Zevo Reviews - Does It Kill All Insects?

What is Zevo?

By Derek Lakin

HighYa Staff Published on: Jul 17, 2018

Zevo manufactures a line of instant action, bio-selective sprays that use essential oils to target nervous system receptors only active in insects, which quickly paralyze and kill them on contact. They also offer a Flying Insect trap that can kill insects for up to a month and a half.

Because of these mechanisms of action, the company advertises their revolutionary products are safe for use around people and pets, and their sprays—all of which feature precision triggers that allow you to spray from a distance accurately—are effective for both indoor and outdoor use.

Zevo’s insect sprays and traps certainly come with competitive prices, but will they deliver on their advertising promises? Let’s start by zooming in and examining their product lineup.

Taking a Closer Look at Zevo’s Insect Spray & Trap Ingredients

There are currently four Insect Spray formulas in the Zevo lineup, all of which promise to quickly paralyze and kill insects without the use of imiprothrin, cypermethrin, pyrethroids, butane, or propane:

Ant, Roach, Fly Multi-Insect Killer

This is formulated to eliminate ants, roaches, flies, fruit flies, drain flies, gnats, spiders, crickets, moths, mosquitoes, and other flying and crawling insects.

The only active ingredients are geraniol and lemongrass oil. Inert ingredients include white mineral oil, isopropyl alcohol, butyl lactate, isopropyl myristate, and triethyl citrate.

Wasp, Hornet & Yellow Jacket Stinging Insect Killer

Formulated to exterminate wasps (including their nests), hornets, yellow jackets, and other stinging insects.

The active ingredients are geraniol and cinnamon oil, while inert ingredients include white mineral oil, 2-propanol vanillin, isopropyl myristate, triethyl citrate, and carbon dioxide.

Ant, Roach & Spider; Crawling Insect Killer

Uses one active ingredient (geraniol), along with inert ones like white mineral oil, 2-propanol vanillin, isopropyl myristate, triethyl citrate, lactic acid n-butyl ester, and carbon dioxide, to kill “ants, cockroaches, spiders, crickets, beetles and other crawling insects.”

Fly, Gnat & Fruit Fly Flying Insect Killer

Also uses geraniol (and inert white mineral oil, 2-propanol vanillin, isopropyl myristate, triethyl citrate, lactic acid n-butyl ester, carbon dioxide) to kill flies, fruit flies, gnats, drain flies, moths, and mosquitoes.

Pro tip: You’ll notice that except for cinnamon oil, Zevo’s Stinging and Crawling spray formulas are the same.

Zevo Flying Insect Trap

This system features a plug-in base that uses two blue and UV LEDs (for a total of four) to attract insects like houseflies, fruit and drain flies, mosquitoes, midges, moths, gnats, fleas, and flying roaches toward a strong adhesive pad. Once stuck, it holds them in place until they dehydrate and die.

This pad is attached to a plastic shell-shaped cartridge with discreet openings, and the Insect Trap can’t be operated without one in place. After about 45 days (or when it’s full), you’ll simply pop out the old cartridge, replace it with a fresh one, and plug the device back into an outlet.

The Zevo Insect Trap. Credit: Procter & Gamble

Could the Ingredients in Zevo’s Insect Sprays Cause Side Effects?

While we didn’t test any formulas during our research, Consumer Reports tells us that the FDA doesn’t consider botanicals like geraniol, lemongrass oil, and cinnamon oil serious safety risks. Still, they point out that botanical-based insecticides can sometimes contain high levels of allergens.

With this in mind, the Zevo website explains that since their Instant Action Sprays are comprised of “naturally occurring compounds found in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices,” they’re considered safe around people and other mammals like dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, and rabbits.

They emphasize their sprays shouldn’t be used around fish, birds, or reptiles. You should also never apply them directly to your skin, to pet’s fur, or to plants or soil.

How Much Does Zevo Cost & Where Can You Buy?

If purchased from Zevo’s main website, customers will pay:

Ant, Roach & Spider Crawling Insect Spray (10 oz): $5.99
Ant, Roach & Fly Multi-Insect Spray (12 oz – available in Standard and Trigger Spray bottles): $5.99
Wasp, Hornet & Yellow Jacket Stinging Insect Spray (10 oz): $5.99
Fly, Gnat & Fruit Fly Flying Insect Spray (10 oz): $5.99
Flying Insect Trap Kits: $14.99 - $45.99
Flying Insect Trap Refill Kits: $5.99 refill kits

We also encountered several bundles priced between $16.99 and $45.99.

On the other hand, ZevoOffer.com offered only the Crawling Insect and Flying Insect formulas, which were priced at:

1 Can: $5.99
2 Cans: $10.99
3 Cans: $15.99

All direct orders come with free shipping, as well as a 30-day refund policy, less S&H. Note: Their terms emphasize they “cannot accept items back that have been opened or used unless the item was received by you in a damaged or defective condition.”

To request one, support can be reached at 866-215-1297 or help@zevoinsect.com.

We also found several of Zevo’s products sold on HomeDepot.com (as well as in-store) for about the same prices. Third-party refund policies may vary.

What Can We Learn From Zevo Online Customer Reviews?

On Home Depot’s website, we encountered 80+ customer reviews for Zevo’s Flying Insect Trap, who had given it an average rating of about 2.3 stars. There, most compliments seemed to reference ease of use and effective results, while complaints frequently revolved around less-than-stellar results and high prices.

Comparatively, Zevo’s sprays, traps, and bundles came with meaningfully higher 4.5-star average ratings on the brand’s website. Compliments and (the relatively few) complaints were similar to those found elsewhere online for their traps.

Most customers also reported good results with the company’s different spray formulations, although the relatively few complaints often cited less-than-stellar smell, and indicated that they tend to leave behind an oily residue.

Zevo vs. the Competition: Are Natural Insecticides Effective?

UV Light Insect Traps

There are many theories as to why insects as a whole are drawn toward UV light. Despite this incomplete understanding, there are perhaps hundreds of different products available in all shapes, sizes, and designs that take advantage of this attraction by combining UV lights with sticky surfaces and/or dehydrating fans to kill insects, without the use of chemicals.

However, limiting our options only to wall-mounted plug-in devices in direct competition to Zevo, we found significantly fewer. These included the:

Dynatrap Flylight ($20 - $35) – Uses a specially designed aluminum plate along with heat, CO2, and a built-in fan to attract and trap flying insects. Higher-priced indoor models can cover up to 2,000 square feet.
Hoont Indoor Plug-in Sticky Fly Trap Catcher ($30) – Except for the grille, features very similar design and functionality as Zevo’s Flying Insect Traps. Includes two replaceable adhesive glue boards ($12 for a five-pack of additional replacements).
Gardner Fly Web Trap ($32) – Only includes one replacement board. A 10-pack of replacements is priced at $10, and each bulb is priced about the same price.

Given their similar functionality and price points, choosing the best option might largely come down budget—not just initial price, but the cost of replacing boards and bulbs (when applicable).

Botanical Insecticide Sprays

When it comes to sprays, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension explains there are several effective plant-based insecticides used on a commercial basis—including pyrethrins, sabadilla, nicotine, Linalool, and neem—but that are very low on the toxicity scale for mammals. Often, they work by shutting down the insect's nervous system or other important bodily functions.

However, they emphasize “products containing these active ingredients must be registered for use by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and used in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).”

The Consumer Reports article cited earlier, though, points out that because the FDA doesn’t consider botanical ingredients like those found in natural sprays such as Zevo as serious safety risks, they’re not “required to prove to federal regulators that they actually work. And CR's testing has repeatedly found that they don’t work well.”

Still, we found many competing botanical sprays, most of which ranged in price between $10 and $20, putting Zevo’s options at the lower end of the price spectrum. Does this necessarily mean you should give them a try?

Coming to a Conclusion About Zevo’s Chemical-Free Insecticides

Zevo’s lineup is brought to us by Procter & Gamble, a company who’s been in business since 1837, manufactures thousands of products, and held an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, as of 7/17/18. They also stand behind Zevo with a 30-day refund policy and their products seemed to come with mostly positive online customer feedback.

Just keep in mind that as soon as you try any of them, you won’t be able to process a refund through the manufacturer.

Considering you can potentially have their products in your hand faster by shopping at a local Home Depot, as well as return it there if it doesn’t meet your needs after testing, it might make logical sense to go this route. This could also save return S&H charges back to the manufacturer.