So you’ve got pest control. Every so often, your pest control guy shows up, pulls out a big hose or backpack sprayer, and sprays around your house. Sometimes they treat inside and make you leave for a few hours. Ever wonder, “What exactly did they just apply around my home?” Well, the article is for you.
There’s no single pest management product that pest control companies use that can take care of any and all pest control issues. Like any specialized field, there are different tools for different jobs. Something that absolutely dominates ants might have little to no effect on fleas or bedbugs and vice versa. Here are the main products we use, who names this stuff anyway?
Basic Pesticides
MaxxThor SC
MaxxThor SC Label & information
MaxxThor is a primary residual and repellent pesticide. What that means is it will keep most general pests away from your home, and if any are dumb enough to crawl through it, they’ll be dead soon enough. When treating with MaxxThor, we will treat around the perimeter of the structure, creating a strong barrier that lasts anywhere from 30-45 days.
Contrac Blox
Contrac Blox Label & Information
Contrac Blox are what we use for primary rodent baiting outside of structures with consistent rodent issues. These bright blue chunks look a bit like old play dough that’s been dropped in the mud. The blue color attracts rodents and lures them into eating it. The materials inside the product thin the rodent’s blood terminating them effectively. This method of control makes secondary poisoning very highly unlikely.
All applications of Contrac Blox are made in conjunction with bait stations, small black boxes that are locked tight weighted or fastened to the ground. As an extra precaution, these boxes are tested and rated to be inaccessible to children and pets. Sometimes customers may think we haven’t been maintaining the stations because they gathered a bit of dirt. In reality, we leave them dirty. Rodents love dirty confined areas.
Termidor SC
Termidor is awesome. So awesome in fact, that we are only allowed to apply it once a year because of its effectiveness against ants and many other pests. Because ants are at their worst during the hotter months, we’ve chosen to do our Termidor application during the summer. Termidor works like a bug virus. When an ant crawls through Termidor, he doesn’t die right away. He has just enough time to go back to the ant colony, spreading Termidor all over his little ant buddies in the process. Then they spread it to their ant buddies and before long, the virus has spread all the way to the queen, devastating the colony. Termidor has no repellant qualities, meaning bugs won’t even know it’s there at all until it’s far too late. Seriously, this stuff works really well.
Specialty Pests
Gentrol
Gentrol is a growth regulator typically used on german cockroaches and fleas. Once a bug is infected with Gentrol, its offspring will have birth defects and not be able to survive because of it. A hatching of fleas from parents infected with gentrol with be unable to bite and eat, not long after birth they will starve and die. Growth regulators are a very effective long term form of control.
Advion Roach and Ant Gel Bait
Advion Roach Label & Information
Advion Ant Label & Information
Baiting is great for treating structures where residents can’t vacate long enough to allow normal spray treatments time to dry. This makes baiting a great option for people who work from home or in populated workplaces. The only downside to baiting is that it takes a bit longer for the product to really kick in and take effect. in some cases with roach baiting we will need to use multiple applications spread out over the course of a couple months. Sometimes baiting isn’t the most cost or time effective treatment method. But it does fit a specific need for certain customers who need their bugs taken care of.
Temprid SC
Temprid is our primary bedbug killer. Like MaxxThor, it lasts a long time and kills on contact. But Temprid kicks it up a notch, hitting much harder than MaxxThor. Because it is a more powerful product, Temprid is a worthy adversary to resilient bedbugs and unfortunately a bit more expensive of a pesticide. It also has a strong effect on bed bug eggs and larvae as well, and the residual quality means long lasting protection that hits hard.
When using Temprid for bedbugs, our technicians will use specialized dilutions of Temprid on the mattress itself along with the baseboards of the room. We do not like bedbugs one bit, and Temprid is our go-to solution for most bed bugs infestations.
Other Pest Management Products
Traps, Glue Boards and Rodent Proofing
When dealing with a severe rodent infestation, we will use various methods of trapping and exclusion work to eliminate the population left inside a structure after sealing any possible entrances. First we set snapping traps and glue boards inside the structure around areas where rodents are likely to hang out. We’ll use food like peanut butter, Cliff Bars and crackers as bait for the traps. We then seal any other areas where rodents might reenter the structure with a strong chicken-wire like sheet cut to size. Trapping and proofing work hand in hand to eliminate rodent infestations.
Webster Brushes
The first step in a normal pest control visit is to inspect the perimeter of the property while using a Webster brush to knock down any spider webs. A Webster brush is basically a thick bristled brush extended on a long pole. Destroying spider webs is the best way to deal with a spider infestation. Without their webs, spiders lose their shelter, means of catching food and oftentimes any young offspring, effectively removing their means of surviving and reproducing. While maybe not the most technical treatment method, removing spider webs is the best way to get rid of a spider infestation.