Active ingredient
Lambda-cyhalothrin
Pyrethroid (sodium channel modulator)
A second-generation pyrethroid with the same reach and the same limits as bifenthrin.
What it does
Contact control of surface insects, and it is effective there. UGA lists the pyrethroids among the common treatments for fall armyworms.
What it does not do
The same underground failure applies: it does not get to a white grub. One product in our own catalogue is named for season-long grub control and contains this active, which is the clearest example on the site of a name outrunning its chemistry.
The label constraint people miss
UGA reports southern chinch bug resistance to this active alongside imidacloprid, bifenthrin and deltamethrin — which covers most of the consumer shelf. Rotate classes rather than repeating one.
Products we review that contain it
Every product below is here because we opened its label — on EPA's own database or the registrant's — and read Lambda-cyhalothrin in the ingredient statement. Registration numbers are on each product's page.
Surface Insecticide (granular)
BioAdvanced Season Long Grub Control Granules
★★★☆☆ (2.6/5)
The clearest example on this shelf of a product whose name promises a job its chemistry is not the recommended tool for.
Best for: Surface pests like mole crickets and chinch bugs — not the grub job the name implies
$24–$29
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Professional Surface Insecticide (microencapsulated)
Syngenta Demand CS Insecticide Concentrate
★★★★☆ (4.1/5)
A professional microencapsulated pyrethroid — excellent at what pest-control operators buy it for, which is structures and perimeters rather than lawns.
Best for: Perimeter and structural pest work around the house, not whole-lawn or grub treatment
$36–$44 (8 oz)
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Guides that use Lambda-cyhalothrin
- Bahiagrass: The Pasture Grass Used as a Lawn
- Mole Crickets: Treat in June, Not When You See Them
- Best Grub Killer: Two Actives, and One Aisle Full of Wrong Ones
- Grub Preventer vs Grub Killer: The Bag May Be Neither
- Chinch Bugs: How to Confirm Them and What Kills Them
- Lawn Grubs: How and When to Kill Them
Buy for the active, then read the label anyway. Two products with the same active are not interchangeable — concentration, labelled sites and species tolerances all vary, and a three-part registration number means a narrowed label. How to read one in two minutes. Where our page and your container disagree, the container is the legal authority.