada Killer Wasp season. These wasps do not like over saturated lawns either, so over watering during their season will help prevent them. Unfortunately, there is no fool proof way to prevent cicada killer wasps.For prevention you can try to use a granular insecticide such as Talstar PL  Granules in the couple of weeks before this pest is known to emerge. For current infestations, you would need to use Delta dust in each individual burrow.

Yes, Delta dust will kill larvae too. At night when they are not active, go up to the opening and place the end of the duster directly in or up to the hole where they are going in and out.  Puff twice from your hand duster directly into the hole.  Then back the duster away about 5 inches and puff once directly at the hole to cover the sides and around it.  Then walk away.  When the bees come out the next morning and land on the siding to go in and out of the hole, they will bring the dust on their bodies back into the nest.  Typically, this process can take a few days depending on the size of the colony.  One important note is that you should only fill your hand duster about 1/4 of the way.  You will not need that much dust, and you have to leave enough space in the duster for air to force the dust out.

Since you know exactly where the nest is located you can direct the treat the mound with the dust. It can take a couple of weeks to see th full results of the application.

The amount of coverage Delta Dust Insecticide will cover depends on what you are treating for. We recommend if you are doing a bed bug treatment for example, to treat in wall voids. This application will go a fairly long way. One 1 pound bottle Delta Dust Insecticide will cover approx. 1000 square feet.

We do not recommend treating inside the kitchen cabinets with Delta Dust or any insecticide dust as it could contiminate your utensils or food. When dealing with carpet beetles, it is very important to find and remove the source of the beetles to get rid of them for good. To learn more about carpet beetle elimination, please take a few minutes to read our article: Carpet Pest Beetle Control

We do not recommend applying Delta dust where you are currently using a bait like Niban. Since, you said you used Niban Months ago, we do not see an issue with applying Delta dust in wall voids. You may also want to use Dekko Silverfish packets to treat for Silverfish.

Delta Dust is labeled to kill termites that come in contact with the areas treated with the product. This should NOT be your sole treatment for termites. For more information on the products that we do carry for treatment of termites, please click on the link below.

 

Termite Treatment Article

Termite Treatment Products

Delta Dust Insecticide works great for bed bugs in wall voids, such as, outlets, etc. We highly recommend and have had great success with our Bed Bug kits.   Please also, review our article How to get rid of Bed Bugs.

Delta Dust is intended for application with a hand or power duster, with a paint brush or by other suitable means, for hiding and runaway areas and other places where insects are found. We recommend removing the cover on the exterior electrical outlet and using a Bellow Hand Duster to apply the Delta Dust inside the electrical outlet and the areas between the outlet and siding. Without getting the dust inside the outlet, we can not predict if the Wasps will come into contact with dust if it is just applied around the outlet. When treating around electrical outlets, use dusters fitted with plastic or fiberglass spouts, or place a small section of rubber hose or plastic tubing over the metal tip to avoid contacting electrical wires. These tubes will also enable you to reach around corners and beneath cabinet voids that would otherwise be impossible to treat. 

We do have a variety of dusters to choose from. Plase visit our dusters page here.

If Delta Dust is inhaled or ingested in large quantities your dog could have an adverse reaction to the dust. In small quantities, like licking a dead insect, you most likely would not see any reaction other than sneezing as the dust could be irritating to the mucus membranes in the nose and mouth.

You will want to try and locate and directly treat the areas where the nests are behind the walls as much as possible. Drilling holes into the wall and puffing the Delta Dust into the nests and entry and exit points for the bees is the proper way to treat and then give the dust time to eliminate the nest entirely. That being said, each 1lb bottle should treat roughly 1000 sq/ft, so depending on how heavy you plan to apply the product (dont apply too heavy or they can't easily move through the dust) would depend on if you would need more than one bottle. 

For Delta Dust Insecticide have a shelf life of around 3 years from the purchase date. We advise to reorder new product for a more effective treatment. 

Delta Dust Insecticide should not be broadcast over the entire attic. Instead you should concentrate on dusting the cracks, crevices, voids and other areas where these insects harbor.  This would be done using a hand duster like the Bellow Hand Duster.  To learn more about carpet beetle elimination, please take a few minutes to read our article on Carpet Beetle Pest Control

Yes, Delta Dust can be applied to the base of the rock wall to protect against scorpions. This product is water-resistant and will not wash away in the rain if applied into the cracks and crevices. Be sure to re-apply every seven months.