A fogger is any device that creates a fog

Fog

Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...

, typically containing an insecticide

Insecticide

An insecticide is a pesticide used against insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against the eggs and larvae of insects respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and the household. The use of insecticides is believed to be one of the major factors behind...

 for killing insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s and other arthropod

Arthropod

An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...

s. Foggers are often used by consumers as a low cost alternative to professional pest control services. The number of foggers needed for pest control

Pest control

Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy.-History:...

 depends on the size of the space to be treated, as stated for safety reasons on the instructions supplied with the devices. The fog may contain flammable gases, leading to a danger of explosion if a fogger is used in a building with a pilot light

Pilot light

thumb|right|Merker gas fired water heater from the 1930's, with pilot light clearly visible through the aperture in the front cover. The large opening allowed for the manual lighting of the pilot light by a lit match or taper...

 or other naked flame.

Foggers are also used in aeroponics

Aeroponics

Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in an air or mist environment without the use of soil or an aggregate medium . The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of aero- and ponos . Aeroponic culture differs from both conventional hydroponics and in-vitro growing...

, a branch of modern agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

.

Fogger composition

Total release foggers (TRFs) (also called "bug bombs") are used to kill cockroaches, fleas, and flying insects by filling an area with insecticide. Most foggers contain pyrethroid

Pyrethroid

A pyrethroid is an organic compound similar to the natural pyrethrins produced by the flowers of pyrethrums . Pyrethroids now constitute a major commercial household insecticides...

, pyrethrin

Pyrethrin

The pyrethrins are a pair of natural organic compounds that have potent insecticidal activity. Pyrethrins are neurotoxins that attack the nervous systems of all insects. When present in amounts not fatal to insects, they still appear to have an insect repellent effect. Pyrethrins are gradually...

, or both as active ingredients. Pyrethroids are a class of synthetic insecticides that are chemically similar to natural pyrethrins and have low potential for systemic toxicity in mammals. Pyrethrins are insecticides derived from chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemum

Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...

 flowers (pyrethrum

Pyrethrum

Pyrethrum refers to several Old World plants of the genus Chrysanthemum which are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flower heads. Pyrethrum is also the name of a natural insecticide made from the dried flower heads of C. cinerariifolium and C...

). Piperonyl butoxide

Piperonyl butoxide

Piperonyl butoxide is an organic compound used as pesticide synergist, especially for pyrethroids and rotenone. It does not by itself have pesticidal properties. However, when added to insecticide mixtures, typically pyrethrin, pyrethroid, and carbamate insecticides, their potency is increased...

 and n-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide

N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide

N-Octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide is an ingredient in some common pesticides. It has no intrinsic pesticidal activity itself, but rather is a synergist enhancing the potency of pyrethroid ingredients. It is used in a variety of household and veterinary products.- External links :*...

 often are added to pyrethrin products to inhibit insects' microsomal enzymes that detoxify pyrethrins. To distribute their insecticide, foggers also contain aerosol propellants.

Hazards to humans

During 2001-2006, a total of 466 fogger-related illnesses or injuries were identified in the United States by the SENSOR-Pesticides

SENSOR-Pesticides

Sentinel Event Notification System for Occupational Risks -Pesticides is a U.S. state-based surveillance program that monitors pesticide-related illness and injury. It is administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health , twelve state health agencies participate. NIOSH...

 program. These illnesses or injuries often resulted from inability or failure to vacate before the fogger discharged, reentry into the treated space too soon after the fogger was discharged, excessive use of foggers for the space being treated, and failure to notify others nearby.

Exposure symptoms

Pyrethrins have little systemic toxicity in mammals, but they have been reported to induce contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is a term for a skin reaction resulting from exposure to allergens or irritants . Phototoxic dermatitis occurs when the allergen or irritant is activated by sunlight....

, conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis refers to inflammation of the conjunctiva...

, and asthma

Asthma

Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...

. Signs and symptoms of pyrethroid toxicity include abnormal skin sensation (e.g., burning, itching, tingling, and numbness), dizziness, salivation, headache, fatigue, vomiting, diarrhea, seizure, irritability to sound and touch, and other central nervous system effects.

External links

• Bug Bomb Case Profile — National Pesticide Information Center
• Pesticide Illness & Injury Surveillance — National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health