D-Fense SC Insecticide - Questions & Answers

Both D-Fense SC and Demand CS are labeled for scorpions. Generally speaking, scorpions are drawn to dry areas, and their main sources of food are usually small insects such as crickets and spiders. Keeping your home free of these insects will make it much less likely that scorpions will be a problem, so general pest control is always advisable. If they do get into your home, they are usually found in secluded dry areas such as closets and garages. They have also been known to hide in piles of clothes, particularly ones that have not been moved recently. Eliminating these hiding spaces will go a long way in making your other control efforts more effective.

The correct mixing ratio for D-Fense SC for carpenter ants outdoors is 0.75-1.5 oz. per gallon of water. 

D-Fense SC is labeled to eradicate millipedes. You will mix 0.25- 0.75 fl oz per gallon of water. Please take a few moments to read our article on How to Get Rid of Millipedes for more information on eradicating them.

To be honest, this time of year there isnt much you can do for the ones that are inside other than your current efforts of vacuuming them up. Stink bugs and similar beetles start making their way inside your home during the fall and emerge the next spring. To prevent them from getting in, you must spray around the window frames, door frames and eaves and edges of the home they could use as entry points every month from August through November and often December if you are in areas where winter hits later in the year. Once they are already inside, they will stay in crevices for the most part and only appear on warmer days or until spring rolls around. That explains why you see them on the windows of the sunny side of the home as that is what they are drawn to and they are trying to figure out how to get back out of your home. You can put insecticide dusts like Cimexa Dust down in crevices and cracks, around seals and in wall voids by removing the covers from plugs/outlets and light switch plates. You would apply a few puffs of the dust in the voids with a B&G Bulb Duster to get a coating the insects can crawl through and hopefully die from before you start seeing them out in the open crawling around. For spraying around the door/window frames inside and out in the fall the D-Fense SC would work great for your needs. 

D-Fense SC is not labeled to be used in any type of fogger. It is labeled to be used as a crack and crevice treatment in a pump sprayer. The D-Fense dust should only be used inside the wall voids. We cannot recommend using our products off label. Please let us know if you have any additional questions.

For general maintanance, you will use 0.25 fl. oz. of D-Fense SC per gallon of water. This can be sprayed every 21 days. Be sure to remove any pets from the area you are treating.

You can use both the D-Fense Dust and D-Fense SC inside in the areas indicated on the product labels and they would be a great combination to use together for general pest control.  Dusts are applied to cracks and crevices, under baseboards, behind electrical outlets and switch plates and such were liquids can't be applied.  Sprays would be applied along the baseboards and bottom of door frams and around windows and door frames.

D-Fense SC is not labeled to treat bird mites. It is important to be absolutely sure you are actually dealing with bird mites. Have the suspected bird mite identified by a reputable source, such as your local cooperative extension office or a reputable pest control operator. Treatments will vary for different pests. Treatment for say bedbugs is much different than the treatment for bird mites.  If you do indeed have bird mites, you must first find the source of the infestation, usually a bird nest or a dead bird on or in the home. Removal of the infested nest or bird and a thorough cleanup is necessary. For treatment in the home, we recommend you frequently vacuum all carpet and upholstery and dispose of the bag or vacuum contents in a sealed bag outdoors. Spray Sterifab on couches, chairs and other upholstered furniture where you may spend time resting. Use MotherEarth Dust in all cracks and crevices around the perimeter of the room. Apply a thin coat of MotherEarth dust to rugs and carpets. Rake (not sweep) nap back and forth, causing dust to enter rug or carpet. Let product sit overnight. Repeat application as necessary and vacuum every 3 - 4 days for effective control. MotherEarth dust does not have a fast knockdown, it can take several days for insects to die after they contact the dust. Onslaught can be used for a faster knockdown. Thoroughly apply as a fine particle broadcast spray using a hand pump sprayer to infested rugs and carpets and other cracks and crevices around the perimeter of each room. Put all clothes through the dryer on high heat to help kill mites and their eggs.We have had many customers use the above recommendations with great success. Most customers report that it can take several months to get rid of all of the mites. Finding and removing the source of the infestation is very important and is the key to getting rid of the mites for good.

Both Talstar and D-fense work great on fleas. Talstar will prove to be a more quick kill. We also recommend mixing in an  insect growth regulator like Nyguard to stop the reproduction process. Please let us know if you have any more questions.

You can find the D-Fense SC product label instructions here: product label

D-Fense SC is labeled for indoor use. Be sure you read and follow the product label to insure safe usage. D-Fense SC should also be sprayed around the outside perimeter of your home to stop pests from moving in which will in turn limit your need to spray indoors.

D-Fense cannot be used on animals. We do carry Permethrin SFR 36.8% and it is specifically labeled for use on goats for lice. Be sure to read the product label for full usage instructions.

It all depends on the person applying it of course, but typically one gallon D-fense will treat 1000 square feet, but if you are only spraying baseboards, underneath appliances, etc....then usually 1/2 gallon of solution is plenty to treat the inside of any home.

D-Fense SC contains the same active ingredient as Suspend SC so you will need to follow the same precautions as you would if you were using Suspend SC. Children need to be out of the area while you are applying the D-Fense SC and they can safely come back in the area as soon as it is dry.

D-Fense SC Insecticide with Deltamethrin has the same active ingredient as Suspend SC Insecticide, but is much less expensive. D-Fense SC is actually the generic form of Suspend SC.

Both the D-Fense SC and the Bifen IT contain synthetic pyrethroids for active ingredients and will provide very similar results. The only advantage to using Bifen IT is that it is known to be super gentle on most plants (do not use on edible vegetation). Both products can be used indoors and outdoors and both products are safe to use in houses with children and pets.