A Vote For Maxforce® Ultra Gel Baiting Over Surface Sprays
|
D French, Hillbans (Vectis) Ltd, Lake, Sandown, Isle of Wight |
|
 A recent field trial in a prison located on the Isle of Wight, UK was extremely successful in controlling for an extended period an infestation of Oriental cockroaches (Blatta orientalis). Prisons frequently suffer pest infestations and budgetary constraints can make it difficult to achieve satisfactory control. Pest problems are exacerbated by the construction and layout of the prison and are typically widespread and deep-seated. |
|
 The Camp Hill Prison site, where the trial was conducted consists of eight cell blocks (wings) with a total of 450 cells. Each block incorporates a servery supplied from the main kitchen. The prison also has a chapel, a hospital and a segregation unit. Calorifiers serve each wing, taking heated water from the main boiler. Food is freely available to the inmates and, with a high ambient temperature of approximately 25°C, the conditions are ideal for cockroaches. Cockroach monitoring traps and interviews with staff and inmates were employed to survey the infestation. The information obtained indicated a low level, widespread infestation of cockroaches with a high level of activity around one particular calorifier and the surrounding shower room area. A treatment strategy could then be prepared. |
|
 The treatment was conducted over a six-week period with support from Clive Evers and Enrico Zanetti of Aventis Environmental Science. Continual monitoring enabled results to be assessed and ensured areas that had previously been cleared of cockroaches did not become re-infested. Maxforce® Ultra was easy and quick to apply and required minimal Personal Protective Equipment. Very importantly, the inmates of the prison were pleasantly surprised that the treatment was quick, clean and unobtrusive. This ensured their goodwill and co-operation as the treatments progressed. |
|
The project involved twelve man-days, the use of 400 cockroach monitoring traps and 24, 30g cartridges of Maxforce Ultra. The effort was rewarded by the lack of callbacks to deal with re-infestations and positive feed back from the staff and inmates. Apart from the occasional identification of residual infestations which were spot treated with Maxforce Ultra, monitoring indicated that even six months later there was no evidence of re-infestation. The treatment had been staggeringly successful and the prison's cockroach population was controlled.
Maxforce Ultra proved easy-to-use and provided a clean, unobtrusive, efficient treatment. It provided a clear vote for the value of gel baiting for cockroaches compared with the use of conventional surface sprays.
® Registered Trade Mark of Bayer
© Hillbans Pest Control, 2001
This article was based upon "Death sentence for cockroaches" by D French which first appeared in Pest Control News (December, 2000 No 55.)
|
Use Biocides Safely.
Always Read the label and product information before use.
