MAGTHANITE™ Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does the MAGTHANITE™ technology work?

The foraging cockroach is lured to the product by the attractant contained in it. A cockroach’s exoskeleton is slightly magnetic, due to the chitin and chitosan in its composition. The magnetic properties of the constituent powders of MAGTHANITE™ cause the powder to adhere to the cockroach’s exoskeleton upon contact.

The foraging cockroach returns to the harbourage; it contaminates the harbourage (including gravid females and nymphs) through contact and by depositing powder around the harbourage. The powder enters the cockroaches’ bodies through the soft membranes in the exoskeleton, such as leg joints, through ingestion, and subsequently through necrophagy, ingestion of vomit, and fecal matter. Generally, mortality occurs within 24 to 48 hours, but the active ingredient adheres to the exoskeleton for longer, ensuring maximum effectiveness.

In essence, MAGTHANITE™ is a delivery vehicle for the active ingredient.  By being brought in to the harbourage by direct transfer (as opposed to in an ingested form), the active ingredient delivers primary, secondary and tertiary mortality in a chain reaction or cascade effect.

2. Why is MAGTHANITE™  superior to other forms of controlling or trapping cockroaches?

MAGTHANITE™ is a totally new approach – powder technology -- to solving the problem of cockroach infestation. It is not a trap, nor an ingested bait. It kills cockroaches in the harbourage. It works better and more rapidly than gels, and has been demonstrated to be effective on both susceptible and resistant strains of cockroach.  It is effective against gel-averse cockroaches

Because the active ingredient is carried by direct transfer into the harbourage on the exoskeleton of a foraging cockroach, it is passed on to the other cockroaches in greater concentration and so more effectively than through ingested gels found in fæces and carcasses of foraging cockroaches which ingest gel bait and return to the harbourage.

3. Who should use pest elimination products based on MAGTHANITE™?

MAGTHANITE™ technology is appropriate for both products designed for use solely by professional pest control operators as well for home/consumer use.  It is clean, effective and very simple to use. 

MAGTHANITE™ Cockroach Exterminator is particularly appropriate for use where recommended in restaurants, hotels, hospitals and schools.

4. How are products based on the  MAGTHANITE™ technology marketed?

MAGTHANITE™ products destined for the professional market are marketed in a unique 30gm tube with an extended nozzle, to allow consistency of quantity applied and help PCOs control costs.

The consumer/home applications will be  delivered in market-appropriate packaging and sizes, typically 10gm tubes or 1gm individual bait stations.

5. How should products based on MAGTHANITE™ be used?

Each application --  or attractant point -- of MAGTHANITE™ is a single puff on the tube, delivering approximately 0.1 gm. The number of attractant points will vary according to the severity of infestation. Generally, light infestations, and infestations of blattella germanica require up to 6 to 10 attractant points per 10m²; heavy infestations or infestations of periplaneta americana should be treated with 10 to 20 attractant points per 10m².

MAGTHANITE™ -based products should be used in the usual places where baits are placed to attract cockroches. The dry flow powder composition is particularly appropriate for use in cracks and crevices and in any hard-to-reach places or inaccessible harbourages.  Also, MAGTHANITE™ is a key weapon for the PCO in dealing with infestations of gel-averse cockroaches, and can be used safely near electrical equipment, and in circuit breaker boxes.  It is not advisable to use MAGTHANITE™ in situations where the powder can be disturbed by draughts or air currents.

• In cracks and crevices in floors, and tiled areas; under and behind exposed water pipes; behind skirting boards
• Under and behind sinks, refrigerators, freezers,  cookers, dish-washing machines, storage cabinets, washing machines and clothes dryers, air conditioning units and ducting
• Adjacent to food storage cabinets and cupboards
• Under hand-basins, bathroom cabinets, shower areas and baths
• Inside electrical circuit breaker boxes
• Around door-frames and windows
• Under taps and toilets

6. How long does MAGTHANITE™ last?

Although each application will remain potent for 3 months or more, reapplications may be needed if all the powder has been taken back to the harbourage.  Usually, repeat applications should follow the periodicity established for gels, or, if required, following re-inspection 2 to 4 weeks after the first application.

Regular re-application will prevent a recurrence of infestation from new waves of cockroaches.

7. How effective is MAGTHANITE™?

Independent tests in the laboratory and in cockroach-infested locations have shown that 100% mortality is achieved in 24 to 48 hours. A single infected cockroach can infect anything from 30 (periplaneta americana) to 100 (blattella germanica) cockroaches. For more detailed information about product efficacy, click here...

8. Is MAGTHANITE™  harmful to humans or animals?

The magnetic powder is an inert substance and meets UK and EU Health and Safety Directives. The recommended insecticides used with MAGTHANITE™ have all been approved through appropriate national government regulatory schemes. 

For more safety-related information on MAGTHANITE™ download our MSDS (Materials Safety Data Sheet)  PDF for the product in its inert, inactive form.