The 15 Products Behind Half of California’s Pest Control, Ranked by 18 Million Applications
Key result: California pest control businesses reported structural applications of 1,723 different products in 2022, but 15 of them accounted for half of the 18.3 million applications. Bifen I/T, a bifenthrin concentrate, led with 7.9 percent, followed by Suspend Polyzone at 7.4 percent and the Ditrac rodent bait at 5.5 percent.
Why a product ranking, and why this one is different
Lists of “what exterminators use” are usually written from catalogues or surveys of preference. California’s pesticide use reports record what was actually used: every monthly report names the exact registered product, by its EPA registration number, and the number of applications made with it. Summing those counts across every structural pest control report in the state gives a ranking by real use, not by recommendation.
Our explainer on what chemicals exterminators use covers the active ingredients and how they work. This report ranks the branded products themselves. We name products because the state record names them; inclusion here is a measure of use, not an endorsement.
The ranking
| Rank 2022 | Product | EPA reg. no. | Active ingredients | Applications, 2022 | Share | Rank 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bifen I/T Insecticide/Termiticide | 53883-118-AA | bifenthrin | 1,443,770 | 7.9% | 1 |
| 2 | Suspend Polyzone | 432-1514-AA | deltamethrin | 1,343,424 | 7.35% | 2 |
| 3 | Ditrac All-Weather Blox | 12455-80-AA | diphacinone | 1,007,189 | 5.51% | 3 |
| 4 | Alpine Wsg | 499-561-AA | dinotefuran | 801,510 | 4.39% | 5 |
| 5 | Demand Cs Insecticide | 100-1066-AA | lambda-cyhalothrin | 745,931 | 4.08% | 8 |
| 6 | Selontra Rodent Bait | 7969-382-AA | cholecalciferol | 591,628 | 3.24% | 11 |
| 7 | Termidor Sc Termiticide/Insecticide | 7969-210-AA | fipronil | 589,174 | 3.22% | 7 |
| 8 | Fendona Cs Controlled Release Insecticide | 499-570-AA | alpha-cypermethrin | 498,920 | 2.73% | 6 |
| 9 | Wisdom Tc Flowable | 5481-520-AA | bifenthrin | 385,038 | 2.11% | 9 |
| 10 | Patrol | 100-1066-ZA | lambda-cyhalothrin | 374,950 | 2.05% | 34 |
| 11 | Temprid Fx Insecticide | 432-1544-AA | beta-cyfluthrin; imidacloprid | 370,811 | 2.03% | 13 |
| 12 | Talstar P Professional Insecticide | 279-3206-ZC | bifenthrin | 328,734 | 1.8% | 15 |
| 13 | Alpine Wsg | 499-561-ZA | dinotefuran | 303,830 | 1.66% | 4 |
| 14 | Advion Cockroach Gel Bait | 100-1484-AA | indoxacarb | 294,413 | 1.61% | 17 |
| 15 | Takedown Soft Bait | 7173-304-ZA | bromethalin | 294,290 | 1.61% | 31 |
| 16 | Onslaught Fastcap Spider & Scorpion Insecticide | 1021-2574-AA | piperonyl butoxide; esfenvalerate; prallethrin | 289,970 | 1.59% | 12 |
| 17 | Taurus Sc Termiticide/Insecticide | 53883-279-AA | fipronil | 278,304 | 1.52% | 19 |
| 18 | Firststrike Soft Bait | 7173-258-AA | difethialone | 224,242 | 1.23% | 29 |
| 19 | Tandem | 100-1437-AA | lambda-cyhalothrin; thiamethoxam | 219,683 | 1.2% | 20 |
| 20 | Tengard Sfr One Shot Termiticide/Insecticide | 70506-6-AA | permethrin | 210,788 | 1.15% | 23 |
| 21 | Dragnet Sfr Termiticide/Insecticide | 279-3062-ZD | permethrin | 202,542 | 1.11% | 24 |
| 22 | Phantom Termiticide-Insecticide | 241-392-AA | chlorfenapyr | 196,392 | 1.07% | 28 |
| 23 | Talstar Termiticide/Insecticide | 279-3206-AA | bifenthrin | 195,976 | 1.07% | 32 |
| 24 | Contrac California Bromethalin Blox | 12455-151-AA | bromethalin | 191,200 | 1.05% | 18 |
| 25 | Cy-Kick Cs Controlled Release Insecticide | 499-304-ZD | cyfluthrin | 185,304 | 1.01% | 27 |
Source: California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Use Reports 2022 and 2023, site code 10, applications summed by product number and joined to the product and product-chemical reference files. Each registration number is ranked separately. The top 100 for both years are in the CSV. Author calculation.
What it means. Professional pest control in California runs on a short list. The top product alone accounted for one application in thirteen. Five products made 29.2 percent of applications, ten made 42.6 percent and fifteen made 51.3 percent. The remaining 1,708 products shared the other half.
What limits it. Some brands are registered under more than one number, typically a manufacturer’s own registration and a distributor’s supplemental one, and are ranked separately here. Applications are counted as reported by the business; a perimeter treatment and a single bait-station refill each count as one.
Brand totals across registrations
Combining registrations that carry the same product name changes the order slightly.
| Product name, all registrations | Applications, 2022 | Share, 2022 | Applications, 2023 | Share, 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bifen I/T | 1,443,770 | 7.90% | 1,766,274 | 9.39% |
| Suspend Polyzone | 1,343,424 | 7.35% | 1,336,807 | 7.10% |
| Alpine WSG | 1,105,340 | 6.05% | 1,222,195 | 6.50% |
| Ditrac All-Weather Blox | 1,007,189 | 5.51% | 1,068,181 | 5.68% |
| Demand CS | 937,951 | 5.13% | 836,728 | 4.45% |
| Termidor SC | 608,142 | 3.33% | 535,017 | 2.84% |
| Selontra Rodent Bait | 591,628 | 3.24% | 369,515 | 1.96% |
| Fendona CS | 498,920 | 2.73% | 538,721 | 2.86% |
Source: as above, summed by product name. Author calculation.
What it means. The same four brands lead in both years: Bifen I/T, Suspend Polyzone, Alpine WSG and Ditrac. Together they made 26.8 percent of all structural applications in 2022 and 28.7 percent in 2023.
What the leaders have in common
Grouping the top 25 of 2022 by what they are used for, as their active ingredients and formulations indicate, gives four families.
- Perimeter and general insect sprays. Bifenthrin (Bifen I/T, Wisdom TC, Talstar), deltamethrin (Suspend Polyzone), lambda-cyhalothrin (Demand CS, Patrol), alpha-cypermethrin (Fendona CS), dinotefuran (Alpine WSG, a water-soluble granule mixed for spraying), permethrin (Tengard, Dragnet) and combinations. Most of the top 25.
- Rodent baits. Ditrac (diphacinone), Selontra (cholecalciferol), Takedown and Contrac (bromethalin) and FirstStrike (difethialone). Five of the top 25.
- Termite and ant liquids. Termidor SC and Taurus SC (fipronil), Phantom (chlorfenapyr).
- Cockroach gel baits. Advion (indoxacarb) in 2022, joined by Vendetta Nitro (clothianidin and pyriproxyfen) in 2023.
What limits it. Use categories are inferred from active ingredient and formulation. Several products are labelled for more than one use, and the reports do not record the target pest.
What moved between 2022 and 2023
| Product | Applications, 2022 | Applications, 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vendetta Nitro Cockroach Gel Bait | 19,452 | 390,499 | about 20 times |
| Bifen I/T | 1,443,770 | 1,766,274 | +22.3% |
| Ditrac All-Weather Blox | 1,007,189 | 1,068,181 | +6.1% |
| Selontra Rodent Bait | 591,628 | 369,515 | −37.5% |
| Takedown Soft Bait | 294,290 | 165,317 | −43.8% |
| Patrol (registration 100-1066-ZA) | 374,950 | 142,373 | −62.0% |
Source: as above, by registration number. Author calculation.
What it means. The leading products are stable, but below them single products can rise or fall by half in a year. Vendetta Nitro went from 19,452 applications to 390,499 and into the top ten. Patrol fell 62 percent while another Demand CS registration, 100-1066-ZC, rose to 302,144 applications, which looks like a switch between registrations of the same lambda-cyhalothrin product rather than a change in practice.
What limits it. Two years. Product changes can reflect pricing, distributor deals, label changes or a few large businesses switching, none of which the reports record.
Checks on the ranking
1. Complete product match
Method. Joined every report’s product number to the product reference file of the same year.
Result. Every application in both years matched a product.
2. Concentration replicated
Result. The top 15 products made 51.3 percent of applications in 2022 and 50.6 percent in 2023; the top 100 made 89.7 and 91.1 percent. The four leading brands are identical in both years.
3. Unit of count
Definition. Applications are the application count each monthly report states, counted once per report.
Limitations. About 12 percent of licences state no application count on some reports, so their use is not counted. A ranking by pounds would look entirely different and would be led by the fumigant, as our analysis of structural pesticide use shows.
Related research: which companies hold the registrations behind these products.
Download the data
The tables in this report are published as CSV files under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You may republish, remix and build on them, including commercially, with attribution to The Pest Control Brief and a link to this page.
- Top 100 structural pest control products by applications, with EPA registration numbers, active ingredients and formulation, 2022 and 2023 (CSV, 200 rows)
How to cite this report
The Pest Control Brief, “The 15 Products Behind Half of California's Pest Control, Ranked by 18 Million Applications”, 2 October 2026. https://thepestcontrolbrief.com/most-used-pest-control-products/
References
- California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Pesticide Use Report annual archives for 2022 and 2023, including the product, formulation and product-chemical reference files. files.cdpr.ca.gov/pub/outgoing/pur_archives/. Accessed 2 October 2026.
- California Department of Pesticide Regulation. PUR field definitions, readme_excel.xlsx, supplied inside the 2023 archive. Defines the application count for non-agricultural monthly summary reports.
How the ranking was compiled
Scope. All 2022 and 2023 Pesticide Use Report records with site code 10, Structural Pest Control.
Unit. The application count field, counted once per report and attributed to the report’s product number.
Names. Product names and EPA registration numbers as given in the department’s product reference file, converted to title case. Active ingredients from the product-chemical table, excluding inert ingredients.
What we did not do. We did not combine products across manufacturers that share an active ingredient, did not estimate sales or revenue, and did not rate products.
Limitations. California only. Structural pest control only; landscape and agricultural use of the same products is excluded. Two years.
Last reviewed: 2 October 2026.
For trade reporters and operators
Most quotable statistics
- 15 of 1,723 products accounted for half of California’s 18.3 million structural pest control applications in 2022.
- Bifen I/T was the most used product, in 1.44 million applications, 7.9 percent of the total, rising to 1.77 million in 2023.
- The top four brands, Bifen I/T, Suspend Polyzone, Alpine WSG and Ditrac, made 26.8 percent of applications in 2022.
- Ditrac All-Weather Blox, a diphacinone rodent bait, was used in over a million applications in both years.
- Vendetta Nitro cockroach gel bait went from 19,452 applications in 2022 to 390,499 in 2023.
Caveats that travel with them
California only. Applications as reported by businesses on monthly summaries. A ranking of use, not of effectiveness or sales.
Press summary
Half of all professional pest control in California is done with just 15 products, according to an analysis of state pesticide use reports by The Pest Control Brief. Of 1,723 products used in 18.3 million structural applications in 2022, Bifen I/T, a bifenthrin concentrate, led with 7.9 percent, followed by Suspend Polyzone, a deltamethrin product, at 7.4 percent and Ditrac All-Weather Blox, a diphacinone rodent bait, at 5.5 percent. The same four brands led in 2023. The ranking is drawn from state-mandated use reports rather than surveys, and names products only because the state record does.
Headlines editors could use
- 15 products do half of California’s pest control
- The most used pest control products, ranked by 18 million real applications
- Bifen, Suspend, Alpine, Ditrac: the four brands behind a quarter of pest control
- A cockroach bait went from 19,000 uses to 390,000 in a year
Questions about the ranking
What is the most used professional pest control product?
In California in 2022 and 2023, Bifen I/T, a bifenthrin insecticide and termiticide concentrate, with 1,443,770 structural applications in 2022 and 1,766,274 in 2023.
What do exterminators spray around houses?
By count of applications, mostly pyrethroid concentrates: bifenthrin, deltamethrin, lambda-cyhalothrin and alpha-cypermethrin products lead the ranking.
What rodent bait do pest control companies use most?
Ditrac All-Weather Blox, a diphacinone bait, with 1,007,189 applications in 2022, followed by Selontra, a cholecalciferol bait, with 591,628.
What do professionals use for cockroaches?
Gel baits. Advion Cockroach Gel Bait, an indoxacarb product, had 294,413 applications in 2022, and Vendetta Nitro had 390,499 in 2023.
What termite product is used most?
Among liquid termiticides, Termidor SC, a fipronil product, with 589,174 applications under its main registration in 2022. Bifenthrin products labelled as termiticides are also near the top, but are used for general insects as well.
How many different products do pest control companies use?
1,723 distinct products appeared in California structural use reports in 2022 and 1,683 in 2023, but 100 products made about 90 percent of applications.
Is this a recommendation?
No. It ranks use as reported to the state. It says nothing about effectiveness, safety or value.
Where can I see the full list?
The top 100 products for both years, with registration numbers, are in the CSV above.
