You’re moving into a new apartment. Maybe you’ve never been to the big city before. Maybe you are a veteran apartment hunter who thoroughly vetted their options before settling on just the right room for rent. In any case, you plop down on your mattress only to discover those telltale lines of three bites on your skin in the morning. There was little you could do to avoid it, and now you’ve got bed bugs: which is why we’ve put together this Harris Bed Bug Killer review to help you get rid of your problem.
Bed bugs are bad news. They leave you itching and exhausted and they get everywhere; unfortunately, they’re endemic in the United States these days. You become a pariah to anyone who knows about these pests if you have them, too, because they know that your clothes, your hair, and your sheets are all infected.
Luckily, there is a solution. You can fill your house with ladybugs and praying mantises, both of which are natural predators of the nefarious bed bug. However, there is an even better idea if you think that infesting your house with more insects is an untenable solution: You can buy a bed bug killer.
Comparison Table
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Our Harris Bed Bug Killer Review Process
We scoured the internet to find the top bed bug-killing solutions available. We then narrowed this list down to what many people consider the cream of the crop, the Harris Bed Bug Killer, and three of its top competitors. Our aim in conducting this Harris Bed Bug Killer review was to place the top bed bug killer product in its market context.
To do this, we scored the Harris Bed Bug Killer against its competition in five categories. Each entry in this Harris Bed Bug Killer review was evaluated according to its price point, how easy it was to use, how effective it was when used, the overall quality of the product’s design, and whether or not it came with a warranty.
What Is Harris Bed Bug Killer?
Harris Bed Bug Killer is among the best selling solutions for getting rid of bed bugs. It is a liquid spray product that kills bed bugs when it dries. The manufacturers at Harris provide many types of bed bug-killing solutions, but we focused specifically on their Gallon of Liquid Spray with Odorless and Non-Staining Formula for this Harris Bed Bug Killer review.
You may not think that your problem requires a whole gallon of insecticidal spray, but trust us, you do not want to use a half measure when a bed bug problem calls for a whole measure. If even two bed bugs remain, your whole house or apartment can become infected with them again.
One of the best features about the Harris Bed Bug-killing products is their long legacy. The Harris company has been in the business of destroying vermin for a long time, and their expertise shows. In fact, their founder, P. F. Harris was praised as a “vermin slayer” by the Washington Times.
Why? In 1924, merely two years after getting the company off the ground, he tackled a problem of presidential scale. Calvin Coolidge’s White House was infested by roaches and water bugs and no one could kill them. However, P. F. Harris brought his product to the presidential abode and he completely eliminated the pests from the executive mansion.
Today, their powerful pest-killing products are available to elected and elector alike.
There are multiple versions of a bed bug killer. Not all are liquid sprays. Some are in powder form and come in nippled dispensers like machine lubricant products. Others take the form of aerosol sprays or sticky traps that kill the bed bugs they lure inside.
While many of these work, in our Harris Bed Bug Killer review, we found that none worked better than the liquid spray type for immediately ridding your bed of its horrible bugs. Why? The key lies in the specifications of the Harris Bed Bug Killer. Let’s explore what makes this product special.
Product Specs
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The power behind the Harris Bed Bug Killer throne is a little chemical called Deltamethrin. It may be difficult to spell, but it spells death for any of those pesky creatures living off your life force and occupying your bed. It is so effective, that it actually only comprises 0.03% of the total gallon of spray.
Deltamethrin actually kills the bed bugs upon its drying, which is why it is great the Harris Liquid spray comes with an extended trigger spray head. The spray coats your furniture in a fine mist that aids in quick drying. Quick drying means quick dying for the bed bugs.
If covering your house with a chemical that is poisonous to certain types of life creeps you out, do not despair. The Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray is completely EPA registered for indoor residential use. Furthermore, it is odorless to humans and it does not stain.
This is great news, especially since the most effective way to use the spray is to coat all potential surfaces that bed bugs might inhabit with the spray. Lesser quality products can leave your linens smelling horrible or discolor the cushions on your couch.
One of the reasons that this product works so well without leaving a stain or a lingering smell is because it is largely water-based. If your furniture can withstand a misting of water, it can certainly withstand the bed bug-killing miracle that is Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray.
All this said, you do not want to over-apply the Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray. It is recommended that you lightly mist the affected areas from a distance of eight to ten inches until the surface is slightly damp.
Pricing
A gallon jug of Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray can be purchased for around $24 on Amazon. We found this to be about the mid point in the price range for bed bug-killing products. Those that offer more one-off solutions will tend to cost less. Those that additionally target eggs and poison-resistant varieties of bed bugs can cost about ten to twenty dollars more.
How It Compares
We picked a few similar products available on the market to see how they compare.
- Cimexa Insecticide Dust
- Steri-fab Bed Bugs Spray
- Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray
Harris Bed Bug Killer
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- Ease of Use
- Effectiveness
- Design quality
- Warranty
We loved how easy this product was to use. Simply open the spray nozzle, guide the hose eight to ten inches away from the area you wish to spray, and then spray. Once it dries, which ought to be quick if you did not over spray, your bed bugs will die and your house will be free of its parasites.
Deltamethrin works well at eliminating bed bugs. This particular formula does not target their eggs, which can be a problem as some may hatch after the adults have been eliminated. However, if you are persistent and follow the directions that come with the product, you will have no trouble ridding your home of pests.
We loved how much give the extending hose allowed us. The spray naturally comes out in a light mist to help you apply just the right amount to your furnishings.
Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray comes with a lifetime warranty. It doesn’t get better than that.
Cimexa Insecticide Dust
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Cimexa Insecticide Dust manufactured by Rockwell provides a fitting counterpoint to the Liquid Spray Bed Bug Killer made by Harris. For one, this product is not a liquid spray, but rather a container and distributor of insecticide dust.
What is this dust composed of? It is 100% amorphous silica gel. Yes, that is the exact same stuff you find in those DO NOT EAT packets that help to keep products dry. This is an effective bed bug killer if you are willing to sprinkle your house in a fine mist of desiccant.
However, we found that it was neither as easy to apply as the Harris Bed Bug Killer nor as effective at killing all the bed bugs that it found. Fortunately, it is less expensive than the product offered by Harris, but if it doesn’t solve your problem is its low price point worth it?
- Ease of Use
- Effectiveness
- Design quality
- Warranty
It is fairly easy to apply the insecticidal powder. However, it is not easier than using an extendable spray nozzle. If the powder gets on your skin, it will dry it out, so you cannot really “go crazy” with the application process. You can remedy this with water and lotion, but it is a drawback nonetheless.
The desiccant-based insecticide works if it comes in direct contact with the bed bugs, but once it blows or washes away, the effect is gone.
We do not really have any complaints about the overall design quality. We just think there are more effective insecticides to use to get rid of bed bugs.
Rockwell Labs do not offer a warranty for their Cimexa Insecticide Dust.
Steri-Fab Bed Bugs Spray
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So far, the technologies that powers the previous two entries in our Harris Bed Bug Killer review have been fairly straight forward. Steri-Fab Bed Bugs Spray is a different story.
This three pack of 16 ounce bottles does not use Deltamethrin or silica to kill the bugs. Instead, it uses a mixture of 0.22% 3-Phenoxybenzyl, 60.39% Isopropyl Alcohol, 0.114% Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride, and 0.076% Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride.
This may seem overly complicated for dealing with bed bugs. It is. This spray kills more than just bed bugs, it kills bed bug eggs, lice, ticks, fleas, dust mites, fungi, bacteria, mold, and mildew. If your house has one or more of these problems at the same time, this may be the best product for you in this Harris Bed Bug Killer review.
- Ease of Use
- Effectiveness
- Design quality
- Warranty
The spray is easy to use, but not as easy as sprays with extending nozzles.
It kills more than just bed bugs. You can eliminate many household woes with this one product.
We were quite impressed by the formula mixture of this product.
No warranty accompanies this product.
Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray
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When you have bed bugs, it can feel like you are living in bedlam. Luckily you can purchase Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray to help alleviate your problems. This product is a two-pack or aerosol-based bed bug-killing technology.
This aerosol is water-based and non-irritating, which means it is safe to use on your bedding. This is essential in eliminating bed bugs. It is also effective at killing adult lice and nymph lice, ticks, fleas, and dust mites. Unlike other products, it kills on contact, not upon drying.
The real downside to this product is how little you get for how much the product costs.
- Ease of Use
- Effectiveness
- Design quality
- Warranty
If you can use a spray can, you can use the Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray.
If you can use a spray can, you can use the Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray.
While the aerosol spray works, it is not as easy to wield as the extendable spray nozzle that comes with the Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray gallon.
Unfortunately, there is no warranty on the Bedlam Bed Bugs Spray.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the only product that could be considered the best of the best was the Harris Bed Bug Killer Liquid Spray. The amount you get for how little you pay is excellent. Other companies just cannot compete with the long legacy of P. F. Harris and his vermin extermination devices.
If you have problems with bed bugs, Harris Bed Bug Killer can solve them, and you do not even need to deploy armies of ladybugs to get the job done.
Featured Image via Pexels