The 8As of Pest Control

There are many useful tips, recommendations and checklist around keeping the place pest-free. Thanks to the internet and the abundance of articles and contents around pest prevention, there could be too much for us to absorb and digest at a go. Rentokil Initial shares an easy way to manage your home pest control with this 8 A’s of Pest Control tips.

AWARE of pest habitat and their interest

Familiarise yourself with where your target enemy likes to hang out, where do they rest and breed and what are their interest and preference around your home. For example, some pests such as cockroaches enjoy the filthy part of the home such as waste bins, sewers and soiled sinks. Whereas, ants simply lurk around food-available areas including kitchen cabinets, dining table and countertops. While some has a non-fussy food preference by consuming almost anything including book glue and cardboard paper, some has a liking for sweet diets such as cakes and sugar. Find out the list of food menu that cockroaches favour in your home.

ATTENTIVE to their presence and activities

It does not work by staying vigilant and guarding your home 24/7 for emergence of pest enemies. This is because they have their well-planned hiding spots and able to seek ambush to avoid seen by you. In addition, they will strategically appear when we lost our attention towards their presence. For the case of cockroaches, bed bugs and rats, they invade and attack for food sourcing activities at night. Unless you are a night owl or belong to a shift work condition, chances of spotting them are quite impossible. One way to deal with a cockroach infestation is to first map out all possible cockroach hide-outs in your home. These can help to target their high activities area with pest control measures.

ACTIVE in pest elimination efforts

Pest infestation is not an easy and straightforward problem that requires minimal or less frequent efforts. In fact, it is a long term and ongoing elimination process because of several factors including:

• They can enter and invade your home easily at any time and through any possible openings
• Gaps and lapses in housekeeping and home sanitation can trigger a pest problem
• Accidental brought-home pest is possible as they hatch onto your belongings quietly
• Home conditions such as décor, structure, integrity and wear and tear has an influence
• Pests signs are often not obvious and visible for us to take notice and take proactive actions
• Weather and seasonality is an all-year-round factor impacting pest infestation matters

ABANDONED their food source availability

One major culprit in inviting pests over to your home is the availability of food sources for them. While some food feeds are inevitable for pests such as termites, where wood makes up a huge proportion of the home, other food source is mainly due to negligence. Firstly, water is essential for us including pests, and most home activities involve water and moisture. This includes taking a shower or washing your face, cleaning up food preparation and after consumption and plant watering. Not forgetting incoming rain into the home, water leaks and accidental spills. This explains why home maintenance and adopting diligent housekeeping is one basic step to eliminate pest.

Read also: 5 reasons why we should not procrastinate housekeeping

ACCELERATE pest control measures

Sometimes you may not be doing enough to step up control measures to get rid of cockroaches for example. Applying sticky traps randomly, you deem at high-risk areas or ad-hoc spraying insecticide will not help. This is because you might be missing out their breeding sites usually at the unexpected or hard to reach corners. In addition, if you are not aware, cockroaches are speeders. They glide fast, and in comparison to one of the fastest running animal cheetah, cockroach is able to cover a 50-body length. Chances of missing them with your spraying efforts are high, and worse of all, filling up the home with toxicity. Find out 10 facts about cockroaches that can challenge your pest control efforts.

Above all, some opt for quick fix by adopting a one-time pest elimination job that address the problem on the surface and some merely deter pest away through various pest home remedies.

ADDRESS pest symptoms early

Wait and monitor might not be the best option when comes to dealing with pests. This is because their speedy reproduction cycle may surpass your waiting period. For example, mosquitoes need just 24 to 48 hours to hatch their eggs and a total of two weeks to complete their life cycle and develop into an adult. Thus, mosquito prevention has to take on the proactive contract instead of waiting for visible consequence such as contracting dengue fever to take place. For some pests, they reproduce in volumes at every one time, such as ants’ colony is capable to have thousand members to forage further.

Usually, a mild pest symptom tends to escalate into a severe infestation within days and weeks. If you think that ants are small and trivial that you can afford to ignore their presence, read here further to find out how mighty these minuscule pest are. This might explain why getting rid of ants are not as easy as what we think.

ARRANGE for regular pest monitoring

Remaining vigilant against pests is key. While we can spot visible pest signs and ongoing activities, some pests are capable of hiding well and for some, they remain invisible to our eyes by staying comfortably underground or within structures. Termites feed on your home silently every day and make their way up by building mud tubes to travel. When this happens, you could be experiencing an active and heavy termite infestation that requires a termite control. While some pests rely on visual inspection, termites are pests where you need to hire professional pest control specialist to perform regular pest monitoring and inspection in your home. Arrange for a termite home inspection today.

ASSESS the surrounding for pest risks

There are times where the fault and issue do not lie on our end but because of urbanisation and environmental factors. This is despite ensuring good home maintenance and pest control services efficacy. Situational conditions such as the nature of surrounding may affect pest control efforts. Firstly, there are several developments and constructions taking place around residential premises and these constructions can chase pests to seek another habitat. Secondly, there might be emergence of outdoor and open concepts food and establishment that promotes cross infestation across residential area. Thirdly, there could be neighbours’ premises experiencing an infestation that spread to your home as pest travels. Finally, there could be an absence of adequate pest treatments in place in nearby sites.

What you need to know about pest control

What does pest control covers?

Pest control is not about sending a specialist to your home and apply some insecticide around the premises and their job is completed. It entails a few responsibilities such as:

• Assessing the home condition and surrounding nature to determine risk and infestation level
• Asking series of questions to challenge your challenges, needs, habits and lifestyle
• Pest inspection especially at key risk areas to identify potential breeding sites
• Recommending the best pest control services to address the problem
• More than one pest type coverage treatments may be recommended
• Performing the pest treatments on a scheduled frequency basis
• Ongoing monitoring and tracking of the pest trend and activities
• Suggesting additional preventive tips you can adopt to keep infestation under control
• Reporting that is available digitally 24/7 by login to myRentokil portal

How often should we arrange for pest control services?

The experts can advise better with regards to questions around when you should start engaging in professional help and how often should the service be in place. Firstly, this is because every home has a unique and different condition that treatment recommendations differ. A home located at high-risk environment such as within a dengue cluster in Singapore may require regular treatments. Secondly, a home may have prior existing infestation that gets out of hand that requires intensive pest flush out treatment. In this case, intensive pest control regime is recommended. Thirdly, for homes that is wall managed and seek a maintenance and protection programme, a light and basic monthly maintenance package will suffice. Finally, while on a maintenance regime, there may be acute pest infestation that occurs situationally. In this case, you should call for a pest control company right away.

How much does pest control cost?

Pest control price differ according to several factors. Here are some that affect the cost to do pest control:

• Number of pests present in the premise, for instance, multiple pest coverage contract may cost slightly more. For instance, rat control requires placements of baiting stations while common pests requires residual spraying.
• Type of pest as termite control for example has a more complex and specialised treatment methods compared to common pests such as cockroaches and ants
• The frequency and number of treatments depending on the risk factor, infestation level and existing condition.
• Choice of active ingredient and treatment method used. There are various chemical grades ranging from generic brand to eco-friendly solutions. In addition, pest control digitalisation has evolved and replace traditional rat control programme.
• Long protection vs short-term quick fix will affect the price of pest control services.
• Intangible factors such as brand credibility, years of history, resource availability, speed of response, health and safety compliance, customer reviews and medical entomologist expertise.

About Rentokil Initial Singapore

The experts in pest control for over 50 years

Rentokil Singapore has been in the pest control industry since 1964, with experiences and expertise including vector control, pest control services, fumigation and disinfection. Under the hygiene business division, Rentokil Singapore integrates the essential services with hygiene solutions, covering hand hygiene, cubicle hygiene, air solutions, floor care and scent marketing. Headquartered in the United Kingdom and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE 100 organisation has been leading the pest control industry across 60 countries.

Embracing innovation and technology

We believe in enhancing and optimising the standards of pest control to deliver quality services for individuals and business. Hence, the Research and Development team has innovated a series of cutting-edge technologies to change how pest control is delivered.

Firstly, the rodent control utilises sensing technology and a command centre to monitor and control rats’ activities in an efficient and effective manner. Secondly, we have digitalised processes by sending e-service report and digital invoices and every customer would have access to an online reporting portal to track necessary information and history. Thirdly, the running operating cost in Singapore is particularly rising and exercising prudent cost management is priority. As such, the Lumnia LED technology uses energy cost savings features while delivering optimal flies control coverage and catch rate.

Finally, to minimise human-to-human interaction, our solutions have adopted a contact-less and non-touch approach. For example, automatic hand soap dispensers and feminine hygiene units are designed to minimise cross contamination. Rentokil Pest Control also offers the In2care mosquito trap that traps both adult mosquitoes and larvae with minimal to no contact at the premise.

Protecting businesses and individuals with disinfection

Besides pest control, another critical service offer that is most essential at this COVID-19 stage is providing disinfection and sanitisation services to businesses and individual homes. With the presence of pathogens, keeping the place safe by reducing bacteria and viruses including the coronavirus. It covers safe and proper decontamination and disinfection process through Ultra-Low Volume (ULV) misting method. It applies to common contact surfaces and touchpoints including tabletops and seats, door handle, machines and gadgets.

However, there are many options, claims and types in the market and it is critical to choose the right treatment that is safe and effective. For example, do the active ingredient control pathogens effectively? What is residual effect? Have you considered the safety and toxicity considerations whether the treatment undergone sufficient laboratory tests and regulatory body’s compliance. Enquire about the Rentokil Surface Shield Sanitisation treatment to keep your premise safe.

Call Rentokil at 6347 8138 for a pest control solutions today.