Talstar P Professional Insecticide - Questions & Answers

The best products for flea control outdoors would be Talstar P mixed with NyGuard IGR. The Talstar is the insecticide that will kill the fleas and leave a residual, and the NyGuard is the birth control that will halt the infestation from growing. Mix these in your sprayer together with water and spray any areas outdoors where you are having a problem with fleas or any other insect. For indoor control, you would use Ultracide which is a flea aerosol. It comes ready to use and has both the adulticide and igr (birth control) to provide you with the same type of control indoors as you have outdoors. You will need to go through and vacuum all flooring and furniture prior to using the product. Once vacuumed, use the Ultracide to spray down all carpets, hardwoods, baseboards, rugs, pet bedding and furniture to eliminate the fleas. After application you will leave the home until the product has had time to dry which normally takes about an hour or so. Once dry, all pets, children and adults can re-enter the home and resume normal activity. You will need to vacuum daily for 14 days and then do a second application of the Ultracide. You can see more tips for treating in our article How To Get Rid Of Fleas Indoors.

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 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.

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 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 mixed with an Insect Growth regulator such as Nyguard IGR would be a good choice for tick control. Talstar P would work to kill ticks that come into contact with treated surfaces while the Nyguard would work to help stop juvenile ticks from reaching sexual maturity. You should remember that ticks may be hidden in tall or dense brush so higher treatment volumes may be needed to treat the entire plant, not just the top side of the plant where it is easiest to spray. You should try to get the application on the underside of leaves and all the way to the bottom of the plant. We recommend treating the entire infested area (no spot treating). When you are dealing with an area that has a high tick population you may be required to treat once a month from spring through to the first frost, no matter what product you use. Be sure all pets are treated with a product labeled for tick control. The problem on your property may be that ticks are being reintroduced into the area on a consistent basis by wildlife such as deer, raccoons or birds. You will be required to use non-chemical means to reduce the tick population in addition to insecticides. As with most pests you can modify the environment on your property to make it less favorable to ticks. Keeping grass and weeds cut short in tick infested areas increases tick death during hot weather, discourages wildlife and will reduce the amount of vegetation which may need a pesticide application to kill ticks. Clear away yard debris such as old firewood or leaf piles. Remove old or abandoned bird nests and rodent nests. Patch fences where wildlife may be gaining access to your property. It may also be helpful to have the ticks identified. By identifying the type of ticks you can better understand what type of animals may be bringing them to your property and you can modify the environment to make it less favorable for that host animal. You can contact your local cooperative extension office to request an insect identification.

Talstar is a general use product that is labeled for use inside and outside the home.  Talstar is safe to use around animals as long as they are out of the area while you are spraying, they can return as soon as the area is dry. Talstar P is odorless, dries clear, leaves no stains, is non-irritating to the skin, and will not break down easily with rainfall

Talstar P is not labeled to kill chipmunks. We do carry products to repel and trap chipmunks.

You can use a hose-end sprayer to apply Talstar P. You shoul use 1 oz per 1000 sq ft, and we recommend using 1-3 gallons of water per 1,000 sq ft. Keep in mind that it is most important to use the correct amount of concentrate and then think of the water as a carrier, so it is better to use a bit more water than to use too little. For example, to treat half your yard, you would use 7.5 oz at a rate no higher than 1 oz per gal of water, but usually it is best to use a rate of 0.3 or 0.5 oz per gal of water with a hose-end sprayer. You can always start with a small area and test using just water to get an idea for how heavily you tend to spray and how fast you walk when spraying.

We would recommend our most popular insecticide, Talstar.  It is a very safe product to use around children and pets and is widely used by professional companies every day in thousands of homes across the country.  It is odorless, can be used indoors and outdoors and it is labeled for over 80 different insects.  You would apply it using a one gallon hand pump sprayer. 

Talstar P can be used to help control cluster flies and lady bugs indoors and outdoors. If the cluster flies have already made their way indoors, they will be harder to control because they usually hide in a wall void or other inaccessible area and are only visible when the house warms up. If the cluster flies are in an attic or drop ceiling or other dark area, a fly light would do a great job controlling the population. Using small fly lights such as the Fly Web in the house would also help to catch the flies. Spray Talstar P directly on baseboards, window frames, door frames, and places where utilities (pipes, wires, cables) enter in to the building and any other crack, crevice or gap where insects can enter.

Talstar P is one of the best general purpose insecticides for indoor and outdoor use. It is labeled for over 75 insects, leaves a 30 day residual outdoors and a 90 day residual indoors.  Mixing at .5- 1.0oz per gallon of water, it is a very easy product to use. 

Outdoors, Talstar P can be sprayed as a perimeter treatment (3ft up & 3ft out from foundation), around windows, doors, bushes, plants trees, broadcasted over the entire lawn. 

Indoors, Talstar P is to be applied as a crack and crevice treatment along baseboards, windows, doors, behind appliances, under sinks, toilets, around water pipes. 

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