Fast Knockdown Insect Control Powders

A fast knockdown powder is formulated to act quickly on insects that come into direct contact with it. It is the choice when you have found active insects or a clear hotspot and want a faster result than monitoring and baiting alone.

It depends what you are trying to do.

• For fast knockdown: a light dusting exactly where you are seeing activity - along a trail, around an active crack or gap, or where insects are emerging.
• For hidden activity: dust into the cracks, crevices and voids they travel through - skirting gaps, around pipework under sinks, behind kickboards, and around entry points.

Do not over-apply. A thin, barely visible layer works better than a pile, because insects walk around a heap and through a film.

Sometimes, and sometimes not - it depends whether the powder is designed to stay active as a residual treatment. If activity keeps returning, combine a fast knockdown for what you can see now with a residual treatment on the routes and harbourages, and where suitable an IGR spray to interrupt the life cycle.

Some of the powders here are made for exactly that and others are not, so check the product page before you buy. Where a powder is labelled for nest treatment, puff it into the nest entrance rather than at the nest itself and let the wasps carry it in. Treat at dusk or after dark when the colony is inside and less active, cover up fully with light-coloured clothing, gloves and eye protection, and keep a clear route to walk back. Do not treat a nest from a ladder, and do not treat one at all if anyone in the household reacts badly to stings. Read our guide to killing wasps and removing nests safely first.

The powders in this range carry an active substance, so apply them into cracks, gaps and voids where they cannot be reached or disturbed, rather than across open floor. Avoid raising dust as you apply, keep children and pets out of the room until you have finished and cleared up, and do not treat food-preparation surfaces unless the label allows it. Follow the label directions for the product you have.

In line with the label, and whenever the powder has been vacuumed up, cleaned away or has got damp. Powders stop working once wet, so a damp cupboard base or a leaking pipe needs drying out before re-dusting is worth doing.

Check whether the dust has been walked through. Undisturbed dust means they are not using that route, so move the treatment closer to where activity actually is. Dust that has clearly been crossed, with insects still appearing, means the population is larger than the treated area - dust the remaining voids around the same spot rather than adding more to the same place.

If activity continues after a full treatment cycle, if it has spread beyond one room, or if you are dealing with bed bugs or German cockroaches. Look for a qualified pest controller with BPCA membership.