I sprayed but the bugs came back

The first time I sprayed your BITHOR I found so many dead clover mites but then a few days later they were back. I sprayed again and more died but they came back again? Why is this happening? And shouldn’t they keep dying when they touch the chemical? I see them walking on where i’m spraying. Oh, and the same thing is happening out in the back. I sprayed Maxxthor and they were gone for like 3 days and then thousands, like a swarm!

What you’re experiencing is perfectly normal. There are a few reasons for this but here is the “short” list.

1. Our sprays work as a “contact kill” when first applied but once they dry, it will take 2-3 days for their residual to kill affected pests which enter the treated area. This applies to products like Maxxthor, Bithor and FS MP. This means in 1-2 days after you treat, new ones entering will die but not faster than new ones can move over the treated surfaces and so you need to spray again to get ahead of the surge
2. If you are able to reach their nests with products like FS MP AEROSOL or PEST-XEMPT DUST, you can in theory eliminate them immediately. This is especially helpful when you are seeing them inside around windows, doors or baseboards. These areas are the “breach points” from outside and so if they are living behind the homes siding or in your wall voids, it can be challenging to reach their nests. A symptom of this problem is when you spray with FS MP around a window or baseboard and have good control for 5-10 days but then see new activity. This generally means you are close but not quite deep enough to eradicate them at the site where they are most comfortable. Remember, springtails THRIVE deep behind exterior siding, wall voids and very hard to reach spaces. In these areas they can multiply to large levels when its warm and then migrate out looking for new areas to nest. They can also be “chased” out by routine use of exterior treatments (like Maxxthor) which can be penetrating BUT NOT PENETRATING ENOUGH TO REACH ALL NESTS! And so the net effect is that you’re close to them on both the outside and inside treatments, just not close enough to eradicate them. In these cases, you must stay the course for a few months hoping your efforts make there way to where it will kill them all OR go to the next level which could include using the dust and/or getting treatments into walls voids and behind exterior siding – especially if the siding is vinyl, aluminum or anything else with lots of space behind it.
3. The significance of #2 above magnifies why its so important to treat cracks and crevices. This is usually further confirmed by anyone not doing that work BUT only relying on our BITHOR or MAXXTHOR. In this case, they will most certainly keep coming back even faster. In both instances, the treatments will eventually kill the ones active BUT IT CAN TAKE 2-3 DAYS. And so the question is can you wait that long? Many people can’t and why retreating with the surface spray is usually the best course of action until the surges stop or better yet, take the time and make the effort to do the crack and crevice treatments with either FS MP or Xempt Dust.
4. And the main reason? Not enough followup applications are being made. In general, when one is treating for small pests like SPRINGTAILS or CLOVER MITES, they should plan on treating 2-3 times a week for 1-2 weeks and then once a week for 2-4 weeks and if they have hit nest sites, they can expect little activity after just 1-2 months. During this time it would be “normal” to go through 3-5 cans of Aerosol, 1-2 jugs of Granules and 16-32 oz of Liquid Concentrate outside the home (exterior). Inside the home, 1-2 gallons a few times a week could be needed but again, if you’re finding nests with the aerosol or dust, surface spraying won’t be as critical. Helpful for sure but not critical for solving issues like the aerosol or dust.
5. Not enough time has elapsed since you started treating. This is usually very common with new customers. They get product, treat 1-2 and expect things to be controlled. Most pests – especially small ones like clover mites or springtails – take years to get established. And once they’re deeply embedded in wall voids, around windows and under a homes siding, it will take a few months of ongoing aggressive applications to knock them down.
6. Not enough product is being used for prevention. This is what happens when we hear from customers who ordered 1-2 years. True, they got the right products to start BUT once they got things under control, they failed to stay the course. They maybe were okay for 3-6 months but at some point, the targeted pest will come back. Failure to do preventive applications means you will see them again.

In summary, the products we recommend will always include 2 products for outside and two products for inside. The granules outside will need to be applied once a month but the spray could be needed several times a week as explained above. Failure to follow this program means you’ll be vulnerable to new infestations over and over.

And on the inside, the Aerosol and Dust are the problem solvers with the Bithor on surfaces a tool that cleans up the ones you missed with the crack and crevice treatments.

That said, if you meet the requirements and follow the schedule of using enough product applied where it matters, YOU CAN DEFEAT THEM! But you need to have reasonable expectations. Every home can be kept pest free but how fast that happens will depend on how thorough you are when treating. Surface spraying for small pests will rarely end the problem; getting to the “source” of any pest problem is usually the key to success and ending the issue in 1-2 months.

Lastly, keeping a pest free environment will almost always mean ongoing, regular treatments after the initial clean out. This last phase is different in that the initial work is almost always more intense requiring more chemical and more time. But once you get control of the current problem, keeping them away in the future will be a lot easier when following our preventive treatment schedule.

Tech Support