Recently a Consumer member wrote to us worried about the safety of automatic insect sprays.
Claudia was concerned about having these sprays operate continuously in her home: "I have a 2 1/2-year-old and I need to know how safe these repellents are."
It seems they're safe enough.
Automatic insect sprays are wall-mounted canisters which emit regular bursts of mist to control flies and other insects. They usually contain pyrethrum and also piperonyl butoxide (which makes the pyrethrum more effective). These two chemicals have been approved by the Environmental Risk Management Authority for use at the concentrations and frequencies emitted by this type of device.
Pyrethrum affects insects' central nervous systems. At higher concentrations it kills the pests and at lower concentrations it repels them. Both pyrethrum and piperonyl butoxide break down quickly in fresh air and sunlight - so the repeated doses give continuous control.
Automatic sprays are safe to use, provided you follow the instructions on the can.
There's a risk that people with allergies may be sensitive to the ingredients and that direct contact with the spray may irritate the eyes or skin. So you need to place the dispenser in a room where air circulates freely, well out of the reach of small children. And if you happen to have pet fish, you'll also need to remove the fish tank from the area (as indicated on the label): pyrethrum kills fish.
Tip: If you use automatic insect spray, it's a good idea to wipe the residue off tiles and wooden floors on a regular basis - otherwise it builds up and can become slippery. Use a damp cloth to do the wiping.
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I have had one of these sprays installed for 6 weeks and am very impressed. Look! No flies. Have read the fine print and stick to it.
Fed up with the flies when preparing food and when lying down and trying to read a book there is always that one pesky fly that hovers around ones head, seeing this add of the Raid Auto spray I brought 2 and installed them one in my hallway the other over the back door I selected the 12 hour timing. When it sprays every 7 minutes, It makes a distinctive clicking sound having two of them clicking can become annoying, as my two 6 feet tall male grandchildren found, they turned one in the hall off with out my knowledge while here and turned it back on when they left. It was put back almost facing the wall I had not noticed, it has been spraying onto the wallpaper this stick substance, and has gone half way down the wall. I tried washing it off with warm soapy water and cloth, no can do. The cloth was sticking to the wall and I couldn’t wipe the substance off, I rang the company they suggested sugar soap that didn’t work either, I have tried every thing vinegar, turps, metho, CRC, it just won’t move all it has removed is the pattern on the wall paper. It will also strip paint. I want to sell my house and have been working hard and nearly finished, now this happening and I cannot remove it, other than re-wallpapering the hallway, I do not know what to do.
For years now products that are described as fly sprays don't kill flies, despite the labelling on the container. The products have been so dumbed down as to be ineffective, however nobody including Consumer NZ wants to know about it. I have written to authorities in NZ and Australia ( where testing is done) and they all dodge about avoiding the issue. I would be impressed to see Consumer NZ front up to this, they haven't to date. They say 'its too expensive to test" Why? The products are patently a rip off, Consumer NZ turns a blind eye.I see also adopts the same euphimistic terminology that the marketing of these products has persuaded people to use such as 'controlling flies". So waht does that mean, herd them? No people actually want to kill the flies the products don't. Why does this farce continue?
We prefer to spray our flies on demand rather than be exposed to a (natural) neurotoxin 24/7, and have to pay for the amount of product this uses. Unfortunately the NZ manufacturers (Raid, etc.) no long offer a natural pyrethrum manual spray option.
Perhaps an aftermarket fitting for the automatic cans could be made available, or maybe online shopping for one might solve the problem.
Quote
Pyrethrin and piperonyl butoxide is for external use only. Do not let pyrethrin and piperonyl butoxide get into your eyes, nose, or mouth, and do not swallow it.
unQuote
This is from US Medline Plus - A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
The two compounds are common is lice treatments - as a liquid. With the spray, the stuff is a mist - so will get into your eyes, nose and mouth and you probably will swallow it.
It sounds like they are approved as liquids but are being used as sprays. Will follow up.
I have 2 Eco-mist sprayers at home - I'm somewhat concerned about getting too close to them.
It will liquify the ceiling paint if too close.