Termites cause great losses to man. They are known as pests of wood in houses. Not just that, they are also pests in the agriculture sector.

Some studies show that losses caused by termites are four times higher than losses caused by fire. In urban areas, termites damage wooden structures such as doorframes, kitchen cabinets, parquet flooring and even roof trusses.

In Malaysia, Coptotermes spsare the most common species that cause extensive damage to buildings. A single colony ofCoptotermes can search for food over an area covering a distance of about 100 metres. They can also affect top levels of multi-storey buildings.

In 2004 in Kedah, Malaysia, a man died after he fell through a wooden floor which was damaged by termites. In another case reported in 2006, a water tank fell from from the ceiling because the support beams had been eaten by termites.

Genus of Coptotermes are also known to be the most destructive termites in the Malaysian agriculture sector. They normally attack rubber and mango trees causing great loss to the industry. They often attack the heartwood and consume it before working outwards. The infested tree often dies and collapses. It is quite simple to tell that a tree is infested with active termites. The new leaves normally turn yellow and eventually the other leaves also show the same symptom.

Termites gain entry into buildings through cracks in the foundations and wall floor interface. Beside that, electrical conduits, along water pipes in the walls and telephone lines are the best and strategic areas for them to penetrate into premises.

Once termites have gained entry into buildings, the infestation goes unnoticed for months as they conceal their presence with mud tubes or traverse behind wooden structures. The infestation normally goes unnoticed because the termites do not eat the external part, for example, if they infest parquet flooring, they will not feed on the shellac layer.

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Compared to the conventional subterranean termite control method, Exterminex is ideal for environments with children and elderly as it is non-toxic and safe to the environment.

With Exterminex termite bait stations installed near to your premises, you have just secured yourself a long term approach to termite control. Before termites are entering your house, they will be attracted to the bait station.

Exterminex termite bait stations are proven to be effective and safe, along with our experienced technician to conduct proper monitoring and maintenance of the station, we ensure your family and premises are safe and pest free.

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• Cockroaches threaten human health because they transmit or aggravate many serious diseases, including food poisoning, asthma, Hepatitis
  E and diarrhea.
• They eat food of all kinds and may hitchhike into the house on egg cartons, soft drink cartons, sacks of potatoes or onions, used furniture or appliances, beer cases etc.
• Cockroaches are nocturnal pest and they come out at night to forage for food and water.
• Cockroaches undergo an incomplete metamorphosis i.e. the eggs develop into wingless nymphs which changes through several rounds of molting before becoming an adult
• A cockroach can live almost a month without food.
• A cockroach can live about two weeks without water.

1. Chemical control
   • Spraying of residual insecticides to create a chemical barrier for the cockroach to pick up when they crawl over the treated surface areas. This treatment should also be targeted at cracks and crevices to control the adults and nymphs.
   • Baits are formulated with insecticides incorporated into cockroach food. They are very effective when applied in the correct places. Bait application is extremely useful in sensitive area such as food preparation outlets, kitchen cabinets, closets etc. These baits are odourless and are environmental friendly.
2. Sanitation
   • Unused paper cartons or boxes should be discarded as these provide an excellent harbourages for the cockroach
   • Any food debris must be clean immediately and all garbage, trash must be disposed at the end of each day.

• Food poisoning — ants can contaminate food because you don’t know where they’ve been foraging before crawling over your food. Might be useful to have some ant bait to prevent this.
• Nasty bites — ant bites though harmless, can be itchy and causes discomfort.
• Reputation — having an ant infestation in business premises can be unsightly to customers.
• Business losses — compromised health and hygiene can lead to lost trading revenue in food related business.

1. Residual spraying with non repellent insecticide are commonly used to control ants but in fact it is less effectiveness because of this direct insecticide treatment on foraging ants will not eliminate a colony.
2. Insecticide can also be sprayed into cracks and crevices to control ants.
3. Use of baits is the best approach to control ants. The ants will feed on the bait and bring it back to shared with other members of the colony. Thus the insecticide able to affect the entire colony and eventually eliminate the colony.

1. Small dark clusters of spots (the size of a pinhead) – look at ceilings and other overhead structures and wall surfaces. Check areas that are difficult to clean thoroughly such as drainage channels and drains where waste may be accumulating. Gully traps and areas around sinks and below damaged floor tiling should also be monitored.
2. Regular sighting of flies – large number of flies buzzing around garbage dump areas and the base of wheelie bins or other waste containers may indicate a more serious problem. Check anywhere that water pools including in guttering, tyres or old machinery. Waterlogged pot plants may also attract flies.
3. Maggots – these are flies in their larval stage and could indicate a potential breeding site on your property. You may discover maggots in waste areas and deteriorating food.

1. Fly bait contains a specially formulated mixture of two fly attractants and sugar for fast acting control. It can be used as standard scatter bait to control flies around the outside of commercial facilities, dairies and at home.
2. Electric Fly Trap Unit with glue trap is clean and effective way getting rids of flies. This recommended for restaurants, food manufacturing segments and office where hygiene, sanitation and cleanliness are prioritize. is clean and effective way getting rids of flies. It using ultra violet (UV) light technology.

Financial Losses
As mentioned, the presence of rats affects customer and business partner perceptions which will lead to a loss in revenue, however that is not all. Once the public has their eyes on you, you can be sure local authorities will be paying a visit. This can lead to forced closures, which is a heavy hit to your production and revenue day by day. Furthermore, they may impose product recalls and depending on your business scale, this could mean heavy global losses.

This may seem like the worst case scenario, however they are more common than you think. Recently, a well known coffee brand had one of their factories closed down after a raid from local health authorities found rat droppings on their premises. Ultimately, they were shut down for two weeks, are currently undergoing a through investigation and face potential court charges. This could have been avoided by engaging an expert pest control company to manage pest infestations.

Incur Property Damage
Furthermore rats can cause property damage on your premises. This can range from minor damages such as ripped packaging or severe damages such as fire. Rats have a tendency on gnawing on wood, plastic, and electrical wires due to the fact that their teeth are continuously growing. Gnawing helps them keep their teeth trimmed. However, this is bad news for businesses as wooden beams, vehicles and electrical wires are at risk of being damaged which can cause structural damage and in the case of wires, spark a fire. This not only puts your employees at risk, it can easily affect the general public if the fire is not contained and spreads outside your premises.

Food Safety
For food related businesses, food safety is their number one priority. The presence of rats immediately threatens food safety by urinating and defecating around raw food materials. This can easily spread diseases such as Leptospirosis, Salmonellosis, and others. In fact, it has been reported that rodents are responsible for destroying and contaminating enough food to feed 200 million people per year! While your premises may incorporate proper pest management, contamination can occur in any part of the supply chain. If contaminated food is released to the public, this could cause major food poisoning cases or even death, and food retailers are left to face the backlash.

According to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), it has been increasingly common for pests to be picked up in packaging and other entry points. Furthermore, with the ever changing digital landscape, the food related industry is experiencing exponential changes which brings about new challenges. Therefore, innovations in integrated pest management is extremely important to protect your business reputation and customers which is only achievable by engaging an expert pest control.

1. Tracking powder would be one very effective approach in bringing rodents under control. This odourless powder will place at the entry point & along their regular travelling passageway and will stick on their fur without any notice when they pass by and consume it when they clean their fur and body.
2. Baiting can be use to control rats also. The baits cause them to haemorrhage and die between 4-10 days after consumption. The newer rodenticides are more persistent and may give rise to secondary poisoning.
3. Mechanical traps and glue boards may also be used in combination with baiting especially for places where baiting is not recommended or cannot be carried out.
4. Proofing of building structures should be carried out such as gaps under the door, window and holes in the ceiling must be sealed to prevent rats entry as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) program.
5. Sanitation is important and should be done to deprive the rodents of food and water.
6. Ultrasonic Rat Expeller with multi-frequency modulated sounds repels rats effectively.

Mosquitoes can make our life really unpleasant. It can be troublesome to constantly track down their high-pitched buzz. And when you have found the culprit there always seems to be another one waiting in the wings.

In some countries, mosquitoes are considered harmless as they carry no significant diseases besides causing itchy sensation from their bite. But in tropical countries like Malaysia, mosquito infestation can become a serious matter when they spread mosquito borne diseases through that one nasty bite.

Here are some signs whether your premises have been invaded by mosquitoes:

1. Mosquitoes often make that annoying high pitched buzzing sound.
2. Bites are an obvious giveaway, ranging from mildly irritating to intensely inflamed with swelling. Only the female mosquito bites humans, the males feed off nectar and other sweet things.
3. The adults are attracted to standing water including water trays from house plants and water bowls, where they lay their eggs.
4. You might spot them lingering in dim and shady areas.
5. Mosquito larvae in stagnant water.

More than 1 million people around the world die from mosquito-borne diseases every year, and hundreds of millions more experience pain and suffering from illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes.

Did you know that mosquitoes have been cited as the deadliest animal in the world, causing more human fatalities than sharks and snakes?

Some mosquito-borne diseases that are commonly found in Malaysia include:

Dengue Fever – commonly spread via the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue fever is usually found in tropical, and subtropical climates, and is present in urban and semi-urban areas, where both human and mosquito activity is high.

Zika Virus Infection – an emerging mosquito-borne diseases that was first identified in rhesus monkeys through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow fever at Uganda in 1947. Zika virus was subsequently identified in humans in 1952. Outbreaks of Zika virus infection have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

Malaria – caused by parasitic protozoa that are transmitted through female Anopheles mosquitoes. Around 3.2 billion people or almost half the world’s population are at risk of malaria, with 85% of reported malaria cases in 2015 came from sub-saharan Africa.

Japanese Encephalitis (JE) Infection – a serious infection caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus, that commonly occurs in the rural parts of Asia. Most JE infections are mild (fever and headache) or without apparent symptoms, but approximately 1 in 250 infections results in severe clinical illness.

Chikungunya Infection – common symptoms of chikungunya infection include fever and joint pain. Other symptoms may include headache, muscle pain, joint swelling, or rash. Chikungunya disease rarely results in death, but the symptoms can be severe and disabling.

Nothing takes the fun out of an evening like a bunch of bloodthirsty mosquitoes. You can keep mosquito population under control by limiting their habitat on your property.

• Install mosquito netting/screen on all windows to prevent mosquitoes from entering the house.
• Remove stagnant water – unused tyres, empty cans and bottles to prevent them from becoming breeding grounds for Aedes mosquitoes.
• Clean and discard – any dried leaves that may clog the roof gutters once a week to prevent water stagnation.
• Cover all water containers – to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
• Change water – in the vases, pot bases and water containers and add larvicide at least once a month to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
• Clean and clear drains – around the house on weekly basis to prevent it from clogging.
• Keep swimming pool clean – and chlorinated every month even when not in use.

Mosquito Control Solution

• Larviciding – Applying larvicide to standing water.
• Thermal Fogging – Space treatment, which diesel mixed with pesticide to treat flying mosquitoes.
• ULV Misting –  Ultra Low Volume (ULV) utilises water droplets mixed with pesticide to treat flying mosquitoes.

While flea bites on people can cause distress and discomfort, your pets often suffer much more. You may notice your dog or cat scratch frantically trying to bite the fleas in their fur.

A flea bite is not particularly painful, but you will often be aware as soon as you have been bitten. You may develop some itchiness around the bite though, which could become uncomfortable, depending on your sensitivity.

Sometimes you may need professional flea control help if there is a large infestation. As a prevention strategy, always dust, sweep, mop and vacuum all surfaces where your pets spend their time often. Eggs are usually laid on the pets and then drop off as they move. Additionally all pets should always be treated and removed from the house for about 3 to 6 hours. Similar top the way mosquitoes breed, fleas and flies can cause havoc in areas if not treated correctly.

Ticks prefer warm, moist areas of the body. Once a tick gets on your body, they’re likely to migrate to your armpits, groin, or hair. When they’re in a desirable spot, they bite into your skin and begin drawing blood.

Unlike most other bugs that bite, ticks typically remain attached to your body after they bite you. If one bites you, you’ll likely know because you’ll have found a tick on your skin. After a period of up to 10 days of drawing blood from your body, an engorged tick can detach itself and fall off.

• Learn where ticks and deer that carry ticks are most commonly found in your community. Avoid those areas if possible.
• Cover as much of your body as possible when working or playing in grassy or wooded areas. Wear a hat, a long-sleeved shirt, and long pants with the legs tucked into your socks. Keep in mind that it is easier to spot ticks on light-coloured clothes.
• Use insect repellents, such as products with Elite Pest Management.
• Clear leaves, brush, tall grasses, woodpiles, and stone fences from around your house and the edges of your yard or garden. This may help reduce ticks and the rodents that the ticks depend on.
• Remove plants that attract deer, and use barriers to keep deer—and the deer ticks they may carry—out of your yard.
• Call your local landscaping nursery or county extension office to see if your yard can be treated for ticks with nonchemical or environmentally safe methods.

Bed bugs are very small creatures and exceptionally good at hiding from humans. People often only realise they have bed bugs after noticing the bites.

Thankfully, bed bugs do not transmit any diseases. Though bed bugs bites do not hurt, they can still be very distressing and in some cases the bites can become sore, itchy and lead to a painful skin rash.

What Do Bed Bug Bites Look Like?
By looking at the pattern of bites, the location on your body and the approximate time they may have happened you are likely to identify the culprit of your insect bites.

• Bed bug bites are generally small, flat, or raised bumps on the skin. Redness, swelling, and itching commonly occur on these spots.
• Several bites tend to appear in a line or row along an exposed area, such as an arm or leg as a single bed bug may bite more than once in the same area, if disturbed whilst feeding. Bites found in different parts of the body can indicate being bitten by several different bed bugs.
• A small proportion of people can react very badly to their bites and develop a skin rash. The red spots which indicate the location of a bite may become raised and very itchy.

Do Bed Bug Bites Itch?
People react to bites differently with some developing noticeable marks while other people show no signs of bites. Those with marks can lead the bites becoming very itchy and irritating.

In some extreme cases, rashes or red welts can also develop. Resulting dramatic swelling, blister and skin inflammations to occur.

What Do Bed Bug Bites Feel Like?
On rare occasions, some people might feel a slight burning sensation around the bitten area. This occurs before the bites develop the red colouring as well as swelling and itchiness.

There are several steps to minimise the risk of your home or business being infected by bed bugs. These precautionary steps can be taken without the help of professionals:

• Do a thorough inspection when checked into a hotel room because most bed bugs hitchhike their way to your home from anywhere outside, whether it’s lodgings or eateries.
• Do regular housekeeping/changing of bed sheet.

Although these steps may help to prevent against infestations, they do not guarantee to prevent bed bugs completely. Even if you frequently enlist a professional to do inspections, do not take your protection for granted and practise these steps for better protection.

The DIY option, although not recommended, requires you to take a proactive approach to managing an infestation. It will take up a lot of time and will need careful monitoring to ensure its success as bed bugs are one of the most difficult pests to eradicate. It may also take more than one round of application to completely get rid of bed bugs.

You will need a basic awareness of common bed bug hotspots to make your spot treatments more effective. You will also need to understand how and where they can spread to control the level of infestation.

Off-the-shelf DIY solutions may look more affordable at first glance, but incorrect application may cause the infestation to worsen, and cost you even more time and money to exterminate later on.

The professional option only requires you to find your local, expert pest controller to solve the problem for you. Trained service technicians have the experience and knowledge to better handle bed bugs and ensure that safe and effective treatment is applied based on your situation.

This not only saves you precious time and effort, it also gives you priceless peace of mind knowing that it is less likely for bed bugs to return to your home or workplace.