Phantom Termiticide Insecticide - Questions & Answers

Phantom is an odorless and very safe liquid insecticide.  There is no requirement to wear anything special upon re-entry.  You should always wear gloves when applying any pesticide, but unless you are in a completely closed room with no ventilation, you do not need a respirator.  You should allow enough time for the product to dry and then it is perfectly fine to enter back into the space with children and pets.  Usually it takes 30 - 45 minutes for the product to dry thoroughly.  Always read the product label for full treatment instructions.

You can mix  .75 ounce - 3 ounces of Phantom per gallon of water depending on what pest you are treating and where you are treating. Please carefully read the Phantom product label to find out what concentration is proper for your needs.

After speaking with BASF, they suggested that you should not mix Phantom Termiticide/Insecticide with an oil only.  Not only will oil kill any plant life, grass, etc around your foundation, but Phantom is a water soluable solution and would not adhere or spray correctly if mixed with oil.  They did say that you can mix the Phantom with a surfactant. We do carry surfactants which you can mix with the Phantom and water. 

Yes, Phantom is safe while kids/babies and pets are in the house. Phantom is only strong enough to kill small insects. It is a good idea to keep pets and children outside or in another room while treating and then allow about 30 minutes for the products to dry. Once dry, it is perfectly safe for children and pets to re-enter the living space. Of course you should always store the products just like any other cleaning chemicals, out of reach of children and pets.

Phantom is quickly becoming the new preferred treatment for bed bugs.  It leaves a long term residual that has shown to kill bed bugs long after you initially treat.  However, it is not an immediate kill.  When a bed bug crosses over an area that has been treated with Phantom, it picks up the product on its body, but it can take days to kill the bed bug.  This is why you will still see bed bugs and still may get bitten, but the bed bug will die.  Phantom is very popular now because bed bugs build up resistance easily to certain products and Phantom is a product that they have not shown resistance to yet.  Any good company should treat every two weeks for at least two cycles.  It could take more than two treatments depending on the severity of the situation.  I cannot comment on the companies interpretation of the instructions, but treating cracks and crevices, baseboards, and other areas will ensure that when the bed bugs come out of hiding that they will cross a treated barrier.  You should consider our Bed Bug Treatment Kits.  They have a very high success rate and will save you lots of money over hiring another exterminator if they are not successful.

The amount of 1.5 oz per gallons of water more pertains if you are using Phantom for a termite treatment.  You should use 3 oz per gallon of water when applying for roaches or other general pest control insects.

Roach Control Articles

Phantom is not labeled to be applied directly to fruit bearing trees.  We would suggest Advance 375A Granular Bait to apply around the base of the tree.  The ants will take this product back to the nest where it can be fed to the queen and eliminate the colony.

Yes, it is safe for the bird to walk around after the Phantom has dried.  We did call the manufacturer to confirm this and they said there should be no issues as long as the surfaces are in fact dry.  Typically, it should only take about 30 minutes to dry but you may want to wait one hour just to make sure.

Yes, Phantom is labeled for spiders and can be used for them.  On the inside, Phantom is only labeled as a crack and crevice treatment, so you should only apply it in corners of rooms, underneath appliances, and other areas that spiders may harbor.  If you do not have small children or pets, glueboards are a good tool to monitor spider activity in the home.

Phantom is a great choice for "social" insects or those insects that congregate together for nesting and feeding. Phantom offers a delayed kill that gives insects time to get back to the nest and infect other insects with the insecticide. Phantom is also a non-repellent insecticide which means that sensitive insects like roaches can not tell that it is there and they readily cross over the treatment area. Phantom is usually used indoors for current infestations. Exterior applications are limited to spot and crack and crevice treatments around door frames, window frames, eaves, attic vents, and holes where utilities enter into the structure.

Cy-Kick CS is micro-encapsulated and offers a faster knockdown of insects and can be used in more places than the Phantom. Cy-Kick is a great choice for outdoor perimeter control of roaches and many other insects. You can use the Cy-Kick-CS to treat around your fence deck and lawn. You may also want to consider what is bringing the roaches to your home. Take a few minutes to read through our article on Integrated Pest Management. This article can help you make a few changes to your yard and home that could stop the roaches from being attracted to the area in the first place. 

When used as directed Phantom is a very safe product, only containing enough of the active ingredient to kill insects, not enough to harm mammals. As with any chemical, it important to follow all label instructions and precautions and keep the product out of reach of children and pets. We recommend that you read through the product label and the MSDS to learn all safety precautions and instructions.

Yes, Phantom is labled for termite control and can be used inside drill holes with no problems. 

Phantom is becoming more and more a good choice for bed bug control.  Studies are showing great results with Phantom.  Although we still do have Cyonara in all of our bed bug kits, they may soon have Phantom instead.  You should still use Gentrol IGR with the Phantom or Cyonara. 

The Phantom label states that you can spray the product in or onto nesting sites, breeding areas, hiding places, runways and other places where the pests are known to infest. The label also states that you can use Phantom on the tufts, seams and folds of mattresses, making it very useful for bedbug treatments. You should try to keep applications to small spots and cracks and crevices around the room, do not spray over entire surfaces where people come in frequent contact. This information can be found on pages 9-11 of the Phantom product label.

In most cases, you will use a 1.25% solution (.75 of an ounce per gallon of water) of Phantom for termite control.

Phantom can be used only on the tufts, seams and folds of mattresses, do not spray the entire surface. Use 3 fl oz of Phantom per gallon of water to treat for bedbugs. Phantom does not kill the bedbugs right away, it can take up to two weeks for bugs to actually die after contacting the treated area. We do recommend using other products such as Bedlam in combination with the Phantom ,so you will have both a fast knockdown and a long lasting residual.

Phantom will last for about 90 days indoors and for about 30 days outdoors. You can apply Phantom in problem areas outdoors to avoid having the ants move back into the wall void. You may also want to consider using a dust such as Mother Earth D that can keep killing insects indefinitely when placed in the wall void.

Phantom can take up to two weeks to actually kill the bedbugs after they come into contact with treated surfaces. Bedbug treatments should be done every 7-10 days until you do not receive a bite for 30 days. Most people do end up doing between 3-5 treatments. The key to successful bedbug elimination is thoroughness. We strongly recommend purchasing mattress and boxspring encasements.

You are exactly right. You fill the sprayer with 1/2 gal of water then add 3 ounces of Phantom followed by the pre-measured amount of the IGR. Agitate the mixture well then add the other 1/2 gallon of water. Agitate one more time and then you are ready to spray.

Phantom can be applied every four weeks for ants and spider control. Exterior applications of Phantom are limited to spot and crack and crevice treatments where pests enter around doors, windows, eaves, attic vents and holes in exterior walls where utilities (cables, pipes, wires) enter into the structure.