PEST Control
Ant bites can be very painful.
Ants have always been considered a major nuisance to residents of homes and offices. Various studies have also reputed that ants are potential mechanical vector of diseases by carrying bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Salmonella, etc. This is due to their habit of roaming from one place to another in search of food.
With the rise of living standard in Malaysia, the public is becoming more aware of the importance of pests like ants.
Ants, like honey bees and termites are social insects and live in colonies. The colonies are usually found in ground or in wood, but may also be located in debris, or in buildings. The most caste sighted by man is the worker ants. Winged ants(alates) are the King and Queen swarming in search for new nesting sites to form a new colony. This castle is often seen when the humidity in the environment is high, like after a rain.
Tell-tale signs of infestation are their presence, occasionally the wings of the swarmers that drop off after flight. Some species of ants create mud tunnels to protect themselves from sunlight and dehydration. The tunnel is different from those of termites in that it is comparatively “loose” in texture.
Rats will infest and contaminate foods.
In an urban setting, rodent refer to the commensal brown rat (or sewer rat, Rattus Norvegicus), the roof rat (Rattus rattus) and the house mouse (Mus musculus). Given ideal conditions, one pair rodent can produce up to 2,000 offspring in only one year.
Their high agility enables a young mouse to enter a building through a 1 cm sq. gap with great ease. They are disease-carrying pests because they live and breed in highly unhygienic places e.g. sewers and garbage dumps and hence pose a threat to our health. Diseases like jaundice, Weil's Disease, the well-known plague and the lesser-known hantaviral infections with influenza-type symptoms are associated with rodents. What is not widely known are the fire-hazards they cause when sharpening their chisel-like tooth on electrical wirings and insulations.
Sighting of the nocturnal creatures in the day signals heavy infestation simply because they are acting against their nature to forage for food when their enemies, especially people, are most active.
Tell-tal signs of invasion are their droppings (a rat produces about 50 droppings within 24 hours), odour of urine, damage to packaging especially food, gnaw marks, smear marks and burrow tracks.
Cockroaches spreads desease, contaminate food as well as damage our precious belongings.
Mosquitoesoccur in most part of the world and are well-known as a major nuisance to both man and animals. In addition to just being pests, mosquitoes carry a wide variety of parasitic organisms which they transmit to human, resulting in millions of cases of human disease each year.
Fossil evidence shows that cockroaches have existed almost unchanged for more than 250 million years and have been described as "God's Perfect Creature". They are amazingly adaptable and hard and can live and breed under hostile conditions.
The three main pest types in building are:
a) American Cockroach (Periplaneta Americana)
b) German Cockroach (Blattala Germanica)
c) Brown banded Cockroach (Supella Longipalpa)
They prefer a warm and moist habitat close to food sources eg. Kitchen, rubbish chutes and toilets. Due to their close association with filth (feeding and breeding in highly unsanitary environment like sewers, garbage dumps and drains) and their indiscriminate wandering in kitchens and pantry, they are capable of spreading diseases.
Indicators of their existence are the tell-tale odor, droppings, egg capsules (ootheca), damage packaging especially of food and moulted body shells. Mosquito bites could be harmful if it is denggi or malaria. It's bites will irritates us.
Mosquitoes which feed on human blood are responsible for major world health problems. Our tropical climate provide the environment for this insect vectors which transmit diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.
Mosquitoes occur in most part of the world and are well-known as a major nuisance to both man and animals. In addition to just being pests, mosquitoes carry a wide variety of parasitic organisms which they transmit to human, resulting in millions of cases of human disease each year.
The three common mosquitoes found dwellings are:
1. The notorious Aedes mosquitoes characterize by their prominent "tiger stripe" and their ability to feed (bite) actively during the day besides park feeding time at dusk and pre-dawn. Mosquitoes breeds in clean stagnant water having a relatively short flight range of 50-100m.
2. The anopheles mosquito-vector for malaria, is a night biter (nocturnal). It's flight range varies from species to species. Characterize by its slanted biting positions.
3. Culex spp. - some species transmit Japanese B - Encephalitis. Culex breeds in polluted waters such as drainages, septic tanks, oxidation ponds especially in urban/suburban areas. This is a night biter with major peak feeding time between 2200 to 0200 hours. Also, this mosquito has a long flight range.
Termites infestation cause damages on wood furniture, door frames as well as pillars and beams. If the building has been weaken it can be fatal to human. .
Termites are small soft bodied insects, commonly referred to as white ants. Although they look similar to ants, they are not related. There are many species of termites in Malaysia. Some are important recyclers of dead and decaying timber, others feed on grasses, while only a few species cause economic damage to timber.
These economically significant species of subterranean termite travel through soil as they constantly forage for and evaluate the size and quality of potential food resources. They seek our cellulose, the primary component of wood. They fed on fallen or dead trees, and benefit the environment by recycling nutrients from them.
Unfortunately, termites also find timber in service in houses very attractive and cause significant damage as a result. They have the potential to be present in a building for several years with few obvious signs of activity. Termite form large nests or colonies within which individual members (millions some cases) work tirelessly to ensure it survives and flourishes.
There are several castes within the colony, with clearly defined workloads and responsibilities.
Bed bugs bites are intensely itchy and irritating. Obvious red spots will shy
us away from public area.
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