If actions speak louder than words, then Liam Bridge of Allpest in Perth sent the strongest possible positive message about the latest pest control solution from BASF. He took some of the first batch he received home as the new product of choice to solve his own pest issues.

As the head of the Urban Pest Management and Commercial Division at WA’s largest pest control organisation, Liam helps decide which products are included on the Approved Products List the company’s technicians choose from. So he was keen to weigh up the suitability of new Seclira® WSG by testing it in a variety of situations. Not just to see how high a level of control it produced, but also to assess its flexibility and user-friendliness. 

Seclira is the first non-staining, odourless, broad-spectrum, general insect control product for indoor and outdoor use, so it has the potential to establish itself as the new first-choice solution for most regular pest control call-outs.

Liam is certainly seeing it in those terms. “The versatility’s just brilliant,” he says. “If I can replace two products on the roster with just one, that’s fantastic.” 

Liam ‘stress tested’ Seclira at two tricky commercial sites where German cockroaches were a persistent problem. “We took it to a couple of problematic sites,” he says, “and the level of cockroach activity has really gone down from just a single application. So we’re really happy with the result.”

He also trialled Seclira at two domestic sites where spiders and American cockroaches were the issues.

Liam liked the new product from the start, impressed by its high levels of convenience as well as control. “It’s really easy to mix and apply,” Liam says. “A lot of products leave a very obvious chalky residue. It’s just been an accepted fact that you’ve had chemical residue.” Seclira changes all that. “We’ve done follow-up and you really can’t pick where the chemical was applied.”

Seclira dissolves to form a clear liquid which stays clear. “There’s no drop-out,” says Liam. “Once it’s mixed, it stays mixed. I left one lot for a day and a half and it was still clear.”

Liam says there can be some slight traces left after Seclira treatment, but only as much as water might cause. That means oversprays are much less of an issue. “There’s no running to wash all the windows.”

Even better, there’s “not that disgusting smell of so many other products. Having no odour is great for food production areas especially.”

Another “big plus” for Liam, connected to the lack of smell, is that Seclira is a non-repellent insecticide. “I’m not a fan of repellent insecticides pushing bugs away,” he says. “I’d rather use something that knocks them out.”

That was part of the reason Liam was happy to use Seclira to control the spiders around his own house. “There are not a lot of products that deal with spiders effectively”, he says, “and the safety issue with spiders is a big one.” Seclira gets top marks in that respect too. “You don’t get dying spiders hanging down round head height as you walk through. They just curl up in their webs, so all you have to do is clear away the webs.”

As well as cleaning up the spiders, Liam used Seclira around the outside of his home and was surprised by the result. “I didn’t realise it was such a heavy infestation,” he laughs. “There were just dead cockies from one end to the other.”

“All round, it’s a really good product,” says Liam. “There’s no resistance, because it’s not a 3A, so German cockroaches can be controlled. It’s not a repellent, which is a major plus, and the fact that there’s no residue makes life easier for technicians treating homes. Commercial kitchens will be a lot happier too, because there’s no smell.”
Within Allpest, Liam says he’ll be recommending that Seclira replace a couple of existing products on their roster and that it be considered for external as well as internal use. While he wasn’t necessarily on the hunt for a new product that provides excellent control without causing stains or an unpleasant smell, now that one’s come along he can see how much difference it will make to both pest control professionals and their customers. “It will mean a lot less headaches for everyone.”   

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