Why the Sniper Pesticide May Be Dangerous To Your Health

The Sniper Insecticide is a pesticide marketed by Swiss-Nigeria Chemical Company. It has gone on to become a very popular brand in Nigeria today as many families use it in eradicating mosquitoes, cockroaches, bed bugs etc.

Sniper insecticide
Sniper insecticide

This is despite the fact that it is clearly written on the bottle that it is meant for outdoor use only and should be mixed with water to reduce its concentration. Today is overused and abused.

Many people would rather use Sniper insecticide rather than use other brands of insecticides that have been tested and reported safe for home use. This is due to many factors which include its supposed effectiveness, the price and their ignorance about the health dangers. A bottle of Sniper insecticide costs five hundred naira, while a regular insecticide costs between seven hundred naira and one thousand naira.

The use of Sniper has also been known to cause a number of deaths of children who mistakenly ingested the liquid.

According to Encomium NG, a mom, Mrs Fola Adegbola who was a regular user of the liquid stopped when her neighbor’s daughter died after drinking it.

I stopped using it when my friend’s little child drank it and died from it. I have little children and don’t want to endanger them, children are very mischievous and may go to where it is hidden and play with it. It is better to be safe than to be sorry so I’ve decided to use the regular insecticide.

Fumigation expert Olumuyiwa Alabi, also expressed his fears about the use of Sniper against other regular insecticides saying,

Sniper is not safe and has been removed from WHO approved list of public health insecticides. So, people should consult with professional fumigation experts that will recommend healthy chemicals/products for use.

How to use the Sniper insecticide


The compound used in the manufacture of Sniper belongs to the DDVP chemical family, (DiChlorvos) 2, 2-Dichlorovinyl DiMethyl phosphate compound. Given the grave dangers of using this insecticide, experts have suggested that it should be mixed with water, as directed on the bottle. The purpose of its use as a guide to the amount of water it should be diluted with.

Sniper Insecticide Side Effects

Center For Disease Control (CDC) , states that the effects of exposure may include irritation of eyes, skin; miosis, eyes pain; rhinorrhea (discharge of thin nasal mucus); headache; chest tightness, wheezing, laryngeal spasm, salivation; cyanosis; anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; sweating; muscle fasciculation, paralysis, dizziness, ataxia; convulsions; low blood pressure, cardiac irregularity. It can also trigger bronchioconstrictions (asthmatic attacks).

Long term effects of the Sniper Insecticide are damage in the lungs, which later may result to lung cancer.

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