Q&A: Tim Husen on PLINAZOLIN Technology and Vanecto Cockroach Gel Bait

Editor’s note: Syngenta Professional Pest Management’s newest technology is PLINAZOLIN, which will be marketed as Vanecto Cockroach gel bait, expected to launch in early 2026. In a Q&A with PCT magazine, Husen explains how this technology works and how it can help pest management professionals address some of their most challenging pest infestations.

PCT: What makes the mode of action in PLINAZOLIN technology fundamentally different from existing active ingredients, and how can that translate to field-level advantages for pest management professionals (PMPs) dealing with resistance?

Tim Husen: PLINAZOLIN® technology from Syngenta is the name for the family of insecticide products containing a new active ingredient in the IRAC Group 30. PLINAZOLIN technology works by blocking the receptor binding site of the target pest’s inhibitory GABA neurotransmitter. In simpler terms, it prevents the target pest’s nerve cell from “turning off” as it would normally, leading to exhaustion and, ultimately, mortality.

PLINAZOLIN technology will be marketed as Vanecto® Cockroach gel bait, which is expected to launch in early 2026, pending Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registration.

PCT: How does the Vanecto Cockroach formulation improve palatability and address bait aversion?

Tim Husen: For a cockroach bait to work at the population level, it must be non-deterrent, highly palatable and accepted by the foraging pests. Vanecto Cockroach has a cutting-edge food matrix that delivers on these qualities. University- and external-contracted research has confirmed that Vanecto Cockroach shows higher consumption rates and preference over competitive cockroach gel baits when trialed with numerous field-collected cockroach strains.¹

Bait aversion is the hereditary process by which cockroach populations no longer “like the taste” of a cockroach gel bait product (e.g., sugar content aversion). Vanecto Cockroach contains a unique proprietary blend of food components, which can help keep it at the forefront of PMPs’ rotation strategies.

PCT: Can you elaborate on the data from the 10+ years of testing, particularly any insights on efficacy, speed of kill and success in real-world infestations?

Tim Husen: On the pathway to EPA registration, Vanecto Cockroach has been rigorously tested against numerous field-collected cockroach species with excellent efficacy and speed of kill compared to other available cockroach gel bait products. This included testing against field-collected cockroach strains with known pyrethroid resistance or other insecticide class resistance.

Federal and state laws and regulations prohibit using unregistered products in occupied structures, so bringing field strains into the lab for testing was as close as we could get to real-world testing prior to registration.

PCT: How does the horizontal transfer provided by PLINAZOLIN technology work in practice, and what does this mean for controlling hidden or non-foraging cockroach populations?

Tim Husen: Foraging cockroaches (typically adult males, non-gravid females and large nymphs) can horizontally transfer Vanecto Cockroach in harborages as other cockroaches eat the feces, body secretions and corpses of cockroaches that originally ingested it. Vanecto Cockroach, with its novel active ingredient and enhanced bait matrix, has displayed highly effective horizontal transfer-induced mortality at both secondary and tertiary exchange levels.²

Here’s an example: one cockroach ingests Vanecto Cockroach and dies. That dead cockroach then kills all the nymphs that we exposed to it within 48 to 72 hours. The dead nymphs then kill all the adult males that were exposed to them within three to seven days. All these cockroaches are dead from one initial cockroach feeding on Vanecto Cockroach.

PCT: Where do you see Vanecto Cockroach fitting into integrated pest management (IPM) programs, especially in sensitive environments like healthcare or food-handling facilities?

Tim Husen: Vanecto Cockroach will be a great fit for IPM programs. With no signal word on the label and no personal protective equipment required, PMPs will be able to use it in scenarios such as:

• When a knock-out punch is needed to clean out a large population, thanks to its quick speed of kill and horizontal transfer

• On new accounts with unknown past insecticide use history, given its EPA Reduced Risk status* and no cross-resistance to other cockroach gel bait active ingredients

• Sensitive sites, such as food-handling establishments or healthcare facilities

• Various account types and infestation levels, with a flexible label that can allow the PMP to assess the cockroach population and apply accordingly

Learn more about PLINAZOLIN technology and sign up to be notified when it's registered in your area at SyngentaPMP.com/PLINAZOLIN.

*A reduced-risk pesticide use is defined as one which may reasonably be expected to accomplish one or more of the following: (1) reduces pesticide risks to human health; (2) reduces pesticide risks to non-target organisms; (3) reduces the potential for contamination of valued, environmental resources, or (4) broadens adoption of IPM or makes it more effective. Vanecto Cockroach qualifies under one or more of the above criteria.

¹ Source: PPMU24204, 2024

² Source: PPMU23535, 2025

Performance assessments are based upon results or analysis of public information, field observations and/or internal Syngenta evaluations. Trials reflect treatment rates commonly recommended in the marketplace.