A house infested with cats & cockroaches posed a challenge for IV Termite & Pest Control. The customer was an elderly woman who lived with several cats…and thousands of cockroaches. Whether she couldn’t see the pests or simply didn’t care wasn’t clear, but it wasn’t the homeowner who arranged for the work. The woman wouldn’t let her family or caretaker clean the house. Eventually, the caretaker called IV Termite & Pest Control. “We met with the caretaker, which is how we got that job,” says Bill Smale, owner of the 52-year-old company, based in El Centro, CA. Even after she agreed, she insisted that no sprays could be used for fear sprays would harm her cats.The 1,400 sq ft home was infested with German cockroaches, and Smale’s team of technicians decided to use InVict Gold Cockroach Gel manufactured by Rockwell Labs. It was one of the worst infestations the company — started by Smale’s father in 1963 — had seen. InVict Gold worked well, reports Smale, who took over the business in 1976 after his father passed away. When technicians returned to the home for follow-up visits, they found piles of cockroaches 2 inches high. It works quickly,” Smale says. “You’ll see roaches die in 10 to 15 minutes. They’ll start shaking. Roaches are attracted to it. “Even as quick and effective as the product is, it took several months to gain control of the situation. For almost all roach jobs, we use InVict Gold bait,” Smale says. It’s the only roach gel we’re using.” The easy-to-use bait offers a quick kill and provides a long-lasting effect, which reduces callbacks — saving money long-term. Among the features Smale likes are: 

• Cockroaches begin dying in as quick as 20 minutes after consuming the bait. 

•Proven secondary kill when roaches are exposed to carcasses and droppings of roaches that ate the bait. 

• Exclusive food-grade attractants are intentionally different from other popular baits, making InVict Gold a solid choice for bait rotation to prevent bait aversion. 

• It’s formulated without the eight most common food allergens for sensitive applications such as food plants, schools, and childcare and healthcare facilities. 

• It’s available in an individual labeled box that includes a plunger and a new 300-gram tube that fits in a standard caulking gun.

“The company is investigating options for other pests, but when it comes to cockroaches, InVict is the go-to solution because it gets rid of the roaches,” Smale says.