PROTEK’S FIPROGEL ROACH GEL AND ANT GEL
READY-TO-USE©
BAITS TO COMBAT THE TWO MOST NOTORIOUS HOME PESTS
ANTS AND COCKROACHES – THE OMNI-PRESENT MENACES IN HOMES
Take it or leave it, every South African home harbours two extremely common and difficult to control pests, namely cockroaches and various small ant species. Taking them on is a never-ending battle and one we will probably never win, but we can at least suppress their numbers significantly. Keeping kitchens clean and tidy without left-over food and garbage, is the first line of defence while not allowing Kitty and Pooch all day long access to bowls of cat and dog food is the second important barrier against roach and ant invasions. Food is magnetic to these two pests; therefore, no food should be freely available to them.
There are many remedies available to keep pressure on ants and cockroaches, but surface sprays at the current outbreak levels do little to discourage these pesky little critters from invading homes. Baits that lure them to edible death traps make much more sense, but the baits must not be acutely toxic because only the insects that eat the baits will die and the hoards that hide in their nests will remain unharmed.
Protek’s Fiprogel is registered for both cockroaches as Fiprogel Roach Gel and for ants Fiprogel Ant Gel Ready to use gel baits that contain only 0.5 gram per kg fipronil that is not acutely toxic. This means cockroaches and ants harvest the gel baits, take it back to the nests where all the others share the bait. Protek’s Fiprogel is thus aimed at nest or colony eradication rather than killing a few workers or foragers. It takes a few days for the effects to be seen, but once the fipronil starts killing the critters it leaves the home pest free for a long time because it eradicates the population.
HOW SAFE IS FIPROGEL WHERE PETS AND CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS PRESENT?
Fipronil is a phenyl pyrazole compound which is completely different to the older organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids. It is very useful to apply where there is suspicion that insects may have developed resistance against the main insecticide groups as mentioned above. Fipronil is quite toxic to mammals and birds in its pure form with a LD50 of 92 mg/kg for rats and 11.3 mg/kg for quail, but in the Protek Fiprogel the toxicity is 2,000 times less, which renders the gel bait virtually non-toxic unless eaten in kilogram quantities (which is extremely unlikely to happen). Fipronil is also used as an ecto-parasiticide for cats and dogs, hence more reason to believe that in Protek’s Fiprogel, it is a chemical agent that is compatible with indoor pets (not with fish though!). The syringes containing Protek’s Fiprogel may NEVER be left unattended because dogs eat anything and even if the dosage of the fipronil is very low, dogs should not be exposed to oral intake of fipronil.
FIPROGEL POSES VERY LITTLE RISK TO HUMAN BEINGS AND PETS, YET IT MUST ALWAYS BE USED STRICTLY ACCORDING TO THE SAFETY WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS AS INDICATED ON THE LABELS
LATE EVENING IS THE BEST TIME TO APPLY PROTEK’S FIPROGEL
Cockroaches (German, American and Oriental) operate best at night when people are sleeping while ants prowl around in the dark in search of food. The most effective time to apply Protek’s Fiprogel is after nine o’clock at night when the residents (both human and four-legged) have gone to rest. Apply tiny dots of the gel where the insects are normally observed like on countertops, under electrical appliances, under the wash basin and around drainpipes and the refuse bin. During the night roaches and ants will feast on the bait and take it back to their respective nests where it will do its job. Repeat the application until no more insect activity is noticed.
IMPORT SAFETY PRECAUTIONS TO ADHERE TO WHEN USING PROTEK’S FIPROGEL ROACH GEL AND ANT GEL
- Never allow children or pets to be present while applying the gel bait
- Do not apply the gel on pet food bowls
- Do not apply the gel on fish tanks or close to fish tanks
- Wash hands after application of the gel
- Once the syringe is empty, rinse it out with boiling hot water and recycle the empty syringe and plunger
- Always keep the product stored behind lock and key out of the reach of children and pets
The Griffon Poison Information Centre endorses Protek’s Fiprogel Roach Gel and Ant Gel as highly effective remedies against cockroaches and ants with a very low risk to people and their pets if all the safety precautions are adhered to |
