Use of Dragnet

Hello, I want to engage a pest control company to help treat my bug problems in the house. They plan to use Dragnet. Is this a safe product? Are there any risks to humans? I’ve been advised to stay out of the treated home for 5-6 hours after treatment. Is that sufficient? Thanks in advance. Vancouver

The active ingredient in Dragnet is permethrin, a synthetic pyrethroid. Toxicity to humans is relatively low with little risk of adverse effects from routine applications of the diluted product. Obviously, it would be wise to avoid exposure to large amounts of undiluted material, as cases of adverse effects have been attributed to acute massive exposure. According to the label, it is safe to come into contact with treated surfaces one the application has dried, but be aware that cats are far more sensitive than humans or dogs to permethrin. The half-life of Dragnet indoors reportedly is in the neighborhood of three weeks, so three months after application only about 1/20th to 1/15th of the active ingredient in the original application would remain. The label for Dragnet states “CAUTION”; this indicates a product that is of low to very low toxicity to humans – Click here for more information on Signal Words. I do not know of any pesticide that is completely risk-free to use.