Talstar P Professional Insecticide - Questions & Answers

Talstar P is our most popular product for white fly. It is important to spray the underside of the leaves on infested plants for effective control. Heavily infested leaves should be plucked off the plant and tossed in a bucket of soapy water.

Talstar P is labeled for use as a lawn treatment for a variety of different pests. You can read the product label to learn more about the Talstar P applications.

Talstar will kill bugs right away or as soon as any bug comes into contact with it.  It is not a contact kill product though, and depending on the insect Talstar will kill it within minutes or longer depending on what insect it is.

We cannot find any systemic insecticides that are labeled for bagworm control. Acephate 75 was labeled for bagworm control but due to new EPA regulations they were forced to change the label and exclude using the product as a systemic. You should also note that systemic products are not the best choice if you already have damaging pests present because the products can take weeks or even months to translocate through large trees from soil applications. The best treatment for bagworms is a direct foliar spray with Talstar. 

Yes. Talstar P can be safely used around pets as long as you follow the label instructions; all pets need to be out of the area while application is being made and they can return as soon as the application is dry.

Talstar P is specifically labeled (page 4 of the product label) for a number of medically significant spiders including Black Widow, Brown Recluse and Hobo Spiders. It is important to remember that Talstar P does not give an immediate knockdown but instead works over a period of several hours to kill spiders that have come into contact with the product. Talstar P will also help to get rid of the insects that spiders feed on and that will help to stop new spiders from moving in. Indoors, spray around all baseboards, door frames, window frames, under appliances, in closets and storage rooms and in areas where utilities enter into the structure. Outdoors you should spray around the bottom of the foundation, on the ground adjacent to the foundation, door frames, window frames and places where the utilities enter into the structure. Brown recluse spiders are a bit trickier to eliminate because they often stay hidden in areas where people do not or cannot spray. We recommend that in addition to the Talstar P, you also use glueboards in areas where spraying would not be appropriate and to help monitor the infestation (cabinets, closets, under furniture, storage areas)

There is no certain of day that is best for general pest control on lawns, though we do advise not spraying during the heat of day to avoid scorching your lawn. Talstar can be sprayed year round as long as your soil is not frozen.

There are some insects (roaches, whitefly, aphids, mites) that are able to build up resistance to certain classes of insecticide including synthetic pyrethroids like the one contained in Talstar P.

You cannot store diluted Talstar in your sprayer for two reasons: 1. Talstar P will start to breakdown rapidly when kept in a diluted solution. 2. Storing chemicals or even just water in your sprayer will make the valves and gaskets corrode. We recommend you simply mix up smaller batches of solution. For instance you can mix 1/2 oz of Talstar P with 1/2 gallon of water in your pump sprayer or a 1/4 oz of Talstar with 1/4 gallon of water instead of mixing more than you need.

Talstar P should be used at the highest concentration of 1 oz of Talstar per gallon of water for bedbug treatments. According to the product label: "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 you can see the Talstar P manufacturers do not recommend that you use Talstar P by itself to get rid of bedbugs. The other products that you will need to use in combination with the Talstar to effectively treat for bedbugs are all included in our New York Bedbug Kit. You will need to treat every 7-10 days to help break the infestation cycle. You may also find it helpful to read our Bedbug Treatment Guide as it contains a lot of useful information regarding where and how to treat for bedbugs.

Talstar P is a water-based product and will dry just as fast as water does in your yard.

Since Talstar can only be sprayed directly into cracks and crevices around the perimeter of rooms  indoors, any type of floor cleaning you choose should not be a problem.

You should avoid getting Talstar P into swimming pools though small amounts that accidentally get in a pool will be so diluted that there shouldn't be any concern. Talstar P is labeled to be used in food handling establishments and food handling areas but all of the food prep surfaces and food products and utensils must be covered and the application must be kept to cracks and crevices only. Talstar P is only labeled for use in cracks and crevices when using indoors which is why we would have said no to spraying on the surface of a seat (Talstar P is not labeled to spray on any furniture in general). If you choose to spray around or on your A/C unit you should shut it off prior to the application and resume operation after the application is dry. You should not spray the surface of your lawn furniture with Talstar P (or any other insecticide). If the surface has already been sprayed you should thoroughly wash it with soap and copious amounts of water. When used as directed on the Talstar P product label this product  and the dry residual it leaves behind is safe for people and pets.

Talstar is labeled for treatment of weevils and many of our customers have cited success with Talstar for weevils.  The product label calls for half an ounce per gallon of water, and this should be applied over 1000 square feet.  There are not really any special instructions other then to cover all foliage completely including the base and trunks of the plants.

Chiggers are not known to infest structures and are most likely outdoors in your yard. Both Talstar and Onslaught are top-notch professional products and both are labeled for chiggers. Onslaught is micro-encapsulated and will last a little longer on outdoor surfaces which does give it a bit of advantage over Talstar P. Treatments for chiggers should begin in May and could need to continue through the summer as new chiggers move into the area. Treating the entire lawn is of little benefit because chiggers avoid direct sunlight and normally will not infest areas that are mowed or otherwise well maintained. Focus treatment on the unkempt areas of the lawn and lawn edge. You can also use Onslaught to do a barrier treatment around the outside of your home and in your crawl space to stop pests from moving indoors.

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.

Talstar would be a great choice for flies and ladybugs. Be sure to spray in areas where the insects are known to land or harbor. If you are trying to prevent these insects from over wintering in your home you should spray 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.

Talstar P is not a selective insecticide and it will kill any insects that come into contact with treated areas. You can reduce the risk to your bees by keeping applications away from areas where the bees are actively foraging and at times when the bees are not active in general. You may also consider using Mavrik Perimeter insecticide for outdoor pests, which is non-repellent and non-toxic to honeybees after it is dried. You will want to read the product label to see if this fits your needs.

Talstar P cannot be used on any type of edible vegetation. We do carry a wide variety of products that can be used on vegetables. You can type in the name of the vegetable you need to treat into the search window (upper left hand side) of our home page and this will help narrow down the choices. When you see the products come up you can click on them and you will be able to see the full product descriptions as well as the product label. We encourage our customers to read the product label of the product they are interested in purchasing to be sure it will fit their needs.

You should keep your pets away from the area while you are applying the product and until the product has had a chance to dry completely.