Pest control products are sold through specialist suppliers and wholesalers to pest control operators, farms, factories, property managers and homeowners. What you may buy depends on the product's registration: some are general-use for anyone, others are restricted to registered operators. Send one request listing what you need and how much, and suppliers in your area quote the price per item, minimum quantities and delivery. It is free and there is no obligation, and you compare quotes before buying anything.
The main product families
Most supplier lists group products by what they do:
- Gel baits in syringes or tubes for cockroaches and ants, usually with active ingredients such as fipronil or imidacloprid.
- Residual insecticides (cypermethrin, deltamethrin, bifenthrin) as concentrates you dilute, or as ready-to-use sprays.
- Dusts such as diatomaceous earth or boric acid for cavities and roof voids.
- Rodenticide blocks (brodifacoum, bromadiolone) for use inside bait stations.
- Larvicides for mosquito breeding water, and herbicides such as glyphosate for weed control.
Registration numbers and who may buy what
In South Africa, pesticides are registered under Act 36 of 1947, and each registered product carries a registration number on its label. Professional-only products may be sold only to a registered pest control operator, who can be asked for proof. Never buy an unregistered product, however cheap; imported or decanted chemicals sold from containers with no label are a serious risk to your family and to the pets and wildlife around you. Fumigants such as phosphine are restricted to licensed applicators, as explained under grain fumigation.
Reading a label before you buy
The label is the law for how a product is used. Check the active ingredient and its concentration, the pests and surfaces it is registered for, the dilution rate, the re-entry period and the personal protective equipment required. A concentrate sold at 25 per cent costs less per bottle than a ready-to-use spray, but you pay for a sprayer and the mixing. Work out the cost per square metre treated, not the price per bottle. Active ingredient resistance is real: rotate between families of insecticide rather than using one product for years.
Safe storage, mixing and disposal
Keep products in a locked, ventilated store above floor level, away from food, feed, seed and fertiliser, in their original containers. Mix only what you will use that day, in the correct dilution. Triple-rinse empty containers, add the rinse water to the spray tank and take the containers to a registered hazardous waste collection point rather than burning or reusing them. Unused rodenticide and old stock should not go in the household bin. Suppliers can usually point you to the nearest disposal option, and the quotes can include safety data sheets.
What to include in your request
- Products and active ingredients wanted
- Quantity and pack size for each
- Registered operator number, if you have one
- Delivery address or collection
- Whether you need safety data sheets
Pest Control Products for different properties
- Homes and families: ready-to-use sprays, gel syringes and sealed bait stations for small jobs, used strictly to the label
- Landlords, agents and body corporates: gel bait and spray stock for landlords and agents between tenants, with safe storage
- Restaurants and food businesses: approved gel baits, bait blocks and traps for operators serving kitchens, bakeries and food stores
- Hotels, guesthouses and lodges: low-odour products and gels that operators use in rooms and kitchens
- Offices, schools, clinics and shops: stock for operators servicing offices, schools and clinics, bought in bulk
- Factories, warehouses and mines: concentrates, dusts and bait blocks for factory programmes, bought in larger packs
- Farms, grain stores and smallholdings: rodenticide blocks, larvicides and herbicides in bulk for farm stores and animal housing
- Exporters and freight forwarders: supplies for operators doing depot and warehouse programmes, with registration numbers
Frequently asked questions
Can a homeowner buy professional pest control products?
How much do products cost?
Do products expire?
Is it cheaper to buy and treat myself?
Pest Control Products by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg