Claim:   Insect-infested house is destroyed when too many "bug bombs" set by owner are ignited.

Status:   True.

Origins:   In December 2003, an overly determined householder in San Diego, California, took on the bugs and lost her home in the process.

"Bug bombs" are aerosol insecticide foggers used to exterminate a residence's insect population, commonly purchased in home improvement stores by those intent upon ridding their domiciles of cockroaches, fleas, and the like. After the homeowner has cleared his house of kids, pets, and other residents, he sets off the fogger by pressing down on a tab atop the can; the "bug bomb" then begins to produce a fine mist of insecticide, continuing this "fogging" at a slow and steady rate until the canister is empty. After a few hours, the residents of the house (adults, kids, pets) can return to their (presumably) insect-free home, air it out, and take up residence again. One canister is generally sufficient for a  600 square foot space. Sounds simple, right? It is — provided you don't overdo it.
 

Nineteen of these foggers were set off in Aurelia Oliveras' 470-square-foot home in San Diego. Everything might have turned out well in spite of the excess had the pilot light in a water heater not ignited the fumes concentrated in this small space. The resulting explosion blew apart the structure and hurled Christmas decorations into the street, strewed shards of glass (from broken windows) and nails (from torn walls) like shrapnel, blew the back door off its hinges, ripped gaping holes in the ceiling, spread insulation over the yard like confetti, and crashed the south wall of the house into the side of the home next door — all in all resulting in damages estimated at more than $150,000.

 Fortunately no injuries resulted, as Oliveras, her husband, and her 2-year-old daughter were in the back yard at the time of the kaboom.

This type of accident had occurred before in San Diego. In April 2001, another fog of insecticide from eighteen bug bombs was similarly set off by a pilot light, this time blowing up an apartment in the City Heights neighborhood. No one was injured, but several cockroaches managed to survive the blast. Elsewhere in southern California, another pilot light ignited the fumes from three bug bombs set off in a Los Angeles apartment in September 2003, blowing out windows and splintering kitchen cabinets. Also in Los Angeles, in April 2001 a woman suffered second-degree burns to her legs from the heat of a blast resulting from the ignition of thirty bug bombs she set off in her home. That explosion shattered windows and lifted the dwelling's roof three inches.

Given the force of these blasts, it's surprising that more people aren't injured.

According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR), a number of such explosions occur every year, typically when homeowners use too many foggers and don't shut off ignition sources (particularly pilots lights in ovens, stoves, and water heaters). In this battle between man and insect, more is certainly not better. Those still contemplating the use of an arsenal of bug bombs in their wars with six-legged foes should consider this: If the possibility of a horrendous explosion doesn't talk you out of it, the fact that roaches often survive the megabombing should. Little can compare to seeing your home in ruins, its windows and walls blasted out, its roof lifted, and the whole of the house shifted off its foundation . . . but with roaches still scurrying about the ruins. Yet a number of foolhardy homeowners have created just such a scenario.

Barbara "bombs away" Mikkelson
 

Texas

A tenant in an apartment complex in Hitchcock, Texas,  had a roach problem. So she and a maintenance man set off foggers -- but they used 18! That's what caused the explosion.

The explosion ripped through one apartment -- blowing the door out, buckling brick walls and causing extensive damage to the inside of the apartment. Two people were injured. Tenant Cora Lee Jones heard the explosion across the walkway.

She recalled, "I came outside and I saw the tenant from the apartment that exploded running out, and then all of a sudden she just fell out in the parking lot. She just collapsed. She was just screaming." Witnesses say it was 8am Friday and many people were still in bed. Nikki Henderson was right next door to the apartment where the explosion took place. She was in bed with her three-year-old son.

Although the bed where Henderson and her son were sleeping is covered with scraps of sheetrock, they were unharmed.
 

The massive explosion that resulted blew out the back wall and lifted the roof of the building, inflicting burns on the three men, fire department spokesperson John McMillan said.

"The restaurant owner has used the principle that if you use twice the soap, you get your hands twice as clean. He's just overdone it," McMillan said, noting that eight of the cockroach bombs would have been enough to deal with the problem."This could have been a tragedy, although the men have been hospitalised it does not look as bad as first thought," he said."This (cockroach bomb) is a good product, but this incident shows if you don't read the manufacturer's instructions, there can be very serious consequences."

Two of the men remained in Perth hospital's burns unit Thursday, with one suffering burns to 45 percent of his body, officials said. The third man went home after treatment.An officer at the Duncraig fire station, about 200m from the restaurant, said he felt the force of the blast.

"The whole of the station seemed to shake," he told ABC radio. - Sapa-AFP

 

THE BIG BOOM DEMETRIUS JACKSON AND HIS NEIGHBORS HEARD CAME AFTER THE RENTER OF THIS APARTMENT SET OUT SIX RID-A-BUG INSECT FOGGERS...
Lt Musselwhite: These devices are labeled and the label says extinguish all flames before you utilize this device and unfortunately we don't read the labels and realize they're explosive. 2:41
IN THIS CASE A PILOT LIGHT IN THE STOVE SPARKED THE EXPLOSION..
Lt. Musselwhite: We can see where it dislodged the burner plates on the stove and blew the stove open. 2:15
THE PRESSURE SMASHED THE KITCHEN WALL...
Lt. Musselwhite: The impact drove this door through that door.7:58
AND BLEW OUT THE FRONT WALL AND WINDOW.... IN THE BACK... DEBRIS ONCE INSIDE... LITTERS THE LAWN.