CRACK & CREVICE TREATMENT

Definition: The application of small amounts of insecticide into cracks and crevices in which insects hide or through which they may enterthe building. Such openings commonly occur at expansion joints, between different elements of construction and between equipment and floors. These openings may lead to voids such as hollow walls, equipment legs and bases, conduits, motor housing, junction or switch boxes."
Concept: The goal of Crack & Crevice treatment is to deliver the insecticide to a specific location where it is likely to impact the pest with little or no impact on the area surrounding the treatment site. The effect may be repellency (exclusion from the site) or may be used during inspection to flush insects (identifying infested areas). It may be used in sensitive areas where limiting pesticide exposure is an important consideration.
Examples: Gaps between structural members, behind moldings, between pieces of equipment, etc.
Advantages: Little or no exposure to pesticide outside the crack; cost-effective use of materials; targeted treatment by delivering pesticide to the pest.
Application equipment: System III; aerosol container with Crack & Crevice tip; bait applicator with Crack & Crevice tip.
Common pests treated with this technique: Cockroaches, silverfish, bedbugs, spiders, centipedes and many other crawling insects.
Products used: Contact Insecticides, Residual Insecticides and Baits.

VOID TREATMENT

Definition: Application to enclosed spaces where insects may live, hide or travel.
Concept: Void treatments flush insects from their harborage for inspection to identify infested sites; repel insects from living or traveling through void areas within a structure by making the void uninhabitable or impassable (exclusion); or kill insects present within the void space. Examples of voids include hollow walls, hollow doors, spaces within equipment housings, false flooring and suspended ceilings. Some cracks and crevices lead to voids, while others have open access points. Still others may need to have access created by drilling holes into walls, ceilings or veneers.
Advantages: Treatment is focused on specific areas with little or no pesticide exposure to adjacent areas. Some formulations of residual insecticides, such as dusts, tend to have extended life in the dark, dry conditions of a void.
Application equipment: Aerosol containers with a four-way void injector tip; bellows or bulb duster.
Common pests treated with this technique: Void nesting ants, cockroaches, overwintering insect pests, void nesting bees and wasps.
Products used: Contact Insecticides, Residual Insecticides (especially Dusts) and Baits.

VOID TREATMENT

Definition: Surface application to limited areas where insects are likely to be present, not exceeding two square feet in area.
Concept: The goal is to control insects by exposing them to insecticide as they come in contact with treated surfaces. This technique is often used to prevent pest entry from outdoors. Technicians may make individual spot applications or a series of closely spaced spot treatments. This method is typically used for general maintenance of crawling insects in insect prone areas. Applications are usually made along baseboards, foundations or on framing members where other application techniques are not practical.
Advantages: Technicians can treat many areas in a short period of time.
Application equipment: Compressed air sprayers, some aerosol containers.
Common pests treated with this technique: Spiders, crickets, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, pillbugs and other crawling occasional invaders.
Products used: Contact Insecticides, Residual Insecticides.

ULV-SPACE TREATMENT

Definition: Treatment to a volume of space with relatively small amounts of non-residual insecticide with droplets having a mass median diameter of 20 microns or less to control the exposed stages of flying and crawling insects.
Concept: The goal of ULV space treatment is to kill or control exposed stages of flying insects or crawling insects by exposing them to small droplets of insecticide delivered and dispersed into the air. The insecticide contacts insects as the small droplets travel through the air or fall from suspension in the air.
Advantages: Technicians can treat large areas in a short time and quickly kill exposed insects. It’s an excellent technique for controlling flying insects and exposed crawling insects in complex environments.
Application equipment: Aerosol containers with fogging actuators or ULV generating devices.
Common pests treated with this technique: Flies, mosquitoes, stored product moths and stored product beetles.
Products used: Contact Insecticides.

DIRECTED CONTACT TREATMENT

Definition: Application of an aerosol to exposed insects for immediate kill.
Concept: Some situations require quick kill to prevent insects such as wasps and hornets from stinging people. Other situations involve insects found in complex environments (eg. inside machinery or piles of debris) that limit the usefulness of other techniques. In these cases, directed contact applications can quickly kill exposed insects within a localized area and prevent insect movement to other areas.
Advantages: Quick kill of exposed pests in localized areas. Excellent technique for treating stinging insect nests, roaches in debris beneath kitchen equipment and fleas in carpeting. Application equipment: Specialized aerosol products such as Wasp-Freeze for wasp and hornets nests, Ultracide for fleas or other contact insecticides delivered in aerosol containers, Micro-Injectors or compressed air sprayers.
Common pests treated with this technique: Cockroaches in debris beneath equipment, crickets and other insects that “scatter,” wasps, hornets or other insects that pose a physical threat to residents or applicator.
Products used: Contact Insecticides.

PERIMETER TREATMENT

Definition: General broadcast application to exterior areas of structures.
Concept: The goal of perimeter treatment is to reduce pest pressures by impacting two types of areas: reservoir sites and interception zones. Reservoir sites provide resources that allow pest populations to build near the structure. These areas include mulch beds, plantings, decks and garbage areas. Interception zones are harborages or access points for pests on the structure. These zones may include foundations, soffits, weep holes, windows, doorways, soil near foundations and access points to the structure. Adequate pesticide coverage in targeted areas and proper penetration to the substrates where pests live, feed and travel, may be an important consideration for successful perimeter treatment.
Advantages: By performing general applications on the exterior perimeter of a structure, the applicator can control both resource sites and interception zones, limiting pest pressure on the structure.
Application equipment: Compressed air sprayer, backpack sprayer, power spray rigs and granular insecticide spreader.
Common pests treated with this technique: Ants, cockroaches, crickets, spiders, millipedes, centipedes and other occasional invaders.
Products used: Residual Insecticides and Baits.

EXCLUSION

Definition: Protecting an area against pest access either by mechanical alteration (physical exclusion) or by rendering access points and harborage impassable via chemical repellency (chemical exclusion).
Concept: Exclusion involves altering the environment so pests can not enter or travel. Chemical exclusion repels pests from the area and reduces the likelihood that pests will enter or harbor. Accomplished by making Crack & Crevice or void injection treatments with silica aero gel, (Tri-Die®) or other repellent material (Microcare).
Advantages: Physical exclusion may be a permanent solution for an area and reduces long-term pesticide requirement. Access points and voids may be quickly treated with products (chemical exclusion) designed to repel which limit the influx of some pests and reduce pest sightings. Exclusion may reduce the use of chemical insecticides and is considered, by many, as environmentally friendly.
Application equipment: Caulk, netting, wire mesh, cement and highly repellent insecticides.
Common pests targeted with this technique: Birds, rodents, cockroaches, flies and occasional invaders.
Products used: Residual products with repellent properties such as Tri-Die and Microcare.

BAITING

Definition: The use of attractive food matrices combined with effective non-repellent toxicants designed to kill target insects after feeding on the bait.
Concept: The goal of baiting is to control pests by placing an attractive, palatable food source containing insecticide in locations where targeted pests will feed. As bait is consumed, the toxicant has a detrimental effect on the pest. Baits may be placed in cracks and crevices, along insect foraging trails or scattered in harborage areas for crickets.
Advantages: Many customers view baits as less hazardous than other pesticide formulations and prefer their use to other pesticides options. Some bait attractants are insect specific and pose little threat to non-target organisms. Some insects utilize social food sharing which aids in the transfer of the bait throughout the colony.
Application equipment: Gel bait applicators with Crack & Crevice tip, bait puffers for void applications, granular spreaders and bait stations.
Common pests targeted with this technique: Ants, termites and cockroaches.
Products used: Baits.

MONITORING/TRAPPING

Definition: The use of attractive food matrices combined with effective non-repellent toxicants designed to kill target insects after feeding on the bait.
Concept: The goal of baiting is to control pests by placing an attractive, palatable food source containing insecticide in locations where targeted pests will feed. As bait is consumed, the toxicant has a detrimental effect on the pest. Baits may be placed in cracks and crevices, along insect foraging trails or scattered in harborage areas for crickets.
Advantages: Many customers view baits as less hazardous than other pesticide formulations and prefer their use to other pesticides options. Some bait attractants are insect specific and pose little threat to non-target organisms. Some insects utilize social food sharing which aids in the transfer of the bait throughout the colony.
Application equipment: Gel bait applicators with Crack & Crevice tip, bait puffers for void applications, granular spreaders and bait stations.
Common pests targeted with this technique: Ants, termites and cockroaches.
Products used: Baits.