Ant Infestation Control Methods: Gel vs Spray

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Is an ant infestation in your home or business causing you headaches and/or being a nuisance? A pesticide application may help you control your infestation in a easier and more time effective way. Ant control applications come in various ways, the two most commonly used are gel baits and liquid sprays. Your pest control technician will normally decide what is best for your particular situation. Although both options are great at exterminating ants, they do tend to work more effectively in certain scenarios. Let’s try taking a closer look at them and see if one its better than the other to control ant infestations.

Gel Pesticide Application

Gel bait for ant control is normally used on interior areas, where the pesticide is not exposed to the weather. Normally it will be pesticide that is using a non-repellent active ingredient like:

• Syngenta Advion Ant Gel Tubes (Indoxacarb)
• Maxforce Fleet Ant Bait Gel (Fipronil)

The way that they work is by applying the gel bait inside of bait boxes near a place where ant foraging (walking) is normally seen. This way they can consume it, then they take it over back to the colony, where it will feed and infect other ants. This solution takes about a week or two to start seeing significant results.

Liquid Pesticide Application

When it comes to liquid pesticide applications for the control of ants, there are two main types that are used: Non-Repellent pesticides and Repellent pesticides. What is the difference between them? Easiest way to explain it is by thinking that a repellent pesticide will repel or kick the pest away. A non-repellent pesticide is one that will not repel or will not even be noticed by the pest.

If the location of the colony is known, a repellent pesticide (Ex. Bifen IT) applied into the tunnels can be an effective solution. However, as most of the time the location of the ant infestation will be unknown then a non-repellent solution (Ex. Termidor SC) will tend to be more effective. This way the ants can keep going on their normal routine, without knowing that they are transporting the pesticide back to the colony.

Something else to consider with liquid ant control pesticide applications, is that they are a bit harder to achieve in a clean, non-invasive way. Due to its nature, the spray can be transported in a windy day or area and contaminate surroundings surfaces or items.  A great example of an area where they might not be best for is near food preparation areas.

Which Application Method is Best?

The results do not seem so straight forward, and they are not. In my opinion I do not believe that neither method of application is worst or better, they just need to be used properly on the areas and infestations they were intended for. Normally for larger infestations both a liquid and gel baiting may be used, but for a smaller one either one may be able to work (again depending on the situation).

Important Information

Make sure to contact and follow the instructions of a licensed technician when it comes to the handling and use of this pesticides. In many states, like here in California, it is illegal for homeowners to handle many pesticides. If you have any questions or concerns, or maybe you need a hand controlling that Ant infestation in your San Diego home or business please feel free to contact us at (619) 421 – 2101 or Send us a Message Online.