Commercial foggers are professional-grade machines that break liquid pesticide into ultra-fine droplets, creating a mist that hangs in the air and penetrates spaces where pests hide. Unlike the consumer “bug bombs” sold at hardware stores, commercial foggers give pest control operators precise control over droplet size, chemical concentration, and application direction. They come in two main types, each suited to different jobs and environments.
Thermal Foggers vs. ULV Cold Foggers
The two categories of commercial foggers work on fundamentally different principles, and choosing the right one depends on where you’re fogging and what you’re targeting.
Thermal foggers use heat to vaporize a liquid solution into a dense, visible cloud. A heat barrel, typically powered by propane, gasoline, or electricity, reaches high temperatures. When the pesticide solution is pumped into this barrel, it instantly vaporizes into extremely fine particles. Those particles range from 0.5 to 30 microns, though the sweet spot averages 0.5 to 10 microns. The fog is thick and easy to see, which helps operators direct it precisely. The downside is that particle size is inconsistent, meaning the output varies widely within a single application.
ULV (ultra-low volume) cold foggers skip the heat entirely. They use air pressure to atomize the pesticide, powered by electricity, gas