Ortho Home Defense Max Indoor Insect Barrier with Extended Reach Comfort Wand, Kills Ants, Roaches, Spiders, Fleas and Ticks, 1 gal.

I bought Ortho Home Defense Max to use inside my home, and I was impressed by how fast it works. From the first application, it started killing ants, roaches, spiders, and even fleas. The sprayer is easy to use, and the product dries quickly without leaving a strong smell. I noticed a huge difference right away—bugs stopped appearing, and the protective barrier lasts for days. It’s effective, convenient, and the 1-gallon size goes a long way. I 100% recommend it if you want to keep your home insect-free quickly and safely.

Ignore the skeptics—this stuff absolutely works. My wife and I recently moved to Vero Beach, Florida, where cockroaches (politely called “palmetto bugs” here) are just a part of everyday life. Coming from Ohio, we were not prepared. These things are huge, fast, and while technically harmless, they’re still shocking to see crawling around your home. At one point, we were seeing multiple cockroaches inside every single day, and we knew we had to act fast. That’s when we found Ortho Home Defense Max, and it changed everything. We sprayed it around cracked and vulnerable areas—under the fridge, behind the stove, near baseboards, and along door thresholds. Since then? We’ve seen barely any. Maybe one or two stragglers in total, and that’s in a house that previously felt like a roach runway. To test how fast it actually works, we found one cockroach outside, trapped it under a glass bowl, and sprayed some of the product underneath. Within an hour, it was dead—completely flipped over on its back. That proved to us this isn’t just a long-term prevention spray—it’s a legitimate killer that starts working fast. What’s even better is that this spray doesn’t just kill on contact. It continues working over time. Roaches that encounter it can carry it back to their hiding places, infecting others and breaking the cycle at the source. Here’s our recommendation: ✔️ Spray it around common entry points and hidden crevices ✔️ Stay on top of cleanliness (no cardboard on floors, no food crumbs left behind, trash secured) ✔️ Let Ortho Home Defense Max do the rest If you’re new to Florida—or any place where cockroaches are common—and you’re horrified to find them in your home, this is the first product you should buy. And even if you’ve lived with them for years and think there’s no solution, try this. You’ll be amazed. Five stars. Hands down. Worth every penny—and a little bit entertaining, too.

It seems that most of the negative reviews are from customers who do not understand what this product is or how it works. Let me be clear: THIS. IS. NOT. RAID! It's actually better! Raid is a chemical substance that is designed to sicken and kill insects almost instantly upon contact. Which is great if you happen to see the bugs and spray them before they scurry away. But what about the other creepy crawlies that might be lurking elsewhere in your home? Bugs, especially ants and roaches, rarely travel alone. So if you see one, chances are there are others that have yet to reveal themselves. And Raid will only get rid of the bugs that you happen to find and spray yourself. Ortho, on the other hand, isn't designed to kill the bugs immediately. Instead, it infects the bugs with a slow-acting poison that might take hours or even days to actually kill them. How is this a good thing? Because it gives the bugs plenty of time to return to the colony and infect the others with the toxin that clings to their bodies. In my opinion this product is better than Raid because it doesn't require you to find the bugs yourself. Just spray around the areas where you have seen the most bug activity (i.e. basements, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.) and voila! The bugs are doomed. Granted, it takes time and patience. Depending on the severity of your infestation, it might take weeks or even months for your home to become completely bug-free. However, you should probably take into consideration that even an overpriced exterminator can't rid you of your bug problem in one quick visit. Most exterminators make frequent visits to your home where they will charge you out the nose just to spray down your living quarters with an almost identical product. Call me crazy, but I'd rather cut out the middle man and save a few Benjamins by doing it myself instead of paying a stranger to come into a house every week to do it for me. I hope this review clarifies any confusion that someone might have and provide future buyers with a better understanding of what they're actually paying for. Update: Something I forgot to mention in my original post is the importance of keeping a clean and dry home. The poison works by attacking the bugs' immune system and making them fatally ill. And just like humans require food and lots of fluids to recover when we're sick, so do bugs. Keeping your home dry and clean as possible will allow the extermination process to work much more efficiently.

I have a horrible bug phobia. I use this extensively inside my home. It does pretty well at preventing bugs from being seen in the areas that I have sprayed. Also less bugs come in the windows after I spray around the window frame. It doesn't seem to leave an oily residue or any scent. Its not a good spray to immediately kill a bug though, they take a while to die.

Fantastic product. Sprayed whole house and have not had to re spray. The roaches were awful & the crickets horrible. I trust this product.

Ortho Home Defense does help reduce bugs—but if you live in a townhouse where units share walls, it’s an uphill battle. I used this consistently in my small place—spraying baseboards, around the kitchen sink, and other problem areas—but the bugs kept coming back. Unfortunately, when your neighbors have them too, they just migrate from one unit to the next. You can’t control what’s going on behind their walls. The area around my kitchen sink is the worst. I spray there, but every time you run the water, you rinse the product away. So that area needs frequent reapplications. I went through a full gallon in just a month—and I’m still seeing ants and roaches pop up. To be fair, the townhouse is pretty old (50+ years), and I suspect the infestation runs deep inside the walls and plumbing. At that point, no over-the-counter spray is going to be a permanent fix. I'm actually planning to move soon, because I don’t think this place is salvageable. If you live in a newer or more tightly sealed unit, this product might work better. It’s definitely helpful for spot-treating baseboards and doorways, and I’ve seen some improvement with consistent use. I also tried a few home remedies—like vinegar (bugs avoid the smell) and a sugar + baking soda mix (which is supposed to kill them). Those helped temporarily, especially when I ran out of spray. Bottom line: Ortho Home Defense is okay for managing bugs, but don’t expect miracles in older, shared-wall housing. Be ready to reapply often and consider other solutions too. Sometimes, the only real fix is a change of address.

Live next door to a junkyard, so I am always finding unwanted tenants in my apartment. So I wanted something was quick and cheap, but was efficient in getting rid of this tenants without having to go through the eviction process. It's safe to use around pets. My ESA was in the area when it was used and no unwanted effects. It creates a barrier on both of high traffic areas ( doors, windows, etc). Ants are gone within a few days. Roaches are about 2to 3 weeks but it's a take back to the hive and kill the hive. You will see a lot of high activity for awhile and then it will die down. Dried quickly, seals good to keep bugs out, and is extremely effective on the unwanted tenants.

It came broken, and leaked a LOT. Thankfully I was able to fix the sprayer, and use what was left. It worked very well, very easy to use, and has been working very effectively. Loved this product.