Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do I need to open or remove the plastic on the bait station to activate it?
No. Simply remove the bait station from the carton and plastic wrap, break apart, and place the bait near the source of the problem. No additional steps are necessary.
2. What should I do if my kids, pets, or I come in contact with the bait?
The insecticide in our product has been formulated to specifically affect insects and is virtually non-toxic to humans. However, we recommend washing hands after contact for your own protection.
3. Are Combat® product safe to use around household pets?
The active ingredient in our Combat® and baits and gels have been designed specifically for ants and has been shown to have a low order to toxicity in animals such as (non-insect) household pets.
4. Why aren’t ants and roaches trapped in the bait stations?
Baits are not traps or motels, and bugs will not stay in the bait stations. Roach bait and ant bait work to kill the nest, the source of the infestation. "Source kill" happens when ants and roaches eat the bait in the bait station and then carry it back to the nest. Because the bait is transferred back to the nest, baits are more effective than traps, which only kill the insects that come to the traps.
5. What is the best way to kill roaches?
The key to exterminating roaches is to kill the entire roach nest. If you just spray and kill the individual roaches that you see, you continue to see roaches scampering around your home looking for food and water, and will most likely begin to see more of them and more frequently as they breed and the nest continues to grow. Combat® products provide the source kill you need and are a guaranteed solution! The best way to kill roaches is to establish a regular roach-control program. We suggest these three-steps:
- First, do a little housekeeping: Improve sanitation, reduce clutter, and eliminate sources of food and water in the open. These simple steps will help in eliminating a roach infestation and will help protect you from future infestations.
- Use Combat® Roach Baits in common areas where you see roaches. Roaches will take the bait back to their colony, sharing the insecticide with other roaches, and killing the entire nest.
- Work to keep them out! Sealing any areas where roaches could enter from other units in multi-unit buildings and by checking items such as shipping boxes, school bags and grocery bags for cockroach hitchhikers before bringing them into your home.
These simple steps are imperative to eliminating a roach infestation and helping to protect from future infestations.
6. Are Combat® products safe to use in a food pantry?
Combat ant and roach bait stations can be used in a food pantry.
7. How do roaches transfer the bait?
There are several ways in which cockroaches transfer bait to other cockroaches: through the eating of roach feces, roach regurgitation, consumption of dead cockroaches and their remains, and by contact. Nymphs (baby cockroaches) tend to stay in the nest and feed mainly on cockroach feces, making baits very effective in controlling the roach population. If a cockroach dies from eating roach bait, its carcass will contain enough insecticide to kill other cockroaches that feed on its remains. Dying cockroaches may also regurgitate and other roaches ingest insecticide in that way. Lastly, some insecticides, like Fipronil, can kill by contact. As cockroaches nestle together in the nest, they can transfer insecticide to one-another by contact.
8. What is the best way to kill ants?
Most ant species do not nest indoors, but when food and water outside are in limited supply or when there are major shifts in the weather, ants will enter your home seeking refuge and resources. The key to exterminating ants is to kill the entire colony. If you just spray the ants you see, more ants will continue to reappear in search for a source of water and food. Combat® products provide the source kill you need and are a guaranteed solution!
- Ants travel on trails marked by chemical pheromones to lead other ants to the food or water source. With basic soap and water, you can remove the current trail they are following; however ants will create another trail if they find another source of food.
- Keep mulch and plants at least 1 foot away from your home and seal exterior cracks where ants could enter. To discourage ants from coming indoors, repair water leaks, do not over water plants, clean up food and liquid spills, store food in tightly-sealed containers, and don't leave out pet food.
- Use Combat® Ant Baits in common areas where you see ants or where ants might enter the home. Ants will take the bait back to their colony, sharing the insecticide with other ant and the queen, and killing the entire colony.
9. How do ants transfer the bait?
Only a fraction of ants (older workers) leave the colony to forage for food. These foragers carry food back to the colony and feed it to other workers, larvae, and the queen(s). Ants share food by a process called "tropholaxis", where they regurgitate food to feed another. Interestingly, adult ants cannot digest solid food. They transport it to the ant larvae in the colony, which digest it and regurgitate part of it to feed adult ants. Lastly, some insecticides, like Fipronil, can kill by contact. Ants that walk through ant bait stations will pick up insecticide on their bodies and can transfer insecticide to other ants as they interact with them.
10. Why do I see more ants after I use the product?
Increased ant activity to an ant bait means that the ant bait is working. When ants find a food source they like, they recruit other ants to bring it back to the nest. The more ants you see, the more ant bait is being carried back to the nest, the more ants are contaminated, ensuring colony elimination.
