German Cockroach Control
Cockroaches can effect most Commercial premises and also become a homeowner’s nightmare. If given the opportunity, German Cockroaches will become a permanent family member! There are different ways of dealing with this pest, but three qualities required are:
-
Patience;
-
Persistence; and
-
Knowledge
Patience is required as you cannot treat a single time and expect to never see another cockroach. Egg cases (Ootheca) will hatch days later and follow-up treatments are strongly recommended. When sightings occur after treatments, these sightings must be utilized to our advantage. There could be individuals that are missed during the initial treatment, so that area should have additional work carried out.
Persistence is required when dealing with cockroaches due to their biology. Cockroaches develop rapidly and studies confirm they develop faster when their population is under stress. Many of us have experienced a population explosion within two to six weeks after a major clean out. This is nature's way of preserving the species. A treatment schedule must be made and then strictly adhered to when a cockroach infestation is evident. Think long term and schedule treatments for the year. This insures your commitment.
Knowledge is another key element when combating this arthropod. When conducting a site survey don’t rush, a thorough inspection is a must. Use your TORCH. Make sure to monitor the problem areas. Advise that extra treatments are required. If a maintenance program, keep notes of problem areas. These will prove invaluable for identifying patterns of cockroach problems throughout the year.
Cockroach Treatment and Products…
Assess/Treat/Follow-up
Assessment: Must be Comprehensive. Questions that must be answered are,
-
How big is the infestation (population)?
-
How far has it spread?
-
What is required to treat?
-
What must be done after treatment (follow-up)
Once the assessment has been done what type of treatment is required? :-
Cockroach Spraying and Dusting
Traditionally, we have chemically treated as many of the cabinets, wall voids and appliances that cockroaches hide in. This involves a lot of preparation. The need to empty cabinets and make voids accessible is important. Only then can treatments be complete and thorough. Once these areas are prepared, there are a couple of options available for the application. Spray mixesare normally applied behind baseboards, behind appliances and around the infested room being treated with the intention of creating a barrier that cockroaches will not be able to cross. There are many active ingredients available. If the barrier is complete, cockroaches will not migrate from one room to another. Use the amalgamister to do treatments.
When cockroach control was first attempted at the professional level, the products used were so active that spraying would knock out infestations. Even when we only treated baseboards, the volatility of the chemicals used was so strong that cockroaches would die which were far removed from treated surfaces.
Things are very different today. The products manufactured have little if any volatility (change from a liquid to a gas). This means they stay where applied. The advantage is low odour. The disadvantage is that the treatments need to be where the cockroaches are hiding. Cockroaches have been seen thriving less than a foot away from a treated surface. Their path of feeding and moving to and from shelter never crossed the treated surfaces. This has enabled them to live virtually on top of treated areas and yet still survive.
When cockroaches began to build resistance to chemicals and manufacturers designed their products with less volatility, new packaging and treatment techniques became necessary.
These new trends became known as "crack and crevice". Basically, this means applying a chemical into cracks and crevices suspected of harbouring cockroaches. There are all types of products commonly used for this purpose: Gel, Liquid, Dust and Aerosol.
APC has always been able to get control of cockroaches with a dust formulation. In fact, a good pest control technician should be able to get cockroach control with nothing more if he or she knows where to do the application. Apply it in cracks and crevices, behind cabinets and major appliances, in wall voids and electric outlets. Although care should be exercised around any electrical outlets. This requires a lot of work and this product can be messy to work with, but provides the fastest results possible when used properly. Use a hand puffer for the application. Since dust can be messy to work with, aerosol products have become popular; they offer a clean, ready to use formulation which is effective, but mainly used as flushing agents and have no long term effect or residual.
Beware applying these products in areas that are wet or constantly cleaned will make the products become non affective.
The applications of the above methods are effective because insects are not able to build resistance quickly. The stories of super cockroaches and the fact that "even the bugman" couldn't get rid of "my" cockroaches are often heard. But what it all boils down to is the application method and choice of product. Where appropriate products used and the treatment is thorough and complete, there is very little chance of any cockroaches surviving or of reinfestation.
That being said, the need to apply it wherever cockroaches are is critical. This process of eliminating their harbourages eliminates their population. The reason they appear to be "resistant" in most cases, they are simply avoiding treated areas. This can happen when products are mixed at higher rates or when technicians fall victim to treating the same areas over and over again. The cockroaches which survive all these applications are the ones which are going where the technician has failed to treat or provided limited treatment.
Cockroach Baiting
Although spraying has been the main method of cockroach control, baiting has become a legitimate method as new baits hit the market. These products have been tested and proven effective. Baits have always been available, but cockroaches seemed to be indifferent to them. Although some cockroaches would feed and die, it was not likely that you would be able to control infestations with baits alone.
Now we have GEL BAITS. These materials are deadly for cockroaches. One of their benefits is that they are very safe to use in sensitive areas and you won't find a better odourless cockroach killer in any other formulation. These qualities make them perfect for use in cupboards, stove, cabinets, pantries and other food areas of the kitchen both commercial and domestic. Even cockroaches in a car can be effectively treated with the baits and if you need to get cockroach control in appliances or some other hard to treat location, the bait is ideal.
Application with a bait gun allowing for precise controlled applications and placements. They have been formulated with attractants which cockroaches cannot resist. The gel material is applied discreetly in places like cupboards, cabinets, dressers, closets and other areas around the home or commercial premises.
Complete control in homes and commercial kitchens without having to do any spraying has been achieved using Gel based formulations. The advantage of these products is that they can be applied them with a minimum of preparation. If careful, you should be able to apply gels without having to remove anything from your cabinets. The amazing thing about these products is that cockroaches love them to death. So attracted to these products are cockroaches that you only have to get close to where the cockroaches are seen. They will find it. The drawbacks to these products are that they take a little longer to work. It may take several days before dead cockroaches are noticed.
Another disadvantage is that care must be taken not to spray the gel bait placements with traditional materials. It will contaminate the bait and cockroaches will simply ignore it. In fact, cockroaches will ignore gel bait placements that have been placed over treated surfaces, so make sure to apply gel where you are certain no residual pesticide have been applied. In general, make gel bait placements about 2 - 3 feet apart. In the average cabinet, the need to make 6-8 placements is critical. Since most gels come out like toothpaste, it is difficult to penetrate voids with it.
Regardless of the treatment method you choose, another tool which can be a great help when treating and monitoring cockroach infestations is the use of sticky board traps. These rely on cockroach pheromones to attract all types of cockroaches but they work particularly well for German cockroaches and several of the large cockroach species. Place them where cockroaches have been seen.
The pheromones will attract males ready to reproduce and females in search of nest sights (the odours emitted signal a cockroach gathering place or nest). Young cockroaches also look for a colony to mix and mingle. The great advantage of these sticky board traps is that they are non toxic. The pheromones are not detectable by people and pose no hazard to food, people or pets. The sticky board traps can be placed in pantries, food cabinets, desks, dressers, closets, countertops or anywhere cockroach activity is present. The second advantage for using these devices is that they are able to let you know where cockroach activity is greatest an advantage for follow-up services.
It is common to focus on wrong areas when spraying or baiting. The use of these sticky board traps can help identify just exactly where the cockroaches are located. By setting two or three in a room which has cockroach activity, you can learn exactly which part of the room is the "hotspot" which needs extra attention.
The only disadvantage of these sticky board traps is that used alone, they will not control most cockroach problems. It is misleading to believe all the cockroaches being trapped will stop the infestation. Since cockroaches will be reproducing more rapidly than the sticky board traps can catch them, they should not be relied on alone for full control. Ideally, they should be used as another tool to help control and monitor this pest, using them will certainly keep numbers down but not eradicate existing populations.
Whatever form of pest control you choose to implement, try to follow these guidelines? Knowledge is essential and with it comes an understanding of why cockroaches are so hard to control. As difficult as it may seem, you can gain control with patience and persistence. Once control is acquired, preventive maintenance will stop future infestations.
Amalgamated Pest Control Pty Ltd have the very best the world has to offer for pest control policies and procedures. We can control the toughest cockroach population using barrier sprays, dust and gels, and if used together will eradicate any infestation. Employ these same methods and you will be able to control the toughest pest problem.