How to Make Their Last Meal a Good One

We all have our preferences. We like different foods, prefer different colors, place the toilet paper roll facing inward or outward. PMPs find preferences in equipment, pesticide formulations, even products within a brand. These preferences are usually a reflection of our personalities. However, they can hinder successful treatments for PMPs without a long-term strategy.

Have you ever gone to an account with your favorite roach bait, completed your treatment like you’ve always done and walked away confidently thinking of past successes — only to follow up and find cockroaches still present with little to no feeding on the bait you’ve so carefully placed? What’s going on? You might be dealing with bait-averse cockroaches.

Resistance is a major concern for most PMPs. Many assume resistance is an active ingredient no longer working. Protocols to rotate product and the mode of action stem from an effort to combat resistance. Resistance significantly impacts the industry, but we sometimes forget that resistance comes in several forms. Refusing bait is a kind of behavioral resistance. Behaviorally resistant cockroaches might well succumb to the active ingredient but are averse to other components in a bait and refuse to consume it. Extended use of a single bait can lead to this type of resistance. Not adjusting your strategy leads to a waste of product, time and money.

A cockroach bait has several components. In addition to the active ingredient, a bait matrix contains ingredients that increase palatability and stimulate feeding. A bait may be more or less attractive to a cockroach based on current nutritional needs. To test bait preferences of cockroaches on site, place a bead of a couple different baits onto a business card, then place the card in an area likely to encounter cockroaches. Check the card after a set amount of time to evaluate and compare consumption of each placement. Remember that each infestation is different. You might find bait aversion at one location and greedy consumption of the same bait at another.

MGK’s Vendetta line offers three kinds of cockroach gel bait to address varying degrees of infestation: Vendetta Nitro for heavy infestation and cleanouts; Vendetta Plus with an IGR to help gain control; and Vendetta to maintain control. We recommend rotating cockroach baits two to four times each year to combat potential resistance. When choosing baits for your rotation, consider the food matrix in addition to mode of action.

Cockroach baits have many advantages and have been a key component for many success stories. Continue your success with MGK’s Vendetta products.