The recent warm wet weather has encouraged increasing populations of these invasive pests.
The single most important factor in limiting cockroach invasions is cleanliness! Encourage good housekeeping practices by your customer. Request that they wash dishes after meals and put them away. They should clean up any food spills as soon as possible. Stored food should be kept in sealed containers. Floors and kitchen worktops need to be cleaned thoroughly and on a regular basis. Garbage should be kept in closed containers and taken out nightly.
Thorough inspection is critical to effective control – know exactly where the infestation is living and breeding – and understand which species of cockroach is the problem.
Depending on the location and severity of the infestation that you are dealing with consider Insecticide Sprays, Dusts, Glueboards, Gels and other Baits or a mixture of these for an effective IPM program.
Where infestations are not too big, baits and gels can work very well. The key to success is to apply many bait placements – small amounts of gel or baits in several locations, rather than using big dollops or tracks of gel. Rotating different gels is also a good idea.
Using insecticidal dusts in conjunction with a gel bait rotation program is powerful and effective as dusts are potent and long-lasting. Utilize the gels in areas where dusts may cause damage such as motorised white-goods.
Crack and crevice application of insecticide sprays is a very useful option for cockroach control. Many customers prefer crack and crevice treatment over general spraying or even void treatments. A crack and crevice treatment is the application of a small amount of insecticide directly into cracks and crevices where cockroaches live or might hide. The German cockroach harbourage is commonly in a space only about 5mm wide.
Remember that liquids, aerosols, dusts and gel baits can all be applied as crack and crevice treatments. Mix it up and rotate actives for optimal results. We carry a full range of the best products in cockroach control along with the expertise and advice on how to best utilise them, so talk to the staff at your local Agserv branch about your about all your cockroach control needs.
Post Author: Andy Knox
