Control Methods and Treatment Strategies for Structural Pests
Match the method to the biology
Formulations: liquid concentrates (EC, SC, WP, CS) for residual surfaces; dusts for dry voids and cracks; gels and bait stations for cockroaches, ants and rodents; aerosols and ULV for space treatment; fumigants for whole-structure work, which require a separate licence category.
Application techniques: crack and crevice (the workhorse for cockroaches, ants and bed bugs), void treatment, spot treatment, baseboard or broadcast banding, space spray, and fogging. Fogging leaves essentially no residual and should not be sold as a stand-alone fix; crack and crevice placement plus baits does the real work.
Rodent control: exclusion first, then snap traps, glue boards and secured tamper-resistant bait stations; rotate active ingredients and keep stations locked and labelled.
Termites: soil-applied termiticide barrier, bait stations, or wood treatment, depending on label and licence.
Resistance management: rotate modes of action, use insect growth regulators, avoid sublethal doses and never rely on a single product indefinitely. Non-repellent products suit ants and cockroaches because foragers do not avoid them; repellents applied first defeat baits.
Traps: spraying before baiting; applying liquids onto gel placements; over-applying "to be sure"; using a product not labelled for the site (for example, an outdoor product inside a food plant); assuming fogging solves an infestation.
Rule of thumb: put the product where the pest already lives - harbourage, seams, voids, travel routes - not where it is convenient to spray. Many small bait placements beat one large one, and a pea-sized gel dab in a crack outperforms a broadcast spray.