For some reason when people think of pesticides they think of huge fields of fruits or vegetables far from city life, being sprayed down or having to wash their produce before they eat it. Maybe they even think of eating organic to avoid at least some of that, but here’s something people don’t think about much when they think of pesticides: RAID.

It is indeed a pesticide, specifically an insecticide, used to kill insects like roaches (cockroaches), ants, spiders, scorpions, flies, crickets, etc in your home. You don’t even have to buy these toxic chemicals over a counter, they’re right on the shelf for you at your local supermarket.

How many of us see a roach or ant and spray it till it dies, not not death by pesticide but death by drowning in pesticide?

Inhaling these fumes can be dangerous, particularly for brain health, so the area is supposed to be ventilated where spraying.

If we can be concerned about pesticides on our produce and their possible links to ADHD we should be concerned about the ones we spray everyday without a second thought. People in cities have greater exposure to pesticides than those in rural or suburban areas, also contributing to the high urban asthma rates.

For the safest usage of insecticides in your home please follow the instructions on their containers and always practice prevention of attracting bugs in the first place to reduce your exposure.