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Woolworths, also known as “Woolies” is an Australian institution, firmly taking the spot as the largest supermarket in the country. We’ve all dropped into Woolies at some point, whether to grab ingredients for a week of family dinners, a quick bite, or for household supplies. But what about popping into your local branch for some Bed Bug Spray Woolworths?
Getting rid of bed bugs can be tricky, with many (mostly pest control businesses) advocating for full-scale professional treatment, and others claiming that a bed bug killer spray is all you need. At Woolworths, a range of insect killer sprays is available coming from a variety of brands.
But today we’re looking into the new Raid Max Pest Multi Insect Killer Spring Meadow, a spray that claims to be “Suitable for use on both flying and crawling insects – flies, mosquitoes, moths, wasps, cockroaches, ants, spiders, silverfish, fleas, bed bugs, millipedes and centipedes.”
We put together this blog to give you a closer look at this bed bug spray to determine whether it’s a true bed bug treatment or just a well-marketed sham, by breaking down its efficacy, contents, safety, and more!
The Brands of Bed Bug Spray at Woolworths
A number of options are available to choose from when looking at the insect killer and bed bug sprays at Woolworths, however, at the top of their search results, you’ll find a number of products from Raid.
Other brands of bed bug spray at Woolworths include:
- Mortein
- Pea Beu
- Aerogard
- First Force
- Bosisto’s
- Nature’s Way by Yates
- Bushman
It’s also worth noting that within each of these brands are multiple options for sprays.
Variations in insect specificity, scent, allergenic level, and environmental impact among other things, do imply some inconsistency in the efficacy of the sprays themselves—even within the brands. Some make a point of their capacity to kill, while others are marketed more as repellents.
Avoid Bed Bug Sprays from Retail Stores
Does This Bed Bug Spray at WoolworthsWork?
So with all the claims made by the various brands, does Raid’s new spray for bed bugs and insects actually work? Well, it depends on what you’re actually trying to achieve with it.
Raid Max Pest spray is touted as an all-purpose insect killer, and it works by spreading poison, that’s supposed to kill bed bugs and other insects on contact. The directions offer various options to get rid of bed bugs, by utilising the spray in differing methods.
Flawed Directions
For a full-room treatment, the directions advise shutting all the windows and doors, spraying around the room starting from the middle, and continuing as you exit the room, shutting the door behind you. This process is followed by leaving the room for 15 minutes, then ventilating the room before reentering it.
This method doesn’t make sense for bed bugs, as they’re known for hiding in all sorts of places, such as under the bed, inside gaps in the wall, and around various other areas of the home. All you’ll achieve with this method of spraying for bed bugs is covering surfaces they were never going to be on with poison.
They also offer the method of spraying bed bugs directly, which would of course result in their deaths, but all it takes is a couple of bed bugs to keep the hive going, and it’s essentially impossible to get them all at once. It also says to spray in typical hiding spots, such as refrigerators, stoves, and sinks, which is curious for a product that claims to be effective for bed bugs, because bed bugs don’t live in refrigerators, stoves or sinks!
There’s no mention of using this bed bug spray for mattress extermination, along with no reference to other typical hiding spots for bed bugs, such as under the carpet, in the bed frame, or any area of the bedroom for that matter.
Why This Bed Bug Spray at Woolworths Doesn’t Work
Raid Max Pest bed bug spray isn’t going to work for the thorough extermination of bed bugs in your home, for the same reasons that most bed bug sprays don’t work. While it’s perfectly adept at killing bed bugs with direct contact, it’s impossible that this spray could truly deal with bed bugs in a comprehensive manner.
The drawback of this bed bug spray is that achieving contact with the bugs in question is a lot easier said than done, and with that being the only way you can guarantee a kill, it leaves a lot of wiggle room for the bugs.
The spray lasts for 24 hours on surfaces, which makes sense in theory, as if you spray surfaces where bed bugs are going to be then it should end up killing them. However, bed bugs are smarter than Raid has given them credit for, because these treated areas won’t actually work like honey traps to bed bugs, rather acting as a repellent that will spread the population around.
This is without even going back to the directions, which offer no guidance on actually locating bed bugs or using the spray in a way that targets them effectively. To imply that this insect killer spray will actually deal with a bed bug infestation is simply misleading and untrue.
How Long Does This Bed Bug Spray Last?
As mentioned above, the spray lasts for 24 hours on surfaces, with no indication of how long it might last in the air. Even as a repellent, this amount of time is just not sufficient. It’s already been established that the spray isn’t going to effectively exterminate the bugs, so 24 hours of surface life is only going to keep bed bugs out of their preferred habitat for a day at most—then you’re back to square one.
To keep bed bugs at bay while you deal with the infestation more permanently, you’re better off using a powder or physical barrier. Then at least you won’t need to keep reapplying throughout the process, with one step out of the way.
Is The Woolworths Bed Bug Spray Safe?
Worst of all, Raid Max Pest Multi Insect Killer is just unsafe for use in your home. The spray is made from Imiprothrin, Prallethrin, and Cyfluthrin, three compounds that when mixed form a deadly poison, which might seem great for killing insects, but could also cause serious risks to your health.
The directions even warn that “intentional misuse by deliberately concentrating and inhaling contents can be harmful or fatal”, which shows just how dangerous the ingredients are. Over 200,000 pesticide poisoning deaths occur each year, mostly from commercial pesticide treatment of agriculture, but with the fatal nature of exposure expressed on Raid’s new product, there’s no reason that it couldn’t end up contributing to that statistic.
Along with the deadly nature of the poison in this bed bug spray, the directions don’t include encouragement for using any sort of face covering, mask, or precautions during a spraying session. This just increases the risk of you getting harmed, ill, or even potentially dying by using this bed bug spray.
This is especially prescient when you’re spraying it in tightly enclosed spaces where bed bugs might be hiding, along with spraying it around the air of a room with no doors or windows open. There really is no need to put yourself in close contact with this amount of poison when figuring out your bed bug room treatment.
Conclusion
Knowing how to get rid of bed bugs isn’t the easiest thing to understand, but you can be confident that this new bed bug spray being peddled at Woolies isn’t the real deal. To describe it as an effective bed bug treatment is simply false.
It seems as if they’ve put poison in a can with a spray lid and tacked bed bugs into the copy, just for the sake of covering more markets, without actually doing any of the due diligence to back it up. Of course, poison can kill insects, but there’s a lot more to dealing with a bed bug infestation than simply killing the critters that you can see.
We recommend using a natural bed bug treatment to deal with your infestation—something free from harmful poisons and compounds that could be dangerous to you. At Bed Bug Barrier, we have a wide range of options, from our namesake physical barriers to our natural bed bug-killing powder, along with our steamer in our bed bug product range.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Where Do Bed Bugs Hide on Your Body?
Bed bugs don’t live on your body. They come out at night to feed on your blood and then retreat to their hiding spots. If they are on your body, it’s typically during or immediately after feeding. - Can You Feel Bed Bugs Crawling on You?
Most people don’t feel bed bugs crawling on them, their bites are painless, thanks to an anesthetic they inject to prevent you from feeling them. By the time you wake up and notice the itchy welts, the bed bugs are long gone. - Can Someone Who Has Bed Bugs Bring Them to Your House?
Yes, bed bugs can be brought into your house by someone who has an infestation. These hitchhikers can cling to clothing, luggage, bags, and even shoes. Once inside, they can quickly spread to your bedding, and other areas, leading to a full-blown infestation if not promptly addressed.
If you have any other questions or need more information, feel free to ask!
Are You Looking for an Organic DIY Treatment for Bed Bugs?
Watch Our DIY Bed Bug Treatment Video For An Ensemble Bed
Watch Our DIY Bed Bug Treatment Video For A Bed with Slats
Sources:
Woolworths ( Bed Bug Spray)
Tony pioneered a non-toxic, eco-friendly solution for bedbug infestations. His innovation won the ABC TV show “The New Inventors” in 2009. In 2012, he successfully registered Diatomaceous Earth for bedbug control in Australia.
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