Where a repellent surface layer fits in IPM

Integrated pest management is a cycle, not a product choice. Inspect and identify. Assess the risk and decide against a threshold whether action is needed. Proof and fix hygiene first. Monitor. Treat only where the evidence says so, with the narrowest method that works. Record everything. Review and adjust. Repeltec has a place in that cycle; it is not the cycle.

What kind of product it is. Under the Biocidal Products Regulation, insecticides that control insects by other means are product type 18; repellents and attractants are product type 19. Repeltec is a repellent. It changes where insects go, not whether they survive, so it belongs in the prevention part of the programme and not in the response to an active infestation.

Where it fits. After the survey, once harbourage and routes are known. After proofing and hygiene points have been raised. After any active population has been dealt with. Then on the routes between harbourage and the protected space, as the treated-surface layer between visits.

What it does not replace. Inspection and monitoring, because they are how you know whether anything is working. Proofing, because a treated edge next to an open gap is still an open gap. Hygiene, because food and harbourage draw insects in. Baits and knock-down, because a repellent moves insects; it does not reduce a population.

Keep it away from baits and monitors. Laboratory work on German cockroaches found that a strongly repellent material on the substrate around a bait deposit reduced bait consumption. The same logic applies to monitors: a repellent next to a sticky trap or interceptor lowers the catch and makes the trend look better than the site is. Keep a clear margin around every bait point and monitor, mark treated zones on the site plan, and never treat the devices themselves.

Reading the monitoring afterwards. When a zone is treated, note which monitors are close to it on the service report. A fall in catches near a treated edge is information about the edge, not proof that the site is clear; check the monitors further along the route before drawing conclusions.

Resistance management. IPM keeps chemistry for where it is needed and avoids relying on one mode of action. A repellent layer is a different kind of tool from a residual insecticide and is not a substitute for one. Anything you say to a client about resistance needs regulatory approval first.

Audits and documentation. BRCGS and IFS expect a risk-based programme: a defined contractor scope or trained in-house team, a site plan, inspection frequency set by risk assessment, trend analysis and an in-depth survey at least once a year. Add Repeltec to the scope of service and the site plan before the first application, and record every application on the service report with the zone, product, batch, quantity, applicator and re-entry time. A treatment that is not in the file did not happen.