Baits, sprays & labels
Baits, sprays & reading the label
Bait vs. contact, active ingredients, residual, IGRs, Bti and re-entry times.
Baits, sprays & reading the label
Most pest control that fails down here fails for one of three reasons: the wrong form (spray where bait was needed), the wrong timing (applied right before an afternoon storm), or skipping the reapplication the label asks for. Here's the vocabulary that makes the label make sense.
Bait vs. contact spray
Bait is slow on purpose — workers carry it back and kill the colony. Contact spray kills what it touches now and can scatter multi-queen colonies like ghost ants into more nests. For ants and roaches indoors, bait first.
Active ingredient
The chemical doing the work, listed at the top of the label as a percentage. Two brands with the same active ingredient at the same strength do the same thing at different prices.
Concentrate vs. ready-to-use
Concentrate mixes into your own sprayer and costs far less per gallon — worth it for a yard. Ready-to-use is right for a single room or a one-off nest.
Residual
How long the treatment keeps working after it dries. Our sun and daily summer rain shorten residual dramatically, which is why South Florida labels call for more frequent reapplication than the national average.
Perimeter treatment
A treated band a few feet up the wall and a few feet out from the slab. It's the single highest-value outdoor step for keeping roaches and ants from ever getting inside.
IGR (insect growth regulator)
Stops eggs and larvae from developing into adults. Pairs with a bait or adulticide for fleas and roaches — kills the next generation instead of only what you can see.
Bti
A naturally occurring bacteria that only kills mosquito and fungus gnat larvae. Safe around fish, pets and birds in dunks and granules — the right tool for standing water you can't dump.
Exclusion
Sealing the gaps: door sweeps, caulk, hardware cloth over vents, screening soffits. It's not glamorous and it outperforms every chemical for rodents and wildlife.
Reading the REI
Restricted-entry interval — how long before people and pets can be back on the treated area. Almost always 'until dry' for consumer yard products. Follow it.
The label is the law. Follow mixing rates, protective equipment and re-entry times exactly — more product does not work better, and over-application is what harms pets, pollinators and the Intracoastal. Structural termites, in-wall rodent infestations and bee colonies are licensed-operator work; we'll say so when that's the honest answer.