Practice shows that various kinds of poisonous baits are one of the most effective types of means for removing cockroaches from the house (and they also work well against domestic ants, silverfish and some other synanthropic insects). In addition, such products are easy to use, have a long-term preventive effect and do not create an unpleasant odor in the room, unlike, for example, most aerosol insecticidal preparations.
However, for a poisoned bait in the form of a gel or a special trap to really work, it is important that it effectively attracts cockroaches and poisons them reliably, regardless of whether the population has resistance to individual classical insecticides. In this regard, an interesting development of the Raptor company stands out on the market today - the Express system for the elimination of cockroaches and ants, created on the basis of three different insecticides.
The set consists of 4 traps and a 25 ml tube of gel. The traps contain an attractive bait for cockroaches with a poisonous element, which includes two insecticides of different classes. The composition of the gel, in addition to attracting components, includes a third insecticide - thus, cockroaches have practically no chance of avoiding poisoning when placed in an apartment of such a system.
Let's now see how the Raptor Express Insect Elimination System works, how it achieves its high efficiency and what important nuances must be taken into account in practice when using it ...
The principle of operation of the gel and traps Raptor
The main effect of the gel and baits in the Raptor Express System traps is achieved precisely when they are eaten by insects. In this case, the active substances enter the digestive tract of the cockroach (or ant) and are quickly absorbed into the hemolymph. From the moment of ingestion of the agent to the death of the insect, it takes from several tens of minutes to several hours - depending on how much insecticide the pest has eaten and with what specific agent it has come into contact - with the gel or bait in the trap (they include different insecticides).
To a lesser extent, the poisoning effect is manifested when the insect simply runs over the gel or bait in the trap. In this case, particles of the agent stick to the paws and abdomen, and its active substances gradually pass through the chitinous integuments and also penetrate into the hemolymph (the so-called contact poisoning effect is realized). However, in such a situation, the death of an adult cockroach usually requires several “runs” through the medium and more time, since the diffusion of insecticides through the chitinous cuticle is slow and to a lesser extent than through the intestinal wall.
Both the gel and the Raptor traps use special attractants that effectively attract cockroaches and stimulate them to eat the product. Even a very small portion of the food eaten is enough to poison the pest.Therefore, by the way, when using the system in an apartment, it is desirable to create conditions that provoke cockroaches to eat the gel and baits in traps (for example, remove food and food waste in an inaccessible place).
On a note
In fact, the set can effectively work against a wide variety of insects, which, at various stages of their development, freely move around the room and feed on organic residues. In addition to cockroaches, it can also be, for example, domestic (pharaoh) and garden ants, silverfish, larvae of leather beetles, grinder beetles.
The increased efficiency of the system is also ensured by the following factors:
- Traps are perceived by insects as convenient shelters. Cockroaches willingly hide in them, even when they are full - there are small openings for entrances, a complicated structure of tunnels inside the structure, due to which such a “house” seems quite safe for an insect;
- As noted above, the baits placed in traps and the gel contain different active ingredients. This guarantees effectiveness even against those cockroaches that have developed resistance to any of the insecticides in the system - in any case, the pest will sooner or later stumble upon a product whose active ingredient will poison it (the probability of simultaneous resistance to two insecticides of different chemical nature is very small, and to three - it is practically excluded);
- Traps can be placed where it is undesirable to apply the gel, and vice versa - you can spread the gel where it is problematic to place the trap due to its size.This allows you to place funds almost anywhere where not only cockroaches, but even much smaller ants can contact them;
- Bait and gel remain attractive to cockroaches for a long time.
No less important is the fact that the Raptor Express System works autonomously, and after setting the traps and applying the gel, it does not require practically any additional efforts to destroy cockroaches. Moreover, the greatest number of insects eat gel and baits when people are sleeping or not at home at all.
On a note
The price for a separate set of traps for Raptor cockroaches (for 4 pcs.) Is about 350 rubles, separately for the gel - about 200 rubles. Together as an Express-system, the set costs about 400 rubles. With a large number of cockroaches in the room, it is advisable to combine both means to achieve the greatest effect.
The set can also be used for preventive purposes - to reliably protect the premises from the reproduction of new cockroaches here, periodically penetrating into the apartment from neighbors. Individuals penetrating the apartment from the outside will first of all find baits, eat them and poison themselves. As a result, massive infection of the apartment will not occur.
Review
“We have a problem with cockroaches somehow suddenly arose. They were never seen, and when a child appeared, they bought scales for him, weighed them for two weeks, and once she rearranged the scales and saw a whole brood under them. I am terribly afraid of them, my husband crushed some, but many fled. After that, I got a direct phobia, I'm afraid to sit on the couch and go into the kitchen.I turn on the light, and they scatter! I went to the store to look for a remedy, a customer there advised me Raptor traps, she says that they helped her. Bought and opened at home. Small ones, with Velcro on the bottom, they can be glued to the walls and furniture. I pasted two in the kitchen, one in the bathroom and one under the windowsill in the bedroom. That's how many they are in the apartment, we don't see so many cockroaches. Before that, 2-3 pieces in the kitchen could always be found. And now I don’t see it, I haven’t seen it for several weeks. In general, traps work ... "
See also our experiments on cockroaches:We catch cockroaches and test different means on them - see the results...
Inna, from forum posts
And further: But the Reid aerosol really works - cockroaches die quickly. Watch our video...
Insecticides in the Express System and their effect on insects
The Raptor Express System uses 3 insecticides of different nature.
The bait in the trap contains fipronil and emamectin benzoate.Fipronil is an insecticide from the group of phenylpyrazoles, the action of which is based on the blocking of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the nerve tissues of insects. Under the action of an insecticide, a poisoned cockroach quickly develops paralysis, which gradually intensifies and eventually leads to the death of the insect.
The photo below shows an open trap with bait inside:
Tests show that the death of 50% of insects occurs 8 hours after fipronil enters their digestive tract. The rest die within the next 5-6 hours.
On a note
Fipronil also has a contact poisoning effect, that is, it can infect an insect, even if it does not eat the bait, but simply comes into contact with it. At the same time, due to the insufficient prevalence of phenylpyrazoles in household products, cockroach resistance to it is extremely rare.
Emamectin benzoate is an insecticide from a completely different group (avermectin group). In the body of insects, it inactivates certain receptors and leads to complete relaxation of the intestinal muscles. As a result, food quickly clogs the intestines of the pest, it stops eating and dies within 3-4 subsequent days.
The active substance of Raptor gel is lambda-cyhalothrin, a highly effective insecticide from the group of pyrethroids. It is known for its high damaging ability against almost any invertebrates (and even some vertebrates), which is why it is used in aerosols mainly only by professional exterminators. When formulated in a gel, lambda-cyhalothrin is safe for humans and pets, but quickly kills any insects that eat it (within a few hours).
On a note
The gel has a milky white color and a pleasant sweet smell. The photo below shows how it looks when squeezed out of the tube:
It is important that all insecticides in the Express system components belong to different chemical classes. This guarantees protection against cross-resistance, when insects resistant to one agent of a particular group are not attacked by other insecticides of the same class. Even if the cockroaches in the apartment have resistance, for example, to lambda-cyhalothrin, fipronil and avermectin will kill them. And as noted above, simultaneous resistance to three insecticides of different classes is practically impossible - such resistant populations are not known today.
Both the bait inside the traps and the gel attract insects due to their food attractants. Attracted by the smell, cockroaches and ants find a "delicacy" and eat it. In addition, all ants that are looking for food in the apartment are foragers, whose task is to find food and deliver it to the nest. If they find a drop of gel or bait in the trap, they bite off pieces of it and carry it to the nest to feed the queen and brood-care ants. Feeding on these baits, the ants in the nest will also die.
It is interesting
There is an opinion that insects poisoned by a gel or bait in a trap are able to “infect” their relatives by contacting them in shelters. It is worth noting here that this option of insecticide transfer in the cockroach population will provide a very insignificant contribution to the overall effect of the use of the agent. Another thing is the population of ants. Ants are characterized by trophallaxis - the exchange of food by belching it.Therefore, ants that have eaten insecticides are really capable of causing serious damage to their nest by returning to it.
Insect kill rate
The very name of the set "Express system" clearly hints at the fact that when using it, insects are destroyed quickly. Moreover, the packaging says: “The result in a matter of hours.” You may even get the false impression that after setting the traps and applying the gel, all cockroaches and ants in the house will die immediately, literally within a few hours.
In reality, it is important to understand that although the gel and traps will effectively and systematically destroy pests, nevertheless, the entire population of cockroaches in the apartment will not immediately die out. It will take some time, and the more the situation with cockroaches was launched, the more time it will take for their complete destruction.
On a note
For a better understanding: not all cockroaches go far from their hiding places every day - some of them are full, some may be far from the baits. In addition, not every cockroach, at the first meeting with the bait, will eat such a portion of it in order to receive a lethal dose.
All this means that the result of using the Raptor system will be noticeable no earlier than a few days after its application in the apartment. Judging by the reviews, in the first 1-2 days there may not be any noticeable changes in the number and behavior of cockroaches encountered, then over the course of a week their number gradually decreases until they disappear completely.
And only in rare cases, the desired effect is achieved literally in 1-2 days. Here is an example:
Review
“Our gel destroyed the ants on the second day. I didn't even believe it could happen so fast.They crawled through a wooden window in the kitchen, an old cherry tree rests against this window. Apparently, right along the branch, they outlined a route for themselves. They were here all the time, I saw them every day. We bought a gel from ants and cockroaches Raptor, because we needed a remedy with a long-term effect. I smeared the branch itself, the window frame on the street and the window sill from the bottom from the kitchen side. And what do you think? The next day I stopped noticing the ants on the window. It's like they're all dead..."
Marina Vladimirovna, from correspondence on the forum
Residual effect of gel and traps
An important advantage of the Raptor Express System is that its components retain the ability to destroy insects for a long time.
For example, the gel retains its consistency for 3-4 weeks, then it begins to dry out, but even after complete drying, cockroaches with their gnawing jaws and ants can effortlessly eat the dried gel and poison themselves.
The bait in the traps dries even longer, it has less contact with moving air currents and is not covered with dust. In most cases, cockroaches eat it faster than it has time to dry.
At the same time, the insecticides themselves in the composition of the gel and baits in traps do not lose their damaging ability over time. The main factors leading to their loss of activity - direct sunlight and washing out with water - are practically excluded in the apartment.
Therefore, even if in a month or two some cockroach “accidentally” running from the neighbors in the apartment finds a dried drop of gel and feasts on it, it will die. This means that the Express System can be used not only to destroy insects already present in the room, but also to effectively protect the apartment from the penetration of new pests.
On a note
The deadline for maintaining the effectiveness of the components of the Express system is not indicated. However, if we proceed from general considerations, it can reach several years for both the gel and the bait in traps. But their attractiveness will decrease as they dry (due to a decrease in the concentration of the exhaled attractant).
The procedure for using the Express system
In accordance with the instructions for use, the gel and traps of the Raptor Express System should be placed primarily in places of accumulation and frequent movements of insects. For cockroaches, these are the places where they are most often seen, as well as places near the trash can and kitchen sink. For ants - their favorite "paths" along which foraging individuals move in search of food.
The box contains two packages with traps (two in each) and a tube of gel. Packages with traps must be opened, the traps themselves must be removed, but not opened. The presence of a lid ensures that cockroaches will view the device as a hiding place, and this will increase its effectiveness.
Then the traps are placed in places where it is convenient to attach them and where insects are most often found. Such traps can be glued even in those places where a child (or a pet) can get close to the bait - but if a gel was applied here, then the baby could get dirty in it.This will not happen with a trap.
On the underside of each box there is a small closed velcro. You need to remove the protective tape from it - and the trap can be glued, including to vertical surfaces.
As for the gel, it is applied where it is inconvenient to place traps and where it is safely hidden from children and pets. It is convenient to place it on skirting boards, back walls of furniture and household appliances (primarily refrigerators), inside cabinets, in corners in the kitchen and bathroom, under the sink and behind the toilet, in various available boxes. If the "trodden" ant path is well known, then the remedy can be placed in drops along it. Too dusty surface before applying the gel, it is desirable to wipe.
Apply the gel in separate drops at a distance of 2-4 cm from one another. Where cockroaches are rare, the distance between drops can be made larger.
In the future, once every 2-3 weeks, the place of application of the gel should be checked. If there is no funds left, then the drops must be applied again - which means that here the cockroaches eat the gel in the first place, and here it poisons them most effectively. If the gel remains intact everywhere, and cockroaches are no longer visible, then we can conclude that they have been successfully eliminated.
On a note
Those places where the gel was applied should not be washed or wiped with a cloth. The longer the remedy remains here, the longer it will protect the apartment from cockroaches.
No additional measures are required after applying the gel and placing the traps. In particular, there is no need to ventilate the apartment and remove animals and children from it (this is a big plus compared to baiting cockroaches with aerosol insecticides).
Dial Security
The gel and traps for cockroaches and ants do not pose a danger to people and pets, do not emit harmful substances into the air, and can be used in any residential area, including children's rooms and kitchens.
On a note
Interestingly, the manufacturer prudently included bitrex in the gel, an extremely bitter synthetic substance (one of the most bitter in the world in general). Insects do not feel its bitter taste and calmly eat the gel, however, people and pets will not be able to swallow such a delicacy due to strong bitterness. So even if a cat or dog accidentally detects drops of gel, they will not be able to lick it off.
The gel does not damage the surfaces it is applied to. Even after a long stay on a painted or laminated surface, it is enough to simply wipe it off with a damp cloth - and no traces will remain in its place.
Is it possible to use the Express system as a prophylactic
The Raptor express system is really suitable to a certain extent for the preventive protection of the premises from cockroaches and ants. However, it is important to understand that despite the high efficiency of such protection, in some cases it will not be absolute.
The fact is that sometimes the speed of penetration of cockroaches from neighboring rooms can be even higher than the speed of their destruction by gel and traps. And if the neighbors suddenly start baiting cockroaches with aerosols, then there may be a massive "resettlement" of insects from the outside.
Therefore, for absolutely reliable protection of the apartment, preventive measures should always imply an integrated approach: it is necessary not only to use long-acting exterminators, but also to find and eliminate all the cracks and holes through which insects climb into the apartment. Only in this case, you can be sure that new insects will not enter the room, and those already present here will definitely die, being destroyed by the Raptor Express System.
In the event that cockroaches were accidentally brought into the premises, for example, when moving, with household appliances or furniture, the Express System will help prevent the spread of insects around the apartment and their reproduction here.
Summing up, it is worth noting that the Raptor Express System can indeed be considered as an effective means of destroying cockroaches in the house. Its action is somewhat extended in time, but it definitely works - it methodically destroys even populations of cockroaches that are resistant to standard insecticides until they are completely exterminated.
Useful video about the Raptor Express System for the destruction of cockroaches and ants
