Antipest Blog

Termite is one of the most calamitous pests ever compared with other types of common pest.  The damages caused by termites are so disastrous that they can affect us and our property financially, structurally as well as emotionally.  They masticate through wood and things made of wood in our house, office building, plants, and the like.  What is more horrendous is the fact that termites reproduce at a ridiculously accelerative rate within a short period of time.  A termite queen can lay up to 30,000 eggs in a single day and, in a month’s time … well … you do the math.  A soldier termite can live for 1 to 2 years whilst the life span of a termite queen is 10 years and above!

How do you know if there’s termite infestation in your home?  Some tips as below:

(i) Mud tubes or trails spotted on exterior walls and along door frames.  This is an indication that termites have emerged from the soil and into your dwelling.

(ii) Tap on a wall and, if it sounds hollow, this can only mean that termites have already consumed the inside of your wall.

(iii) Look for frass that shapes like pellet in your house.  This belongs to none other than a termite.

(iv) Look for winged or wingless, ant-like, brown- or white-colored insect with a body length of between 1/8 inch & 1 inch … it is the infamous termite!

What are the methods for treating termites?

(i) Sentricon Baiting System

Your premises will be inspected for signs of termite infestation.  Upon detection of termite activity, Sentricon baiting station will be installed at the infested area.  Termites will feed on the active ingredient within the station and subsequently induce other nest mates to follow suit; the feeding process will continue and spread to other termites in the colony.  In time, the entire termitarium will die out and, thus, mission accomplished!  Installing this system requires no drilling of holes, hence, your flooring and walls are safe and intact.

(ii) Chemical Soil Treatment

This conventional method requires that holes be drilled into the concrete floor and slab joints followed by pumping of chemical through the holes and into the soil.  After this, all holes will be patched up and sealed.

 Having termite problem?  Wait no further.  Call AntiPest today at 03-8023 1888 for a free and non-obligatory inspection of your premises by our pest control professionals.

References:
http://killtermitesguide.com/what-do-termites-look-like/ (image source)
http://www.npr.org/2015/03/25/395287156/super-termite-could-be-even-more-destructive-than-parent-species (image source)

Insects are usually known to have caused more harm than good to human beings and plants.  But, a medical study done by the American researchers has discovered that one type of insect known as the blister beetle from the family of coleoptera possesses cancer-fighting ability.

Blister beetles, also known as Spanish flies, vary in body color from one to the other.  Some are bright green in color, some are red, yellow, black, and some even have a mixture of two or more colors.  This kind of beetle feeds on honeysuckles, soybeans, potatoes, garden vegetables, fruits, and olives.  Southern regions of Europe and the Western parts of Asia are where these beetles inhabit.

Blister beetles contain cantharidin, a poisonous substance that can cause vomiting, blistering and pain.  However, such substance was extracted and used as aphrodisiac in the olden days.  In the modern era, cantharidin is now used as counteragent in traditional Chinese and Vietnamese medical practices to produce cantharides as counterirritants against warts, in treating kidney damage, diarrhea, urinary tract problem, burns, scalds, insect bites, and even used for treatment of cancer.

Due to the fact that cantharidin has the function of blocking a number of proteins and inducing apoptosis in the body, it serves as a highly potential treatment solution for all kinds of tumor and even the stubborn ones (those that do not respond well to other medicaments).

References:
http://www.doctorshealthpress.com/cancer-articles/cancer-treatment-from-an-unlikely-source-insects
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_does_the_blister_beetle_eat

Centipede is one of the grossest insects to many people.  Their sole appearance is visually disturbing enough, not to mention having them crawl on your skin and evoke your hair-raising feeling and spine-tingling terror.

Centipedes are easily spotted in gloomy, damp places such as bathrooms, drains, cellars, and the like.  Despite their distractive appearance, their presence can somehow be beneficial to your surroundings as they feed on other insects and thereby keep your house “clean” and free of other pests to a certain extent.

Anyway, if you simply can’t bear the sight of centipedes, the following are what you can do to reduce their numbers or get rid of them:

(i)  Seal off the unnecessary entry points whenever and wherever possible to prevent them from coming in.  Caulk gaps in the window or door frames via the use of, say, weather stripping, for example, and close any cracks in the walls.

(ii)  Keep the normally wet areas (such as lavatory and kitchen) as dry as possible after use.  Wipe the moist surfaces and areas (e.g. sink, drip from spigot) with a cloth in the kitchen and mop the washroom’s floor clean and dry after your business.  For better result, keep the outside boundary of your house clean and dry (make it a 1- to 2-foot perimeter).

(iii)  Getting rid of other insects (such as cockroaches, larvae from carpet beetles and silverfishes) inside your home will minimize the intrusion of centipedes because such act can greatly reduce their food source (i.e. other insects).  You can use insecticides or engage a pest control company to help you eliminate these other pests in your house.

(iv)  For a direct and immediate result, you can pour hot water (with extreme heat) on them.

References:  
http://www.ehow.com/how_10022430_treat-centipedes.html
http://www.ehow.com/info_8514187_do-keep-getting-centipedes-bathroom.html

Following weeks of dry and almost no-rain weather, the fear of the inevitable has struck again right into the hearts of us fellow Malaysians – the outbreak of dengue!  Such fatal widespread disease cases have increased at a horrifying rate throughout the years, ranging from 6,000 cases in 1995 to over 43,000 cases in 2013; 92 deaths were reported in the Year 2013 but, in 2014 from January 1^st to 22^nd alone, there were 6,155 reported dengue cases with 22 deaths up until February 2014.  This deadly epidemic disease is now back and the number of cases is soaring high, let alone the rising death toll.

Despite the always intensive control measures undertaken by the Health Ministry to attempt to contain the virus and to prevent the situation from being worsened (say, fumigation on the streets, residential areas, construction sites, sewage areas, and so forth), the virus can, however, never be completely eradicated so long as there are mosquitoes roaming about.  To effectively minimize and control such health hazard will require the cooperation of both parties, i.e. us and the government, because, only through this way can the result be improved; after all, a tug-of-war requires two teams to pull each end of a rope in order to justify the name of the game.  Hence, besides the government, society at large plays a major role in this as well.

The following are what we can do to help curb the said pest problem:

(i) As we all know, mosquitoes are synonymous with filth in that insanitary and dank areas are their favorite breeding grounds.  Therefore, maintaining a sanitary environment is important — Trash and other waste materials must be properly disposed of; water closets must be kept clean and reasonably dry at all times when not in use; and take heed of stagnant water areas such as a pond, bucket of water, flowerpots, et cetera, for they must be managed well (Empty and change the water in flowerpots, water storage containers, receptacles, vases, and the like regularly on alternate days).

(ii) Periodic organization of public cleaning campaigns is highly encouraged and recommended.  Street cleaning and disposal of scattered garbage piles can be an effective solution to minimizing the dengue problem.  Concentrate on garbage dumps and moist areas for these are the hotbeds for mosquito breeding.

(iii) To avoid infection with breakbone fever as a result of Aedes mosquito bites, it is advisable to use mosquito repellent often and to wear long-sleeved clothing and long pants as added protections.  Moreover, installing mosquito screens in windows and covering your bed with mosquito net when you sleep will help to reduce the risk too.

(iv) Engage a professional pest controller for a more thorough and complete mosquito control solution.

We must disencumber the luxury of our complacency and start acting now before the situation gets even worse.

Contact AntiPest (03-8023 1888) today for a free and non-obligatory consultation and inspection to safeguard the health of your family and your loved ones.  Kindly visit our website at http://www.antipest.com.my for more information.

References
http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Health/2014/02/09/The-dengue-menace/
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dengue-deaths-soar-in-malaysia
http://www.dengue.gov.sg/subject.asp?id=101

Dust mites are one of the most common bugs that invade our everyday lives.  You may not be visually aware of their existence but they are almost everywhere on your bed and sofas in your house; this is because they are extremely minute in size and their microscopic, spiderlike body is barely visible to the naked eye; consider this our lucky trait because, if we were able to see them, we would be startled by their sheer numbers in that they swarm in millions.

Dust mites live in warm-weathered conditions (with temperatures of 70 Fahrenheit and above) and they also crave for humid environment (humidity level: 75-80%).  Places where these tiny little creatures can be found include mats, bedding, upholstery, curtains, stuffed animals, etc.  They love to feed on flakes of dead skin shed by humans and animals.   A lot of people are allergic to dust mites and the allergy symptoms can include skin itchiness, runny nose, red spots on the skin, watery eyes, and even asthma.

Getting rid of dust mites completely is not possible due to their massive numbers.  However, you can somehow reduce their numbers by adopting the following methods:

(i) Wash all your bedclothes (blanket, bedsheet, mattress pad, comforter, pillow cover, etc.) on a weekly basis in hot water with temperature of no less than 130-degree Fahrenheit to kill off the mites; after this, dry the bedclothes in a hot dryer.  Non-washable material can be placed in the fridge overnight for 48 hours because dust mites can also be killed via extreme cool temperature.

(ii) When not in use, encase your pillows and mattresses with anti-allergen, dust-proof covers; use the covers made of plastic if possible, for dust mites cannot survive in plastic material.

(iii) Equip your room with a dehumidifier to control the level of humidity.  Maintain a humidity level of 50% or below.  It’s best to go for a level at 35%.

(iv) To better control the infestation of dust mites, it would be best to remove the carpets and install the bare floors with tile, wood or linoleum and to replace curtains with roll-up window shades.  Furthermore, replace any wool and fabric bedding with synthetic material.  For example, use pillows made of polyester fibers in lieu of kapok.

(v) Clean the floors with a damp mop or rag and vacuum the carpets and upholstered furniture once or twice a week.  Use a vacuum cleaner with HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter because this type of vacuum cleaner is powerful enough to contain the allergens and prevent them from escaping through the vacuum’s exhaust; furthermore, it is also able to pick up the feces as well as the eggs of dust mites .  Be sure to wear a mask when you do vacuuming to avoid accidentally inhaling allergens.

(vi) If you have a furry pet, say, a dog, groom it regularly.  Brush your dog’s fur and wipe its coat with a damp washcloth, especially when it just enters the house from the garden.

For other pest problems, kindly visit our website at http://www.antipest.com.my or call AntiPest (03-8023 1888) today.

References:

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20276

http://www.wikihow.com/Get-Rid-of-Dust-Mites

http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/dust-allergies

Following the overpopulation of earthlings from year to year, it is predicted in the 2013 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization that, by 2050, food production will have to be increased by 70% to meet the demands of 2.3 billion growing populace!  The aching question now concerns the gradually declining food resources.  How are we going to produce an additional 200 tonnes of meat to feed the ever increasing mouths on Earth?  Addison Lilholt, a renowned science teacher at Green Woods Charter School, has the answer: the addition of insects to the existing food group.

There are way more insects on Earth than humans in that the reproduction rate of the former transcendently surpasses that of the latter.  Because of this factor, insects have become an untapped food resource due to the fact that, not only are many of them edible, a vast number of the species provide high amounts of unimaginable nutrition, proteins and even calcium.  Countries like Thailand, where the people have already adopted the culture of eating insects like cockroaches, crickets, and the like.  Such “trend” is nothing to be alarmed of … It is the same conception when we were first introduced to the world of Japanese sashimi … of eating completely raw seafood back in the early 90s.

In some countries, you can find insect ingredients and food in some of the grocery stores and dining places.  There are crackers and bread baked with cricket flour (crickets have lots of calcium in them, plus, they are gluten free), expensive canned ant eggs that taste like caviar, crispy mealworms that taste like French fries, tarantulas taste deliciously like soft-shell crabs, et cetera.  But there’s only one way to eat the bugs – they must be fully cooked.

Reference:

http://www.phillyvoice.com/eating-insects-food-trends-bugyum/

Zika virus, originated from monkeys in Uganda’s Zika Forest, now spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, is gradually becoming pandemic on a global level.  To date, it has already spread across a number of continents since its discovery, from Africa to Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, France, Brazil, the US, etc.; at least 20 countries are found to have the presence and cases of this catastrophic virus.  In Brazil alone, thousands of people have been infected with this deadly disease.  A worldwide outbreak of this virus is just a matter of time.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called upon an emergency committee of disease experts to study this virus and come up with a vaccine which is said to be possibly available for testing in two years’ time and which might not be accessible to the public until a decade later.  At current stage, there is no cure available for this disease and, the worse thing is that there is no rapid diagnostic test to identify whether a person is infected with this disease until the symptoms show.

The symptoms for this disease include dengue fever, joint pain, rashes, bilateral conjunctivitis, sore throat, flu-like aches, et cetera; however, some people display no symptom at all.  The virus can raise a disturbing concern for the pregnant women because, if a pregnant woman is infected with the Zika virus, it can cause microcephaly in the unborn baby and will later affect and impair the brain development of the child when he/she grows up.

Since there is presently no cure for this disease, prevention has become our only defense; and the only way to shun this incurable disease is to have proper mosquito control and treatment.  Common mosquito habitats such as stagnant water must be cleared regularly, wetlands and outdoor areas must be fogged, drains must be treated with larvicidal agent, and so forth.

In a nutshell, mosquitoes bring us not only dengue and yellow fever but other surprises such as the Zika virus as well.  Such deadly virus should not be taken lightly.

Having mosquito problem in your house, office, apartment, or factory?  Call AntiPest (03-8023 1888) today and our pest control professionals will attend to your mosquito problem in no time.

References:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35425731

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/5/14-1960_article

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35370848