Every food, medicine, cosmetic, and porous item that sulfuryl fluoride gas can absorb must be sealed away before a tent fumigation begins. The EPA-approved fumigant label spells out the categories, and licensed applicators treat that label as law. Open cereal boxes, prescription bottles, toothpaste tubes, and even sealed bags of dog food go inside Nylofume bags or leave the structure entirely before the crew releases the gas.
This practical walkthrough moves room by room, breaking down which pantry goods, toiletries, pet supplies, and medicines must go into Nylofume bags versus leave the home entirely before a tent fumigation.
Why Bagging Is a Legal Requirement, Not a Suggestion
Sulfuryl fluoride, the active ingredient in Vikane and similar structural fumigants, is an odorless gas engineered to penetrate wood and kill drywood termites at every life stage. That same penetrating power is the problem with your pantry. The molecules slip into porous packaging, into flour, into the gel inside a toothpaste tube, and into the powder inside a tablet.
Once trapped inside, the gas is difficult or impossible to remove by airing out, so the contaminated food or medicine stays tainted for the rest of its shelf life.
EPA-required fumigant labels specify exactly which categories of items must be sealed in Nylofume bags or removed from the structure, and licensed crews in California, Florida, and Hawaii follow those labels as the legal minimum. Vikane’s label, for example, requires that all food, feed, drugs, and medicinals be placed in fumigation bags or carried out before the tent goes up.
Skipping the step is the single most common reason fumigation crews cancel a job on arrival, because the applicator cannot legally release the gas into a home where contamination is certain. That legal floor matches the label’s wording almost word for word.
Why Double-Bagging Actually Matters
A single layer of gas-impermeable nylon reduces fumigant penetration dramatically, but a torn seal or a wrinkle in the film can let enough gas through to taint the contents inside. Double-bagging with a twist tie on the inner bag and fumigation tape on the outer bag turns one weak spot into a sealed system and gives the crew visible proof the seal held when they inspect the home before tenting.
The few extra minutes spent doubling each bag is the cheapest insurance against a re-fumigation, and large reviews of fumigation failures back the double-bag approach as standard practice across the industry.
Sorting Every Item Into Bag, Remove, or Leave
The label sorts everything in your home into three buckets: bag and leave inside, remove from the structure entirely, or leave in place because it cannot absorb gas. Knowing which bucket each item falls into is the entire job, and the table below maps the most common categories at a glance.
Bag and Leave Inside the Structure
- Open food containers: cereal, crackers, spices, flour, sugar, rice, pasta, opened cans, and anything in a torn or pierced package
- Sealed porous foods: bread, chips, pet kibble, birdseed, and baking soda, because the factory seal is rarely gas-tight at the molecular level
- Medicines and supplements: prescription bottles, OTC tablets, vitamins, herbal tinctures, baby formula, and anything with an active ingredient on the label
- Cosmetics and toiletries: lotions, perfumes, lip balms, deodorants, toothpaste, and contact lens solution
- Smoking and vaping gear: cigarettes, e-liquids, pipes, and rolling tobacco
Remove From the Structure Entirely
- Living plants: any houseplant, including cut flowers in water, because sulfuryl fluoride damages foliage at label-listed concentrations
- Pets and animals: dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish in aquariums, and any small mammal, since no bag will protect a living creature
- Refrigerated medications: insulin, certain injectables, and biologics that cannot tolerate a 24 to 72 hour warm, sealed environment
- Heat-sensitive items: candles, aerosols, and pressurized cans, which the crew may ask you to remove as a fire precaution
Leave in Place
- Unopened glass jars: with intact factory seals and metal lids, because gas cannot penetrate the glass-and-metal barrier
- Unopened metal cans: with no dents, rust, or compromised seams, because the steel wall blocks penetration
- Original unbreached packaging: shrink-wrapped boxes, factory-sealed toys, and electronics in original cartons
| Item Category | Bag It | Remove It | Leave It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opened food | Yes | Optional | No |
| Sealed porous food (bread, chips) | Yes | Optional | No |
| Unopened glass jar, intact seal | No | No | Yes |
| Unopened metal can, no damage | No | No | Yes |
| Prescription medication | Yes (if room temp) | Yes (if refrigerated) | No |
| Cosmetics and lotions | Yes | Optional | No |
| Plants and pets | Never | Yes | No |
| Clothing in dresser drawers | No | No | Yes (unless label specifies) |
| Mattress in plastic cover | Optional | No | Yes if sealed |
| Electronics in original box | No | No | Yes |
Choosing the Right Bag and Sealing It Correctly
Nylofume bags are the industry standard because the manufacturer engineered the nylon-polyethylene film specifically to block sulfuryl fluoride. Dow AgroSciences, the original maker of Vikane, sells the bags directly through licensed applicators, and most fumigation companies stock them for resale. Standard kitchen trash bags, zip-top freezer bags, and contractor-grade polyethylene sheeting all fail at the molecular level.
Fumigant molecules pass through the seams and through the film itself in concentrations high enough to taint the contents, so substitutes cannot stand in even when doubled or tripled.
Sourcing Bags in the Right Quantity
A 2,000 square foot home typically requires 25 to 40 Nylofume bags in medium and large sizes, depending on how much food sits on the shelves. The fumigation company is the easiest source, since they already know the bag spec their crew will accept, and most charge $2 to $4 per bag. Specialty pest supply retailers and online bulk sellers carry the same product in cases of 50 or 100.
Buy at least 10 percent more than your first estimate, because a torn seal mid-prep is far easier to fix when a spare bag is already on the counter.
A well-stocked bag supply makes the room walk far less stressful, since every missing item gets caught before it becomes a re-fumigation risk.
Double-Bagging and Labeling Technique
- Step 1: Load the inner bag. Leave about four inches of headspace, twist the neck, and seal with a tight twist tie.
- Step 2: Set the inner bag inside a second Nylofume bag. Twist and seal the second bag the same way, then wrap fumigation tape around the neck to lock the seal.
- Step 3: Label each finished bag with the room. Masking tape and a Sharpie on the outside of the outer bag saves hours during the unbagging phase.
- Step 4: Stage sealed bags on a countertop or table. Keep them off the floor so the crew can inspect every seal at a glance when they walk through.
The cheapest seal is the one you only have to do once. A folded-over twist tie costs nothing, and a torn bag costs a reschedule.
Walking Through Each Room to Catch What Gets Missed
The most common fumigation-day cancellation comes from a single forgotten item in an unexpected pocket of the home. Working room by room with a notepad turns vague memory into a checked list, and the pad itself catches the items no article ever mentions. Treat each room as its own pass, and you cut the risk of a canceled tent to near zero.
Kitchen and Pantry
Every box, bag, and opened jar on every shelf, plus pet food stored on the lower racks, belongs in a Nylofume bag before the crew arrives. Open the spice cabinet and the baking aisle, pull the bread box and the chip basket, then check inside the microwave and on top of the refrigerator. A forgotten cough drop or a stray granola bar on top of the fridge has canceled more fumigation jobs than any other single item.
Pet food stored in the garage counts too, even if the bag is sealed, because kibble and seed absorb gas through the plastic.
Bathrooms and Bedrooms
Prescription bottles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotions, and any OTC remedies live in the bathroom medicine cabinet and the bedroom nightstand. The dresser drawer does not need bagging because the label leaves clothing in place, but the loose tube of lip balm in the drawer absolutely does. Pull stuffed animals off the bed and bag them, since the fabric and fill hold gas longer than solid surfaces.
Crib mattresses, mattress toppers, and foam pillows belong in Nylofume bags only if your fumigation company’s label calls for it, and most leave them in place.
Garage, Laundry Room, and Coat Pockets
Birdseed, charcoal, dry pet food in opened bags, and cleaning supplies with fragrances all sit in the garage and laundry room, each requiring a sealed fumigation bag before tenting. The coat pocket is where the final pass earns its name. A single cough drop, a tin of mints, a pack of gum, or a tube of hand cream in a coat pocket on the entryway hook has stopped more tent jobs than any pantry mistake.
Walk the entryway with the notepad in hand and check every coat, every bag, and every hook before the crew arrives.
Handling Items That Cannot Be Bagged or Mid-Prep Failures
Some items refuse to fit any bag, and some bags refuse to stay sealed. Both situations have clear recovery steps if you catch them before the tent goes up, and almost no recovery options if you catch them after. A phone call to the crew is the cheapest fix in either case.
Items That Refuse a Bag
Refrigerated medications, live plants, and aquarium fish all need to leave the structure rather than get sealed. A cooler with ice packs works for insulin and similar biologics during the 24 to 72 hour tent period, but the medication has to travel with a friend or sit in a working fridge elsewhere.
Live plants, including orchids and African violets, are sensitive to sulfuryl fluoride at label-listed concentrations and should go to a friend or sit outside under a covered patio away from the tent. Aquarium fish belong in a temporary tank with a battery-powered aerator if the fumigation is short, or with a sitter if it runs longer.
Mid-Prep Failures
Running out of bags, a torn seal, or discovering an item after the crew arrives all have the same first move: a phone call. Most fumigation crews carry spare Nylofume stock and will sell or lend a few bags on the spot. A torn inner bag can be re-double-bagged as long as the contents never left the inner seal. A torn outer bag alone is fine, because the inner bag did the actual work.
The only mid-prep failure that cannot be fixed is finding an open food container after the tent has gone up, because the gas has already started its work.
Calling the crew before the tent goes up is always cheaper than rescheduling the entire fumigation.
Re-Entry, Unsealing, and What Happens to the Bags Afterward
The fumigation company performs clearance testing with a sensitive device such as a Gas-Tec or a Miran before anyone re-enters the home. Sulfuryl fluoride breaks down into fluoride ions in the atmosphere, and the clearance test confirms those ions have dropped below the EPA’s re-entry threshold. Only after that clearance does the crew release the home back to you, and only then should you start opening sealed fumigation bags.
Opening the Bags Safely
Bagged items stay sealed until the structure clears, and they open one bag at a time in a ventilated room. Open the outer bag first, then the inner, and place the contents on a clean counter. Any food, medicine, or cosmetic that was missed and unsealed during the fumigation must be discarded rather than trusted to off-gas, because the label’s aeration period does not cover porous contaminated items.
The empty Nylofume bags are single-use and should go into the regular trash once unpacked, since the film is designed for one fumigation cycle and cannot be reliably resealed.
Saving the Empty Bags for Next Time
A few clean, empty Nylofume bags tucked into a garage bin stay ready as a reference for the next fumigation cycle. The shape and size give you a head start on counting what you need, and the leftover supply covers the inevitable torn seal.
Fumigation is rare enough that most homeowners only do it once or twice in a property’s lifetime, but the empty bags still serve as a visual reminder of what each item type looked like sealed, which speeds the next prep by hours.
Final Takeaways
Fumigation prep comes down to three decisions made before the crew arrives: which items to seal in Nylofume bags, which to carry out of the structure entirely, and which to leave in place because the factory seal already blocks gas. Get those three decisions right and the tent goes up on schedule, the applicator signs off without a redo, and you return to a home where every consumable is safe to use.
Keep a few spare bags on hand, label every sealed bag by room, and make the final coat-pocket pass before the crew walks in.
FAQ
Do you have to bag clothes and linens for fumigation?
Clothing, bedding, and stuffed animals typically stay in place during a Vikane or sulfuryl fluoride fumigation, because the gas does not penetrate fabrics the way it penetrates porous food. Your fumigation company may ask you to bag mattresses or down comforters if the label for your specific treatment calls for it, so confirm before prep day.
What kind of bags are used for fumigation?
Nylofume bags are the industry standard for sulfuryl fluoride fumigation, made of a gas-impermeable nylon-polyethylene film that blocks fumigant molecules. Standard trash bags, zip-top freezer bags, and contractor-grade polyethylene sheeting all fail at the molecular level and cannot substitute, even when doubled or tripled.
Do medicines and toiletries need to be bagged?
Every prescription bottle, OTC tablet, vitamin, herbal tincture, lotion, perfume, lip balm, and tube of toothpaste must go into a Nylofume bag or leave the structure entirely. Refrigerated medications like insulin cannot tolerate a sealed bag for the full tent period and should travel with you or sit in a working fridge elsewhere for the 24 to 72 hours the tent is up.
How long after fumigation can you open the bags?
Wait until the fumigation company performs clearance testing and confirms the home has dropped below the EPA re-entry threshold for sulfuryl fluoride, usually 24 to 72 hours after the tent comes down. Once cleared, open the bags one at a time in a ventilated room and discard any item that was left unsealed during the fumigation.
Are electronics required to be bagged for fumigation?
Electronics in their original factory-sealed boxes can stay in place during fumigation, because the cardboard and foam block fumigant penetration. Laptops, televisions, and small appliances that sit loose on a counter should be unplugged and bagged in Nylofume or moved to a garage, since the crew treats loose electronics as an unknown and the label is conservative on anything with a battery or a circuit board.
Where can you buy Nylofume bags in bulk?
Most fumigation companies sell Nylofume bags directly for $2 to $4 each, and specialty pest supply retailers carry the same product online in cases of 50 or 100. Buying 10 percent more than your first estimate covers a torn seal mid-prep and saves the cost of an emergency run on fumigation day.
