If you have pests, chances are you want to get rid of them—fast. You might have your preferred products and methods of pest control, but here are some products you might want to consider integrating into your pest control program for better results:

Pesticide Adjuvants

Adjuvants are products designed to enhance the performance of pesticides. By making the pesticide as effective as possible, adjuvants can reduce the amount of pesticides used over time.

This can also reduce the possible damage to non-target organisms and lessen any adverse environmental effects. A pest control program can benefit from an understanding of the availability and function of each adjuvant.

Surfactants or Wetting Agents

These products, which may also be called spreaders, simply make water “wetter”. That is, the surface tension of water or the spray solution is reduced, enabling it to move into much smaller spaces.

Pesticide and fungicide solutions containing a surfactant do a better job of coating the plant than the same solution without the surfactant. Surfactants also help move an insecticide down into the soil to improve the control of all below-ground pests. Surfactants may also be used to help increase the efficiency of an herbicide by making it easier for the chemical to get into the undesirable plant.

Stickers

Many times it’s desirable to coat the plant with a protectant chemical like a fungicide or insecticide to prevent pest problems for an extended period. A sticker in the spray solution will help keep rain or irrigation water from washing the protectant chemical off the plant too soon. A surfactant may be added to the sticker, making it a spreader-sticker. This will help ensure good coverage of the sticker.

Defoaming Agents

When some spray solutions are agitated, foam may be produced. Excessive foam can cause problems, so adding a de-foamer to the spray tank could prove to be helpful.

Colorants

These dyes are mostly helpful for showing areas that have already been sprayed, since most spray solutions are colorless. Adding dyes to a spray solution will ensure that the applicator stays on target for the areas they are spraying.