Antipest Blog

Eliminating pests in a large-sized property (a factory, warehouse or a multi-storey building, in particular) is not an easy task.  To achieve an effective pest treatment result will require a systematic, painstaking and carefully crafted pest control action plan that encompasses strategic treatment of pests as well as preventive measures against any possible future pest reinfestation.     

Our Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is a well-planned and strategized pest control approach that takes into consideration of all surrounding aspects in order to benefit the result of pest treatment and solidify future pest prevention plan.  This program is an ongoing, continuous plan to keep pests out in a persistent and uninterrupted manner. 

There are several aspects that need to be taken into consideration.  First and foremost, landscape must be taken into account.  The foundational ground that sits the building must be carefully inspected for possible entryways of pests, damp spots that can become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and suspected termite trails; we must infuse “care” into the landforms with the purpose of setting up a “healthy” foundation for the building. Moreover, exterior maintenance is equally important.  The exteriors of the building must be carefully checked for crevices that can serve as entry points for the critters. Repair the fissures and seal the gaps to prevent the pests from crawling in. 

Our program also entails predictive testing that can help to lower your maintenance costs of the amenities available.  In addition, such test constantly monitors the system components and is able to detect excessive wear or impending failure. Furthermore, the preventive maintenance tasks are automated to organize the workflow, reduce any deferred maintenance and provide you with the necessary information to help you reduce your operational costs.

We, Anticimex, are professionally trained on IPM and we utilize the most efficient pest control techniques, termite identification method, state-of-the-art equipment, and effective chemicals.  The advocation of the program also helps to prevent pest infestations even before they occur.  All in all, you can rest assured that our Pest Alert System Approach is in compliance with the HACCP standards.

Contact us today at 03-8023 1888 for your professional pest control needs.

Image source: https://www.in.envu.com/professional-pest-management/tips-and-tools/ipm

Pests are rampant everywhere no matter where you live and go.  They are present inside the buildings and outside in the fields as well as other open spaces.  The fact that a majority of the pests such as rats, ants, cockroaches, mosquitoes, flies, and termites are difficult to control due to their sheer numbers and sly or inconspicuous hideouts, you will find that using pesticides purchased from the stores and other DIY treatment methods would only temporarily solve your pest problem with limited result of effectiveness.   

There are a lot of benefits from hiring a pest control expert to help you solve your pestering pest problems.  We, Anticimex, are pest control professionals who practise safe treatment methods and we know how to handle the chemicals in a safe and responsible manner.

(i) A strategic plan – We will survey, study and analyze the pest situation in your area based on the size of treatment area, level of infestation, type of pest involved, suitable treatment method, etc.  We will identify and target the root cause of the problem (such as their habitat) and, from there, we will come up with a strategized pest control plan to cater specifically to your pest control needs.  Furthermore, we will monitor and improve the plan on a regular basis.

(ii)  Risk Minimization – Pesticides are hazardous chemicals that should be handled with care and used cautiously.  Hiring a pest control specialist will prevent you from being exposed to the chemicals unnecessarily; our pest control technicians are well-trained experts in handling this health hazard and they know exactly how and where to apply and contain the chemicals in a painstaking manner. 

(iii) Cost and Time Effectiveness – Engaging the service of a pest control expert will help you save your cost and time in the long run.  Take termites, for example, they can cause severe damages to the residential houses, factories, warehouses, and office buildings. If your DIY method does not eliminate the pests in a right and proper way, not only will time be wasted, it can cause you extra expenses to repair the structural damages; moreover, if your method backfires, it could worsen your pest situation.  Ergo, letting our pest control professionals solve your pest problems is certainly value for money and time. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us at 03-8023 1888 should you have any problems relating to termites, rats, common ants, cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes.  Let us worry about and take care of your pest problem.

Cockroaches may look like common, everyday pests to you but they are more than meets the eye. Broaden your knowledge by getting to know some of the shocking facts about them below.

(i) What happens when you squelch a cockroach? When you encounter a cockroach, the first thing that comes to your mind is either squashing it or running away. Cockroach is a highly unhygienic scavenger, squishing it to death will release contagious bacteria from its carcass and thereby spread diseases that are detrimental to human health; these diseases can bring about illnesses such as allergies, asthma and others.

(ii) Roaches are good at faking death. When you crush a cockroach, it stops moving and appears to be dead. Bear in mind that cockroaches are good actors at playing dead.

(iii) Cockroach blood is not red, it is white instead. This is because the blood lacks hemoglobin which is a red protein carrying oxygen all over its body.

(iv) Cockroach has two brains, one is located in the head and the other in the rear part of the body.

(v) A cockroach can survive without its head. If you decapitate a roach, it can still live without its head. However, it will eventually die of starvation because it doesn’t have a mouth to eat after losing its head.

References:
https://www.cockroachzone.com/what-happens-when-you-squish-a-cockroach/
https://aboutpalmettobug.com/how-long-can-a-cockroach-live-without-its-head/ [Image source only]

Rasberry (or Tawny) Crazy Ants, originating from Southeast regions of the US, are one of the “insane” species in the ant world.  Their existence is not only a nightmare to humans but they pose mortal dangers to other ant species as well.  They earned the term “Crazy” because they are invasive, have a strange and unique appetite and, most of all, they are suicidal!

Crazy Ants crave for something electronic other than the normal sweet stuff.  They like to chew through electronic cables, components and any electrical circuitry.  The craziest part is that they love to kill themselves when they eat into the live electric wiring!  And, as they get fried, they emit a chemical that summons their friends to the same spot (or their dead spot) to join them in the afterlife!  All in all, your computers, TVs and mobile phones are no longer safe once a swarm of these ants attack them.

Other than their “electrifying” attitude, they are no friends to other ant species.  They attack and kill other ants (fire ants, in particular) and take over their nests.  One final bad news, their reproduction is much faster than the other ant species!  We better pray that they wouldn’t invade our homeland someday and make Malaysia their new home!

Reference:
http://listverse.com/2013/12/17/10-strange-and-mysterious-insect-behaviors/

Rats are contagious, annoying rodents that are somehow able to enter your house cunningly without you knowing it and, by the time you discover them, the damages have already been done: Food has been eaten and thereby contaminated, not to mention them gnawing at the electrical wires, starting fire and carrying diseases.  They leave droppings everywhere and will chew just about anything that they can get their teeth into.

There are various methods to get rid of rats that have sneaked into your home.

(i) Poison

Poisoning is the most effective way to eliminate these pesky rodents. The only downside of this method is that they will die of internal bleeding somewhere in your house, and it’s your job to find them before they stink the whole place up.

(ii) Glue trap

The name says it all.  A dark brown, sticky mass of glue is slathered generously on a board of wood and placed outside where the rats holed up.  The glue is extremely sticky and, once a rat lands onto it, the glue clings onto the rat like fleas on a dog.  The rat will suffer a slow death trying to escape its personal quicksand and this is why many people consider this method cruel.

(iii) Snap trap

Such traps offer an almost instant kill and are highly effective when they are placed at strategic locations in your house.  Rats usually use certain pathways in a house that they always follow; it’s like the same road you take to drive to your workplace every day. 

Placing snap traps right in their path will increase the chances of them getting caught.  Oh yes, use a full-size rat trap, one that can break your finger, not a puny little mousetrap.

(iv) Live cage

This kind of trap is basically a steel cage trap.  When a rat enters the cage to nibble the bait, the trap mechanism will be triggered and shut the cage door.  Peanut butter works well as bait. This is one of the most humane ways to catch a rat.  Once caught, there are few ways to dispose of the rat.

1. You can discard the live rat outside your house if you can’t bear to kill it.  However, there is a high probability that the rat could sneak back in to your abode.
2. Place the cage together with the rat into a huge plastic bag.  Tie the bag securely and wait until the rat runs out of oxygen and suffocates to death before discarding it.
3. Immerse the cage together with the rat into a pail of water and drown it.

(v) Tamper Resistant Baiting Station

This station is made up of strong plastic material.  Place a number of stations inside or outside the house.  Poisoned bait or glue trap can be placed inside the bait stations.  These safe and secure stations are usually used at areas where children and the general public have no access.

Call AntiPest today at 03-8023 1888 for your rat problem & professional solution.

Water-Based Misting is one of the treatment methods for effective mosquito control. It is adopted and widely used by AntiPest Management Services Sdn. Bhd. There are a number of benefits from applying such treatment:

(i) Water-Based Misting targets at mosquito harborages and is carried out in mosquito-infested areas within premises. Hence, any bad weather such as rain will not deter the execution of such treatment. Note that mosquito harborages include humid areas, stagnant water as well as drainage.

(ii) Water-Based Misting can be done anytime of the day.

(iii) Water-Based Misting leaves residual effect which renders the treatment last longer after application.

(iv) Water-Based Misting provides direct contact-kill solution.

(v) Due to the fact that such method is mainly based in water content (the name says it all), any drastic weather condition such as strong wind will not easily disperse the hazy content emitted from the misting machine.

(vi) Water-Based Misting is environmentally friendly because it is smoke-free and the misting fluids contain glycol and some food with addition of some cosmetic ingredients.

(vii) Because of its long-lasting effect in extermination of mosquitoes, Water-Based treatment is unquestionably a value-for-money solution for your mosquito control.

Call AntiPest today at 03-8023 1888 to find out more about this treatment method and for your moquito problem solution.

Many of you know that cockroaches are one of the common intruders who build up homes in almost every part of your house, whether they be furnitures, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc., as long as these areas contain moisture and food; the worst part is, not even your computer equipment can be exempted from their intrusion!

Spraying will not necessarily pose an effective solution against them.  Best way is to adopt a three-part approach: (i) Removal of their food resources; (ii) bait application; and (iii) monitoring and trapping.

(i) Food Source Elimination
Do thorough wet and dry cleaning of your house and leave no leftover food or traces of consumable fluids on the floors, tables and the like.  Sweep and mop your floors regularly to get rid of edible remnants and vacuum your sofas or blow-dry your cushions to rid of any spillages.  For added protection, use a dehumidifier or air conditioner to keep the area dry and moisture free if possible.  Since cockroaches live in high-temperature environment, it would be best to reduce the surrounding temperature to 72 degrees or lower. Last but not least, it would help a great deal to do your dining in only one part of your house (for example, dining room) and keep the unconsumed food in airtight containers and place them in proper storage away from roaches’ acute sensory detection of them.

(ii) Baiting
Use cockroach gel and apply small dosages (each dose about 1-inch strip) to areas of roaches’ suspected habitat, as fissures and electrical outlets. To achieve best result will require multiple applications. In addition to gel-type baiting, there are also other solid cockroach baits that can come as an added advantage.

(iii) Monitoring and Trapping
Traps can be used to monitor cockroach activity and catch roaches in your house.  Place these traps along walls near furnishings as well as in areas of possible access to cockroaches. Change the ingredients on the traps if necessary, especially when the roaches become immune to them after some time.

Having roach problem?  Call AntiPest at 03-8023 1888 today for consultation and professional solution.

Termites, sometimes known as white ants, live in colonies that, at maturity, number from several hundred to several million. They mostly feed on dead plant material (generally in the form of wood), leaf litter, soil, or animal dung.

Some indications you may have termite problem include:

• A temporary swarm of winged insects in your home or from the soil around your home.
• Any cracked or bubbling paint.
• Frass (termite droppings).
• Wood that sounds hollow when tapped.
• Mud tubes on exterior walls, wooden beams or crawl spaces.
• Discarded wings from swarmers.

The Threat : The damages from termites are significant, they can bring about grave structural damages to buildings, crops or plantation forests. Once they have invaded a building, they do not limit themselves just to wood, but also paper, cloth, carpet, and other cellulosic materials. The resulting damages from termites can cost millions of ringgit every year.

Having termite problem?  Contact AntiPest today at 03-8023 1888 for free consultation and non-obligatory inspection of your premises.

You think you know about everything there is to know about mosquitoes?  Well, you don’t, actually.  You will be amazed to learn more of their secrets and behavior.

(i) Mosquitoes attack us because we breathe.  They are attracted to us due to the carbon dioxide we exhale, and they can sense this from 100 feet away.  Why do mosquitoes like to buzz in our ears?  Because they sense the carbon dioxide that comes out from our nose and mouth.  How to avoid this?  Stop breathing.

(ii) The smell of chocolate can distract them.  If you want to confuse the skeeters and make them lose their target (that’s you), surround yourself with scent that smells like caramelized, minty or fruity chocolate; this would render their carbon dioxide sensor malfunction.

(iii) Mosquito spittle can produce itch. Why does your skin feel itchy after being bitten by mosquitoes?  Because their slobber contains a compound that serves as an anticoagulant to facilitate their feasting on blood but, “in return”, causes an allergic and itchy reaction to humans.  In conclusion, don’t let a mosquito spit on you.

(iv) Your dirty socks can make them go nuts.   Mosquitoes infected with malarial parasites are easily drawn to human sweat.  Ergo, you better change and clean your stinky, sweat-soaked sox and take shower every day.

(v) Mosquitoes are the deadliest creatures on Earth.  Compared to other animals, mosquitoes cause the highest (human) body count!  Thanks to their “contributions” of yellow fever, malaria, breakbone fever, and encephalitis.  Such viruses mutate the mosquito genes and make them more aggressive, eager for more blood meals and enhance their sense of smell making them better hunters!  One such virus-carrying mosquito can infect more than 100 human beings and, according to the World Health Organization, malaria kills a child every 45 seconds in Africa.

Having mosquito problem?  Call AntiPest at 03-8023 1888 today for consultation and professional solution.

Reference:
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-mosquitoes

There are a number of do-it-yourself methods for eliminating cockroaches and some of the well-known ones are stated below. Try one at a time or try them all.

(i) Cockroach bait.

Cockroach bait is either housed in a childproof case or applied as a gel and contains a slow-working poison mixed with an enticing foodstuff for cockroaches. The roaches consume the poison and bring it back to the nest, where the bait would eventually destroy all of them. Place the bait in areas where the roaches would most likely come into contact with.

(ii) Cockroach trap.

Such trap lures cockroaches in and then traps them with a strong adhesive. Place several of these traps in areas where cockroaches are known to frequent.

(iii) Jar

Another simple and effective homemade trap comes in the form of a jar. Place the jar next to a wall for the roaches to “check in” but unable for them to “check out”. Any bait can be placed into the jar, such as coffee grounds and plain water.

(iv) Soap and water

This, to some, is the easiest thing to do. Just make a light solution of soap (bath soap will do) and water. You can splash, spray or simply throw it onto a cockroach. Just a little water will do, even 2 or 3 drops can kill, if used effectively. Ensure that the solution makes contact with the roach’s head and lower abdomen (its belly if you can turn the roach over). The roach would attempt to run but would suddenly stop and perish or be almost dead in one minute. However, it would be best to discard the roach as soon as possible, as it may revive. This is because the roach breathes through its skin; the soapy water forms a thin film on the breathing pores, and effectively blocks them (surface tension), thereby causing the roach to suffocate to death or near its death. It could regain consciousness if the water dries up or has not touched a large percentage of its body.

Are the roaches bothering you gravely?  Contact AntiPest today at 03-8023 1888 for free consultation and non-obligatory inspection of your premises.