Results tagged “bugbombs”

An explosion caused by bug bombs in a Millville apartment left the building in such bad shape that it needed to be condemned following the blast. No one was injured when a pilot light ignited the accelerant inside nine cans of repellent, but it left the kitchen floor sagging, blew out numerous windows on the first floor and moved an exterior wall about two inches. A firefighter on the scene told reporters, "Typically I wouldn't recommend using nine at once. At the end of it all, I don't even think it killed the bugs." A recent explosion of bug bombs in New York hospitalized six people.

Bug bombs—or 'total release foggers,' as they say in the extermination biz—have caused at least eight serious explosions in New York City apartments in the past several years, including one last month in Manhattan that hospitalized six people. And besides the explosions, the bombs have also given people respiratory problems, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now the state Department of Environmental Conservation will classify foggers as a restricted-use product in New York State, meaning that only certified pesticide applicators can buy and use them. Better stock up! Oh, and here's a fun fact; the Times says that when the bug bombs first became popular after WWII, each bomb contained enough mist to “de-bug” about 10 to 15 average-size homes.