Methods drawer
Dusts & desiccants
Dry powders that keep working for years inside a wall void — and do nothing at all if they get wet or are piled where the pest can walk around them.
Insecticidal dusts and desiccant dusts such as silica gel and diatomaceous earth kill by damaging the insect's waxy waterproofing, so the insect dries out. Because the action is physical and the material does not break down, a thin film inside a dry wall void can protect it for years — the standard treatment inside a wasp void, a lasting line under baseboards in bed-bug work, and a guard in voids that roaches travel.
Use them thin and dry
- A dust works when the insect must walk through a film it cannot see; visible piles are simply walked around.
- Wet dust is dead dust. A leaking wall needs the leak fixed before any dust belongs there.
- Apply with a bulb duster, sparingly, into voids and cracks — not broadcast across floors, carpets, or food surfaces.
- Wear a mask and keep people and pets out until dust has settled; 'natural' on a bag of diatomaceous earth does not mean harmless to breathe, and pool-grade material is a different, dangerous product — food-grade, labeled for the use, only.
Limits
Dusts are slow, have no effect on eggs laid away from the treated void, and cannot reach a nest the applicator has not found. They are a layer in a program, not the program.