Today there is a lot of competition in the insecticide market, so manufacturers are trying to maintain their brand in terms of quality and pricing policy. Choosing a strong cockroach repellent is not that difficult. When purchasing, pay attention to five criteria.
- Result. Some products make cockroaches flee, others kill pests outright, and others have a delayed effect for cascading destruction of the entire colony.
- Speed of action. This is a purely individual indicator. Some people want to get rid of the problem in one day, while others are ready to suffer a little for the safety of their household and a longer-lasting effect.
- Safety. It is important that insecticides do not have a toxic effect on humans and domestic animals. If it is possible to leave the room during the treatment, you can choose more caustic and effective means.
- Easy to use. In order for a person to have as little contact with the insecticide as possible, you need to choose products that are ready for use.
- Price. Having assessed the scale of the problem, calculate how many packages of insecticide you will need, how many times you will have to apply the treatment, and how much money you will have to spend on all this. The total amount should not exceed the cost of services of professional exterminators.
Product description
The product is a concentrate of insecticidal microcapsules with a wide spectrum of effects. It is able to effectively destroy not only cockroaches, but also bed bugs, ants, fleas and other small parasites, regardless of their stage of development. Due to the almost complete absence of foreign odor, the suspension can be used in residential premises, various types of institutions, enterprises, etc.
To begin disinfestation, the concentrated liquid must be diluted. In this case, the proportions are approximately 50 ml per 1 liter of water. The received dose is quite enough to treat 5 m2. The kit does not include a spray bottle. You can use any empty container from household chemicals. It can be used to process any surfaces that are difficult to reach, for example, baseboards, back walls on shelves.
How to get rid of cockroaches using folk remedies
Everything we list is good for poisoning insects when there are few of them or is used as an addition to the main poison. First, let's talk about the most effective methods.
Boric acid
This inexpensive powder will work within a few days of treatment. You can simply scatter it, but this is not a very effective way.
DIY boric acid bait recipe
- Hard boil a few eggs.
- Separate and mash the yolk.
- Mix it with boric acid.
- Roll small balls and place them under sinks, near pipes, next to baseboards, the refrigerator, and the trash can.
- After a few days, make new balls.
Boric acid por. external 10g No. 1
Vinegar and ammonia
The use of ammonia and vinegar must be daily for any results to appear. Or an additional means of disinfection. You need to make a water solution and spray or wipe baseboards, cabinets and other surfaces.
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Herbs and essential oils
It is believed that Prussians are repelled by the scent of wormwood and bay leaves. Of course, this method can only work as prevention.
Jar trap
- Lubricate the inside of a liter jar with Vaseline.
- Place a piece of bread or other product on the bottom.
- Place a trap in the kitchen. You can throw it away in the morning.
The disadvantage of the method is obvious - this procedure will have to be carried out every day and it will not help if there are too many pests.
Mode of application
Approximately 40-50 ml of the drug is added to one liter of water. The resulting suspension is poured into a sprayer or spray bottle. After this, large areas can be treated. Before you start spraying, you need to make sure that clothes, things, bedding, dishes and food are out of the area of the product.
Furniture moves away from the walls and people and pets leave the room. When processing, special attention is paid to hard-to-reach places where pests can potentially hide. In addition, all windows in the room are closed during operation. After about 10 hours they can be opened. At the end of the disinfestation session, wet cleaning is carried out.
The amount of “Effect” required for the preparation of working emulsions:
| Concentration (%) AI | Concentration (%) working emulsion by drug | Amount of product (ml) per (l) of water | ||
| 1 l | 10 l | 100 l | ||
| 0,05 | 0,45 | 5,55 : 0,99345 | 55,5 : 9,9345 | 555 : 99,345 |
| 0,1 | 0,9 | 11,11 : 0,98879 | 111,1 : 9,8879 | 1111 : 98,879 |
| 0,2 | 1,8 | 22,22 : 0,97767 | 222,2 : 9,7767 | 2222 : 97,767 |
| 0,5 | 4,5 | 55,55 : 0,94435 | 555,5 : 9,4435 | 5555 : 94,435 |
| 1,0 | 9,0 | 111,11 : 0,88889 | 1111,0 : 8,888 | 11110 : 88,880 |
Pet-safe solutions
It is not so easy to choose a remedy for cockroaches in an apartment with pets. Curious pets strive to taste the treated surfaces, which can end very disastrously. Products of natural origin can be considered harmless to pets. At the moment there are three of them.
- Diatomite It is a sedimentary rock containing fragments of diatoms. A powder with pronounced abrasive properties damages the chitinous cover of cockroaches, which leads to dehydration and death of the pests.
- Pyrethrum (Persian powder). These are crushed Dalmatian chamomile flowers. This is the very first pyrethrene insecticide, known since ancient times. It was he who formed the basis for the development of modern pyrethroids.
- Boric acid. It is a natural antiseptic that has been used for medical purposes for a long time. Once in the body of a cockroach, it affects the central nervous system.
Owners of cats and dogs have adapted to using Bars anti-flea spray against cockroaches. The fipronil-based product is intended for contact treatment of animal fur, therefore, it is not dangerous for them. The product is sprayed in areas of potential pest habitat.
Interestingly, until a certain point, our ancestors did not fight cockroaches at all. Moreover, their presence in the house was considered a symbol of prosperity, and the mass exodus of insects was considered a bad omen. But over time, people realized that these unsympathetic creatures were dangerous. Asthma, bronchitis, severe allergic reactions, infectious diseases - this is how the cockroach “thanks” a person for living on his territory. Therefore, we need to fight them. Reviews of cockroach repellents prove that modern insecticides can cope with the problem.
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Safety
The drug belongs to the third class of danger. It is practically non-toxic for people. When diluted to the extent specified in the instructions, it will not harm pets. During work, use gloves, a respirator and protective clothing. At the end of the treatment, the clothes are shaken out outside and then washed.
When spraying, you must not smoke, eat or drink in the room where the session is taking place.
The substance must be stored in the bottle in which it is supplied. It must be kept away from fire, food, medications and heating devices. Children and animals should not have easy access to the chemical. This product requires special preparation when used. You must carefully read the instructions for use and follow safety precautions.
Popular means
To choose the best cockroach gel, it is not enough to study the manufacturer’s promises on the packaging. Sometimes you need to become a little chemist to figure out which drug will be most effective. The effectiveness of cockroach repellents is determined by the insecticide included in its composition.
With fipronil
Fipronil is an intestinal and contact insecticide that is characterized by relatively high effectiveness in the fight against cockroaches. The substance destroys the cells of the central nervous system of insects. Moreover, it acts slowly (within eight hours), which gives the cockroach the opportunity to return to the colony. What follows is a cascading effect. A fairly high concentration of insecticide remains in the feces and corpse of a poisoned insect, which is lethal to “healthy” insects. Within three days, up to 95% of cockroaches (as well as ants) in the room die. The table contains popular fipronil-based gels.
Table - Fipronil-based gels
| Name | Peculiarities | Insecticide concentration, % | Price, rubles |
| "Dohloks" (Oboronkhim) | — Yellow-white creamy mass; - without smell; - packaging in the form of a syringe; — death of cockroaches on day 2; - activity for 2 months | 0,05 | 50 |
| "Brownie" | — Gel-like mass of yellow color; - packaging in the form of a syringe; - the smell of cat food; - death of cockroaches after 2-3 hours | 0,05 | 100 |
| "Tarakanoff" | — Translucent gel-like mass of yellow color; — packaging in the form of a syringe or tube; - without smell; - activity for 2 months | 0,05 | 90 |
| "Attack" | — Transparent gel-like mass; — packaging in the form of a tube or syringe; - the smell of vanilla; — activity for 2 months; — chain death of pests over 6 months | 0,05 | 55 |
| "Bullitt" | — White gel-like mass; - packaging in the form of a syringe; - without smell | 0,05 | 350 |
| "Goliath" | — Light brown gel-like mass; — packaging in the form of a cartridge for a syringe; — attracts pests from a distance of 1-2 m; — resistant to light and temperature fluctuations; — death of cockroaches after 8 hours; - activity for 3 months | 0,05 | 4500 (for 4 cartridges) |
| "Trap" | — Translucent gel with a yellowish tint; - packaging in the form of a syringe; - death of cockroaches after 5 days | 0,05 | 40 |
| "Combat" | — Packaging in the form of a syringe or tube; - without smell; — preventive effect for 9 months | 0,01 | 200 |
With chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos is an organophosphate insecticide that is considered one of the most effective today. If it gets on the shell or in the digestive tract of an insect, the substance blocks the transmission of nerve impulses, which provokes paralysis. The insecticide is resistant to both light and temperature changes. With frequent use, cockroaches may develop resistance to the poison. The table contains popular products based on chlorpyrifos.
Table - Gels based on chlorpyrifos
| Name | Peculiarities | Insecticide concentration, % | Price, rubles |
| "Global" (Exil) | — Thick gel paste; — packaging in the form of a tube; — before use, the tube must be kneaded in your hands; — the original German product is protected by a hologram; - the smell of cocoa; — death of cockroaches after 1-2 weeks; — activity for 4 months | 0,5 | 450 |
| "Taiga" | — Packaging in the form of a syringe; — death of cockroaches on day 2; - activity for 3 months | 1 | 90 |
| "Clean house" | — Transparent or cloudy gel; — packaging in the form of a tube or syringe; - without smell; — death of cockroaches after 3-5 days; - activity throughout the month | 0,05 | 50 |
| "Absolute" | — Gel-like mass of light beige color; — packaging in the form of a tube or syringe; - without smell; — activity throughout the month; — preventive action for 4 months | 0,5 | 200 |
| "A great warrior" | — A mass resembling honey in color and consistency; — the composition is supplemented with the intestinal insecticide diazinon (0.2%); — packaging in the form of a tube or syringe; — activity for 2 months; — death of cockroaches on the 4th day; — insects completely disappear after 2 weeks; - when processed more than 2 times it is ineffective | 0,3 | 50 |
| "Crossbow" | — Gel-like mass of dark yellow or dark gray color; — packaging in the form of a tube; - without smell; - activity throughout the month | 0,5 | 70 |
With diazinon
Diazinon is an enteric insecticide that has a nerve-paralytic effect on insects and some warm-blooded animals. This is due to blocking the production of enzymes responsible for the transmission of nerve impulses. The product is toxic to humans, so it can only be used as a last resort when other insecticides are powerless. The table contains popular diazinon-based products.
Table - Diazinon-based gels
| Name | Peculiarities | Insecticide concentration, % | Price, rubles |
| "Face" | — Packaging in the form of a tube; — death of cockroaches on the second day; — the composition is supplemented with the pyrethroid cypermethrin (0.03%); - activity for 4 weeks | 0,6 | 100 |
| "Triple Strike" | — Packaging in the form of a syringe; — the composition is supplemented with the pyrethroid cypermethrin (0.1%) and imidacloprid (0.1%); — death of cockroaches after 4 days; - resistance factor excluded | 0,3 | 50 |
| "Storm" | - White gel-like substance; - packaging in the form of a syringe; — the composition is supplemented with alphacypermethrin (0.05%); — death of cockroaches on day 2; - activity for 2 months | 0,3 | 40 |
With pyrethroids
Pyrethroids are synthetic insecticides that are analogues of pyrethrins, which are found in the flowers of some plants. This is a contact poison that, penetrating through the insect’s shell, paralyzes its nervous system. Over time, pests develop group resistance. It is important that pyrethroids are less toxic for warm-blooded animals and humans than other types of insecticides. The table contains popular pyrethroid-based products.
Table - Gels based on pyrethroids
| Name | Peculiarities | Price, rubles | Active substances |
| "Legion" | - Yellow gel-like substance; - packaging in the form of a syringe; — death of insects after 2 days; — blocking the ability to reproduce in infected individuals; - activity for 3 months | — Deltamethrin (0.05%); — diflubenzuron (0.1%) | 80 |
| "Raptor" | — Transparent gel — packaging in the form of a tube; - the smell of apricot and vanilla; - activity for 6 months | Lambda-cyhalothrin (0.1%) | 250 |
Top - 5 liquid insecticides
Let's look at the 5 most popular drugs, both microencapsulated and concentrated. Among them there are professional products and insecticides for independent use in the apartment. With the help of this review, it will be easy to choose a killer tool to combat uninvited guests.
Cucaracha
Cucaracha is advertised as a drug for those who are already desperate to cope with insects. Cucaracha is used to combat black and red cockroaches, bedbugs, beetles and flies. Manufacturers say that Cucaracha can be used in homes with children and animals.
Pros:
- Cucaracha gives an instant effect, even against tenacious black cockroaches.
- Quite an economical product.
- According to the manufacturers, Cucaracha does not cause allergies.
- The spray solution is quite easy to prepare with your own hands.
So, Cucaracha is suitable for those who have cockroaches throughout their apartment. Cucaracha is suitable for controlling several pests at once. The drug Cucaracha was previously used by the sanitary and epidemiological station, and now it is used by some private exterminators.
Gett
Gett is also in demand on the Russian market. Microencapsulated preparations are produced in 100 ml bottles. Quite effective, but it is often counterfeited. The highest quality analogue is called Get. It is advertised as a broad-spectrum insecticide that helps against black and red cockroaches, bedbugs and wasps, and ants. It is easy to spread it with your own hands. Can be used in a home with animals and children. Not only destroys, but also prevents the appearance of insects in the house.
Other means
The Delta Zone is characterized by a complete absence of odor. It is enough to air the house for 20 minutes and you can return. Used to combat black and red cockroaches.
The Lambda Zone is very similar to the Delta Zone in terms of its stated properties. Manufacturers claim that the solution is safe even for indoor plants, which means it can be safely used in a home with children.
Xulat 25 is one of the drugs used by the sanitary and epidemiological station. Use with caution. Excellent for treating public buildings. Effectively works against black cockroaches.
If you choose a quality product and do not forget about the rules for its use, you can quickly get rid of annoying insects. The main thing is to start insecticidal treatment as early as possible.
Processing order
- First, the solution is applied to cockroach nesting areas. If the paths of movement are known, then they need to be processed as well. Carefully spray the walls and baseboards behind the moved furniture.
- The baseboards are treated separately, as well as the upper contours of the room (a powerful spray bottle is useful for this).
- When spraying the solution in the kitchen and bathroom, it is important not to forget about the places under the sink, bathtub and sink. Ventilation, hoods and pipes should also be treated, especially at the joints.
- When it seems that the treatment is almost complete, you need to once again go around all the rooms and inspect the door frames, walls, thresholds for untreated cracks and cracks.
It is important to carry out the treatment throughout the entire apartment at once. If only one room is infested with cockroaches, you will still have to spray the solution at least in the adjacent rooms. It must be taken into account that there are many secluded and hard-to-reach places in the apartment where cockroaches could settle, even if they are not visible.
To prevent the spread of cockroaches through ventilation, it is worth installing fine mesh mesh over the ventilation openings.
Wide range of liquid products
Many who have encountered insects have a question: why do some drugs work almost instantly, while others need to wait weeks for the effect. How to determine which insecticide is suitable for pest control?
If you conduct an experiment, you will notice that a drop of one drug can be enough for the instant death of a cockroach. But if you pour another substance on the insect, the cockroach will not even stop and will continue to crawl. This does not mean that the insecticide is of poor quality. All liquid preparations can be divided into several categories based on speed of action. This speed depends on the type of active substance.
All liquid products are based on pyrethroids or FOS.
FOS
FOS substances include:
- Fention.
- Chlorpyrifos.
- Malathion.
FOS products are distinguished by their rapid effect and almost instantaneous action. However, they are inferior to pyrethroids in safety. FOS drugs have almost no residual effect.
Pyrethroids
Pyrethroids include:
- Lambdacyhalothrin.
- Cypermethrin.
- Deltamethrin.
- Zetapermethrin.
Pyrethroids have a delayed effect, but remain on treated surfaces for a long time.
The difference between microencapsulated and concentrated preparations is approximately the same. Microencapsulated preparations remain on surfaces for a long time, form a protective film, but have a delayed effect. Concentrated products cause instant death of the insect, but the protective film lasts a maximum of two months, versus six for microencapsulated products. Of course, products that give an immediate effect are usually more expensive.
The use of microencapsulated preparations to kill bedbugs
Relatively recently, a new direction has appeared on the market of products for combating domestic parasites - microencapsulated preparations. Let's look at what these products are, what their pros and cons are, but most importantly, how effective they can be in the fight against bedbugs.
House bugs are the scourge of modern life
To begin with, it is worth briefly recalling what house bugs are and what danger they pose to humans.
The classic house bug is, first of all, an insect that feeds only on blood at all stages of its life cycle, except eggs. These are small bugs with an almost round body shape, brown or light brown in color, of different sizes, but not more than 5 mm in diameter. The bug's mouthparts are piercing-sucking; saliva contains substances that have analgesic and anticoagulant effects. Thanks to such a complex chemical composition of saliva, the moment of the parasite bite is practically not felt.
House bugs, like cockroaches, are one of the few types of insects that have adapted to life in human living conditions. There is everything here for their favorable development and procreation. Bedbugs bite exclusively people, although if the population is too large in one apartment, attacks on domestic animals are also possible, but this happens extremely rarely.
Insects cannot live more than a day without fresh blood, so they do not go far from humans. They cannot be found on the skin, like lice, or in things, like fleas. A characteristic feature of bedbugs is that they feed only at night, and only when their victim is completely immobilized, which occurs during the deep sleep phase. Therefore, during the daytime, insects hide in sleeping places - in the folds of mattresses, under them, under sheets, duvet covers, under pillowcases, and so on.
You can read more about house bugs here.
Bedbugs have another very unpleasant bonus for humans. When bitten, the sharp proboscis of the bug must enter a small blood vessel, otherwise the volume of blood for adequate nutrition will not be enough. This proboscis does not have elasticity, like that of a mosquito, therefore, if the bug does not “guess” the location of the bite, it will move a couple of millimeters and bite again. If the second attempt fails again, there will be a third, fourth, fifth and so on bite.
Thus, one bug can bite more than a dozen times during the night, and the bite sites in the morning will be located as if on a ruler. On top of everything else, bedbugs are very shy, one slightest movement by a person in a dream, and the insect instantly runs for cover. But as soon as everything calms down, it goes hunting again.
Despite all the negative aspects, there seems to be no fatal harm from bedbugs. They do not carry infectious diseases and do not attack with an army of thousands to suck out all the blood overnight. The biggest nuisance, besides the aesthetic one, is that in the morning, at the site of the bites, after the effect of their anesthetic saliva wears off, dense, red spots form on the skin, which are very itchy. Rarely, some people may experience an allergic reaction to bedbug bites, and if insects attack from night to night, and some bites are layered on top of others, strong scratching damages the upper layers of the skin and purulent inflammation may develop.
Microencapsulated drugs – the key to salvation?
Many different means have long been developed against bedbugs that affect only insects and are relatively harmless to humans - insecticides. In addition, a large number of forms of these substances are produced, with the help of which they are applied to surfaces - sprays, powders, granules, emulsions, and so on. The Raptor aquafumigator against bedbugs and cockroaches has also now become very famous. But the trouble is that any chemical has a certain period of active action and is most effective in direct contact with the external integument of the parasite and has practically no effect on insect eggs.
The result is the following picture: by spraying the spray on living bedbugs, you can cause their death; those that were not hit, crawling through the treated areas, will take on some of the poison and will probably also die. After 2-3 days, the chemical activity of the drugs is reduced to almost zero, and young individuals emerge from the eggs. And to defeat them, you need to process everything again. As a result, in order to completely remove parasites from an apartment, many treatments are required at least a couple of times a week and the total duration of the process is at least two months.
The chemicals are not cheap, and the smell is unpleasant. As a result of frequent processing, things become saturated with this aroma and it becomes not entirely clear what is simpler - bedbugs or a room that smells reminiscent of the household chemicals warehouse of a large hardware store. Among other things, if your neighbors have bedbugs and they don’t fight them in any way, then there is a high probability that the parasites will again migrate to their previously promised places and again begin to annoy you. This forces many to change their living space in order to literally escape from small blood-sucking parasites.
Taking all these points into account, the industry has created a new form of product that spreads the effect over a longer period in one place - microcapsules. The chemical principle of the insecticide is the same here, but small quantities are sealed into tiny capsules, the shell of which consists of a water-soluble or polymer thin film. Molecules of the active substance come out in small portions through the pores of this film, thereby achieving a long-lasting effect. In addition, adult bedbugs with their body weight and sharp claws of their paws destroy the film, releasing chemicals, which increases the concentration of the toxin.
However, this method also has its downsides. After treatment, the chemical begins to be released onto the surface of the microcapsules immediately, and after about 1-2 weeks, and in some cases a month, before the wall film becomes so thin that it begins to let the drugs through. And then, the overall concentration of the chemistry is not so high as to suppress too high a population of insects. In short, microencapsulated preparations are not suitable for mass and rapid processing.
They are used more for preventive or, as they call it in specialized circles, barrier action. Primary treatment is carried out using conventional means, such as sprays or powders, and then a layer of microcapsules is applied. The latter are especially effective in creating boundaries that fence off places where bedbugs can enter an apartment - cracks between baseboards, in walls, air ducts, and so on. The effect of such a barrier is effective for at least six months. It turns out that after treatment, the owner need not think about bedbugs for at least six months, even if the neighbors are swarming with them.
Main conclusions
- These drugs are not effective against large concentrations of bedbugs.
- If the insect population is high, it is necessary to carry out initial treatment with classical means, and only then apply microcapsules.
- Microcapsules reach maximum effectiveness within 2 to 4 weeks after treatment.
- The duration of action of microcapsules is extended to approximately six months.
Microencapsulated preparations are harmless to humans and pets.
Types of liquid insecticides
There are two groups of liquid insecticides that differ not only in chemical form, but also in cost.
- The first type is concentrated products. This is a solution of the active substance in high concentration. The poisonous substance is generally safe for humans and only harms insects. Modern products do not have an unpleasant odor and have a prolonged effect. They create a protective film and protect surfaces from cockroaches for several weeks. Can be used in an apartment, office, country house.
- Microencapsulated drugs (they are also called nano-granular). The fundamental difference is that the active substance is enclosed in microcapsules. And the capsules, in turn, are in an aqueous solution. Microencapsulated drugs are considered to show increased safety. They have no smell at all. The protective film remains on surfaces for up to six months. The most expensive and most modern means for combating cockroaches.
If the budget for insecticidal treatment is not limited, you should choose from microencapsulated preparations. At the moment, only professional processing can compare with them.
A liquid preparation is an aqueous solution of the active substance, which can be dissolved or enclosed in microcapsules. On sale you can find products with volumes from 10 to 150 ml. In professional chemical stores it is possible to purchase half-liter packages, but for disinfestation in one apartment this will be too much. This volume is required by professional exterminators.
Each package must contain information about the certification passed and the level of danger. Also, instructions from the manufacturer are attached to the drugs. If you follow the recommendations, such products are safe and quickly give the desired effect. In Russia, only those drugs that have been certified by Rospotrebnadzor are sold.
