Can Sevin powder kill bed bugs? Well, here is what you need to know.

One of the most harrowing pest experiences people have with pests includes dealing with a bed bug problem.

These pests can make your life a living hell as their itchy and painful bites can cause sleepless nights. When seeking solutions, one of the likely pesticides you’ll come across is Sevin dust.

Does Sevin dust kill bed bugs?

This is a question we seek to provide answers to. A lot has been said about Sevin dust and its ability to solve a variety of pest issues. What we seek to find out is whether it’s an effective bed bug exterminator.

You won’t have to wait all day to find out. Only read to the end to get the answers you seek.

Will Sevin Dust Kill Bed Bugs?

If you’ve hoped to apply Sevin dust to exterminate bed bugs, we’re sorry to tell you that it won’t give you any results.

Sevin dust is largely designed for outdoor use. Now, we all know that bed bugs are indoor pests that stay as close to their hosts (mostly humans) where they can easily and readily find food (in this case blood).

What more? Sevin dust isn’t labeled for bed bugs.

There’s a long list of pests (about 65 or more) against which Sevin dust is active. Some of these include cockroaches, mosquitoes, moths, psyllids, grasshoppers, borers, earwigs, ticks, ants, beetles, snails & slugs, spider mites, grubs, alkali bees, lacewings, etc.

Bed bugs aren’t included in the long list of pests killed by Sevin dust. As such, you’ll have little success (if any at all) using Sevin dust.

Getting What Works

Time is a luxury you can’t afford when it comes to tackling a bed bug infestation.

In other words, you don’t have to waste time experimenting with ineffective pesticides such as Sevin dust. You need to go for what works to arrest the situation as soon as you can.

SEE: Does Permethrin Work For Bed Bugs?

Bed bugs reproduce fast and could become overwhelming when not attacked early on.

So, what are the reliable ways or methods to kill bed bugs? There are several. You only need to pick one that works best for you. This takes us to our next point;

If Sevin Dust Does Not, What Works?

As mentioned earlier, Sevin dust is an insecticide that kills a lot of outdoor pests.

However, it isn’t effective on bed bugs. There are lots of other insecticides you can use to get rid of bed bugs. Some residual insecticides known to kill bed bugs include Cimexa Dust, Steri-Fab Bed Bug spray, and Bedlam Plus Aerosols.

Others include Temprid FX insecticide, CrossFire insecticide, and CrossFire Aerosols. There are more; they include Eco Defence Bed Bug Killer, Ortho Home Defense Bed Bug Killer, Harris Black Label Bed Bug Killer, and several more.

Tons of bed bug insecticides could be used in place of Sevin dust to tackle all your bed bug issues. You need an insecticide that works and the ones mentioned here are just a few of many you could get for your bed bug situation.

Classes of Bed Bug Insecticides

A more logical approach to identifying insecticides that kill bed bugs is by looking at the different classes of insecticides available.

These include desiccants, pyrethrins, insect growth regulators, pyrethroids, biochemicals, pyrroles, and neonicotinoids.

Under these classes are about 300 registered bed bug insecticides that have been proven to be effective in bed bug control.  Let’s provide you with more information about each class of insecticide.

  • Desiccants

Bed bug insecticides under this class work by damaging the protective and waxy outer coating on bed bugs. The result of such action leads to dehydration as bed bugs lose their bodily fluids and die.

Unlike other types of insecticides, bed bugs cannot develop resistance to this class of insecticides as they function through physical activity. What more? Desiccants are long-lasting with their effect lingering for significant periods.

If you wonder what bed bug insecticides belong to this class, you don’t need to think any further. The most common include boric acid and diatomaceous earth.

  • Pyrethrins & Pyrethroids

This class of insecticides is not only used on bed bugs but also other indoor pests.

As such, you’ll need to jettison the idea of Sevin dust as a possible bed bug insecticide. Now, pyrethrins are obtained from chrysanthemum flowers while pyrethroids are more of synthetic chemical insecticides.

Now, irrespective of whether these are naturally occurring (such as pyrethrins) or synthetic insecticides (in the case of pyrethroids), both insecticide categories will readily kill bed bugs. There may be some limitations when faced with resistant bed bug strains.

While the presence of such resistant bed bug strains, pyrethrins, and pyrethroids may lead to a limited “killing effect,” it drives them out of the targeted area. You’ll have to find other alternative ways to get rid of resistant bed bug strains such as the use of desiccants.

  • Insect Growth Regulators

With insect growth regulators, you get the benefit of altering or disrupting the production of chitin (used in making insect exoskeletons). This hampers or prevents the development of bed bugs into adulthood or speeds up the development process thus affecting their proper growth and development.

With insecticides in this category, you get the benefit of taking back control of your home from bed bug invasion through the use of these chemicals.

  • Biochemicals

This is one of the few classes of insecticides having one-bed bug insecticide; cold-pressed neem oil. This not only contains insecticidal but also medicinal properties.

With this insecticide, you don’t only kill bed bugs at their adult stage but also their nymph and egg stages.

  • Pyrroles

Under pyrroles is chlorfenapyr which is considered a pro-insecticide.

In other words, its biological activity will depend on its activation to create or form another chemical. The resulting chemical disrupts the normal functioning and development of bed bug cells which causes death.

  • Neonicotinoids

Ever heard of synthetic nicotine?

This class of insecticides is a form of synthetic nicotine that is responsible for acting on the nicotinic receptors of bed bug nervous systems. What happens is a situation where nerves continuously fire until they fail.

Bed bugs, irrespective of whether they’re resistant to other insecticides or not won’t stand a chance with this class of insecticides.

We’ve seen that Sevin dust won’t kill bed bugs.

However, this shouldn’t stop you from finding other insecticides that do. Here, we’ve listed some insecticides which will readily kill bed bugs as well as the different classes of bed bug insecticides that exist.

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