Talstar P Professional Insecticide - Questions & Answers

Absolutely not.  Talstar is not labeled to apply to any furniture, mattresses, or other areas that you may come into contact with.  Talstar is restricted to cracks and crevices and other areas that you would not come into contact with.  The instructions for applying Talstar for Bed Bugs are below, and you should know that even in the instructions it states that Talstar should not be used as your only protection against bed bugs.  Our most popular product for bed bugs is our bed bug kits.  

Bedbugs: Thorough application should be made to crack and crevices
where evidence of bed bugs occurs. This includes bed frames, box
springs, inside empty dressers and clothes closets and carpet edges,
high and low wall moldings and wallpaper edges. Do not use this product
on bed linens, pillows, mattresses or clothes. Remove all clothes
and other articles from dressers or clothes closets before application.
Allow all treated areas to thoroughly dry before use. Not recommended
for use as sole protection against bedbugs. If evidence of bedbugs is
found in/on mattresses, use products approved for this use.

As long as the grass and other areas are dry it is okay to go ahead and spray Talstar P.

Horseflies and many other species of biting flies tend to develop on the edge of bodies of water and since they are strong fliers these breeding areas can be near or far which makes finding the source next to impossible. You can apply a product such as Talstar P around the pool area and flies that land on the treated areas will be eliminated. Using Talstar will give some relief but since these flies can fly over treated areas it can be tough to get complete control. Relief should be on the way soon however as horsefly season is usually on 3-6 weeks long.

As long as the lizards are not sprayed directly with Talstar they should not suffer any ill effects from the use of the product. You may notice a reduction in the lizards however as their food source (insects) will be reduced or eliminated by using Talstar P.

Ground bees, also known as digger bees, can be very difficult to control no matter what product you use and they most likely will come back to your property year after year unless you do your part to alter your property to make it unfavorable to the bees. Ground bees prefer dry soils with thin grasses so irrigating the area frequently and correcting any issue that causes your grass to be thin will help deter the bees from nesting. In areas where you do not have grass, a layer of mulch will help deter the bees from nesting. Ground bees are solitary bees and are not very aggressive and are known to be a beneficial insect which is why you will not find any products specifically labeled for this type of bee. Talstar P can help provide some level of control but it will not get rid of all of the ground bees on your property. You should use Talstar P at a 1 oz of product to 1 gallon of water for a 1,000 sq ft area ratio. This will give you the fastest knockdown and the longest lasting residual. Talstar P does not offer an instant knockdown but will kill insects that come into contact with treated areas over a short period of time.

According to the Talstar P product label:

Chinch Bugs infest the base of grass plants and are often found in the thatch layer. Irrigation of the grass area before treatment will optimize the penetration of the insecticide to the area where the chinch bugs are located. Use higher volume applications if the thatch layer is excessive or if a relatively long
mowing height is being maintained. Chinch Bugs can be one of the most difficult pests to control in grasses and the higher application rates (Up to 1 fluid oz. per 1000 square feet) may be required to control populations that contain both nymphs and adults during the middle of the summer.

Talstar P cannot be used directly on vegetables or fruits that are going to be consumed. We do carry several products that can be used on cucumbers and other edible vegetation such as Sevin and Hi-Yield Indoor/Outdoor 10%. Always read the product label of the product you select to make sure it is labeled for the plant you want to spray and for the pest you are trying to eliminate. The product labels are available for each product on our site and you can see the links for them on each individual product page.

Talstar P is a recommended product for mosquito control. You will need to spray more than just the outside of your home though. You will need to spray the underside of the leaves on trees and bushes nearby as that is where the mosquitoes spend the heat of the day. We have also had good reviews from people who sprayed a 2 foot band around the perimeter of their property.

There are many products on the market that have a long lasting residual. Unfortunately, all of them will only have very limited results. Stink bugs move into structures to overwinter. They usually squeeze into wall voids, false ceilings, attics and other areas that are inaccessible to people and insecticides. As the heat kicks on in the house, the stink bugs warm up and start becoming active and emerge from hiding, driving residents nuts. Because most folks usually have no idea where the bugs are harboring you can only treat around baseboards, door frames and window frames and hope the insects will emerge where you have sprayed. After they contact the treated areas, it can take several hours for them to die. It is still worth spraying now to get rid of some of the bugs, but you will keep seeing them until spring when they will emerge en masse and leave the building. They do not eat, mate or lay eggs while indoors so need to worry about any damage or future baby stink bugs. This year you can be proactive by stopping these pests before they move in for the winter. You can use Talstar P outdoors around your door frames, window frames, vents, eaves, around the bottom of your foundation, and any other crack or crevice where an insect could gain entry, once a month August-November.

Yes Talstar P can be used in a hose end sprayer as long as the hose end sprayer can be properly calibrated to spray the correct amount of product per gallon of water.

You can apply Talstar P with a handpump sprayer or a hose end sprayer. Either applicator will work fine and it really boils down to personal preference. If you are treating a large yard it may be more convenient to use a hose end sprayer to avoid constantly refilling a smaller hand pump sprayer.

Talstar P would be a great product for you to use for the spiders and the ants on your property. Talstar P can be used in your yard, around the perimeter of your home and also inside your home when needed and it is safe for use around pets. Since grubs live underground they must be treated with a product that will target them where they live. We do have several products that are specifically labeled for grub worms on our website: Grub Worm Control. We also recommend that you contact your local cooperative extension office and inquire about the best time to start treatments for grubs in your region.

Unfortunately there is no easy solution when it comes to pine beetles. Infected trees should be cut down (before the newly hatched beetles fly out of the trees in the spring/summer) and the wood burned or chipped, while other still healthy trees should be sprayed annually to protect them. Because of the natural boring behavior of the beetle they are protected from topically applied insecticides and systemic insecticides (those injected into the tree or applied as a root drench) have proven ineffective for pine beetle infestations. Healthy trees can be protected before the beetles attack by topically spraying them with a synthetic pyrethroid like Talstar. The tree should be sprayed from the ground to 15 ft up the trunk to prevent future infestations. You should contact your local cooperative extension office to find out the best time to start spraying in your region.

You can use Talstar P in your attic in all of the cracks and crevices for insect control. If you have a lot of exposed electrical elements you may want to consider using a dust insecticide instead of the Talstar P in your attic. Dusts like Evergreen dust and Tempo dust will last a lot longer than liquid insecticides and they can be used around the electrical elements you described without worry of shock or shorting out the device.

As long as Talstar p is not sprayed directly on the lizards the product should not cause them harm. You will see a reduction of the little lizards however because by spraying Talstar P you will be eliminating their food source near your home and the lizards will naturally go in search of better hunting grounds.

Talstar P is an insecticide only, it is not an IGR nor does it contain an IGR. Talstar is not really a great choice for indoor flea control because it can not be broadcast sprayed over floors where the fleas tend to harbor. For indoor control you can use Ultracide comes ready to use, no mixing or equipment is needed and it contains both an insecticide for a quick knock down of biting adults and an insect growth regulator (IGR) for control of developing flea eggs and larvae. Infested areas should be thoroughly vacuumed prior to product applications to help remove as much flea eggs, larvae and debris as possible and also to help stimulate larvae to change stages and come into contact with the product. You should continue to vacuum at least every other day for the next two weeks.

You can use the jug but you must rinse it several times and spray water through the hose and nozzle several times to make sure all of the residuals are gone. For most Talstar P general pest control applications you will use 1 fl oz of Talstar P per gallon water. Please refer to the Talstar P product label for complete usage instructions.

Our most popular general use product is called Talstar.  It is widely used by pest control companies because it is labeled for almost every insect you could have a problem with including ants and you can use it outside the home as well as inside, it is odorless and very safe for use around children and pets.  It is a liquid concentrate that you mix with water in a one gallon hand pump sprayer.  It will last for 60 to 90 days outside in between treatments.  It is also labeled for lawn and ornamental use, and can be used on trees, plants, bushes and shrubs for all sorts of ornamental pests including Japanese beetles, mosquitoes, and other leaf eating pests.

Talstar p does not contain a surfactant. A surfactant is not usually need but can be used if you are trying to protect a plant with waxy leaves and need the product to stick a bit better.

There would be no need to mix the two together as it will not make your spray any stronger, and the labels do not permit being mixed with other insecticides. Both products are synthetic pyrethroids and could possibly take away from the effectiveness of each other. If you were to mix anything together to increase your control over mosquitoes, it would be the use of a birth control like NyGuard IGR. This keeps the population from being able to breed and reproduce which cuts back the problem drastically.