Insecticide Gel Baits

Insecticide baits are among professionals' most popular formulations, especially for cockroaches, termites, and ant infestations. Since insecticide bait gels are often ready to use, they are also easy to apply. However, there is an art to baiting correctly using gel baits to achieve the desired result.

At Solutions Pest & Lawn, we carry several different professional-grade insecticide gel baits. On this page, we will briefly discuss insecticide bait gels, their benefits, and how to apply them properly. You can also shop our top expert-recommended bait gels and place them in your online shopping cart.

What is a Gel Bait Insecticide? 

Gel bait formulations are insecticide products formed when the active ingredient is mixed with food or an attractant carrier. When the insects eat the bait, they also consume the active ingredient. Aside from gels, baits may also take the form of granules, flowable powders, liquids, or solids. Gels can also be formulated in ready-to-use bait stations. 

Gel baits are applied directly into pest harborages or refillable bait stations or are placed as ready-to-use bait stations. Most active ingredients used in gel baits are slow-acting so that the insects are not affected immediately by the poison of the active ingredient right away, allowing the insect to carry the bait back to others in the colony or the nest to start what is called the “domino effect.”

This domino effect, which pest control experts and DIYers try to achieve ideally, results in the destruction of the infestation one by one via the transfer of the gel bait.

Conditions for Using Gel Baits

Insecticide gel baits are mainly used in the pest control industry to treat ant and cockroach infestations inside homes and commercial buildings. In fact, insecticides formulated as pastes and gels are now the primary formulations used to treat heavy cockroach outbreaks.

They are designed to be injected or placed as a bead or dot inside small cracks and crevices of building elements where insects tend to hide or travel. Two essential tools are used to apply pastes and gels: syringes and bait guns. The bait is forced from the device's tip by applying pressure to a plunger or trigger.

Gel baits are the preferred method of eliminating an existing infestation of cockroaches and ants over insecticide sprays and other methods because gels contain ingredients that cockroaches and ants enjoy in the food that they forage for, like sugars and protein rather than the repelling poisons of sprays that they won’t even go near to be affected by.

Benefits of Using Gel Baits

Insecticide gel baits are ready to use, with no mixing required, and are used at low concentrations. There’s very little chance that the applicator will be exposed to the gel bait's poison.

You don’t have to worry about weird smells with gel baits, as insecticide bait gels are almost always odorless and contain no vapors.

Gel baits are also very safe to use because they are often applied in hidden areas like cracks and crevices, which minimizes human and pet exposure. Gel baits can easily be placed where insects shelter for maximum effectiveness.

Gel baits also have low human toxicity. If you are worried that a child or pet may get a hold of the bait you have applied, there are also bait gels placed in protective bait stations to target only the intended pests while keeping your loved ones safe.

Gel baits last for long periods. Even if an insect hasn’t gotten to the bait, it will still be lethal to them when one eventually does come in contact with it and consumes it. They only need to be placed where required and can be removed after achieving control.

Most gel baits are slow-acting, so the target pest has enough time to ingest the bait and return to the nest to share it with others in the colony.

Gel Bait Drawbacks

Gel baits may become contaminated from exposure to other pesticides and cleaning products. They can also be rendered ineffective if spray pesticides are applied in areas where gel bait has been set. You want the target insect to go toward the bait, not be repelled by it because you sprayed an insecticide.

Gel baits can also be compromised when exposed to high temperatures. This can cause gels to be runny, almost liquidy, and drippy, which may not be savory to the target insect.

Finally, gel baits can pose a hazard to nontarget species, but this can be minimized by careful placement and tamper-resistant bait stations.

While it is a benefit that gel baits are slow-acting, this can cause pest control to take longer. Applying gel baits is more time-consuming, and the application costs tend to be higher compared to other formulations.

Our Recommendations

Apex Cockroach Gel Bait - Apex roach bait gel attracts primarily German cockroaches with 11 different attractants. These attractants help avoid bait resistance and give you a faster roach kill. This unique combination of food attractants is not found in other bait gels. Apex Roach Bait is also made without the eight most common food allergens. This makes it ideal for application in child care, schools, hospitals, food plants, and other areas requiring sensitivity.

Ant-Trax Ant Gel Bait —Ant-Trax Ant Gel Bait is a ready-to-use insecticide gel bait containing imidacloprid that controls various ants. It is made by Solutions Pest & Lawn and formulated with the most attractive bait matrix on the market. We have a 100% guarantee that this ant bait, used in conjunction with our ant control methods, will eliminate all labeled ant infestations. Compare this product to Maxforce Ant Bait or Advion Ant Gel Bait; you can see that Ant-Trax is the best ant bait.

Tools Needed

Gel baits often come in a ready-to-use package with a syringe so you can easily push bait out of it. You can also use a gel bait gun for more precise baiting. It's also recommended to put on safety gloves before applying bait.

User Guide

Step 1: Preliminary Sanitation

Start by performing sanitation measures and removing all potential food sources from the area.

Step 2: Begin Applying Bait

Apply pea-sized dots according to labeled directions in various locations where the target insect activity is common (kitchen, bathroom, cabinets, under sinks, etc.).

Step 3: Reapplication and Waiting

Clean the bait once it has dried and reapply as necessary. Be patient and wait for insects to observe, take, and share the bait.

Key Takeaways

• Insecticide gel baits are an excellent pesticide formulation for addressing indoor insect infestations such as ants and cockroaches.
• Gel bait poison is slow-acting, so the insect will take the bait back to the colony and infect the others in the nest, creating a domino effect.
• Apex Cockroach Gel Bait and Ant-Trax Ant Gel are among our top gel baits for cockroach and ant control.