BUILDINGS and luxury apartments, hotels and palaces must be regularly treated by professional pest control operators because insects and pests live and proliferate wherever there are people.

Bedbugs, mosquitoes and flies pose a threat to people’s health and hygiene while they are at home, work or on holiday at a luxury resort by the beach.
The hospitality sector needs to always be on guard against the threat of bedbug infestations because of the high turnover of guests and the ease with which these tiny parasites travel on planes, trains and automobiles, along with one’s clothes and luggage.
Mosquitoes, meanwhile, are another menace. Responsible for the spread of malaria, a disease that infects more than 300 million and kills more than 1 million every year, these flying parasites are also carriers of dengue. Statistics show that only nine countries had cases of dengue before 1970, but since then, the disease has spread to more than 100 countries. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that about 50 million people are afflicted by dengue each year.
Mosquitoes also transmit filaria, a disease which has afflicted more than 120 million people across the world, while houseflies spread a host of diseases including typhoid, cholera and shigellosis.
Structured pest management is therefore of critical importance in hotels and apartments – across rooms, food preparation and recreational spaces.

Pesticide choices
There are a range of pesticides in the market to exterminate and prevent the growth of pests and parasites within a defined area. These include organophosphates (Malathion), pyrazoles (Chlorfenapyr, Fipronil), pyrethroids (Lambda Cyhalothrin, Cypermethrin, Cyhalothrin, Cyfluthrin, Fenvalerate, and Bifenthrin), coumarin-based anticoagulants (Brodifacaum), meonicotinoids (Imidacloprid), and inorganics (boric acid, sodium fluoride, silica aerogel, and diatomaceous earth).
Most inorganics kill slowly but materials such as boric acid are widely used because they offer long residual action, are non-repellent and have no known problems of pest resistance.
Boric acid and sodium fluoride kill by slowly interfering with the conversion of energy inside an insect’s cells. Silica aerogel and dry clays act by disrupting the waxy layers of the insect’s cuticle and causing death by desiccation. Another desiccant is diatomaceous earth, a powder consisting of the dried bodies of diatoms, which are tiny animals that live in oceans.
Boric acid is generally considered to be safe for use in kitchens to eradicate cockroaches and ants. Boric acid made into a paste or gel is powerful and effective and much safer to humans than many other insecticides. The paste or gel attracts insects, especially cockroaches, which take the bait back to their nest. Just a little is needed to kill insects: a small dab under sinks, counters, refrigerators and stoves lasts for up to a year.

Residual spraying & fogging
Residual insecticides such as organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids are used to obtain effects lasting several hours or longer and are applied as general, spot, crack and crevice treatments.
General treatments use specific insecticides on broad expanses of surfaces such as walls, floors, ceilings and outdoor areas, but not in kitchens or food-production areas. Barrier treatments use pesticides on thresholds, entrances, foundations and the soil adjacent to foundations.
Spot treatments are limited to areas on which insects are likely to be found, but not near food, utensils or people. Such areas may include floors, walls, and the bases or undersides of equipment.
Crack and crevice treatment involves the use of small amounts of insecticides into these areas where insects hide or through which they may enter a building.
Fogging operations however, are non-residual with aerosol, mechanical aerosol, or ultra-low volume (ULV) treatments.

Fumigation services
Fumigants are chemicals such as aluminium phosphide and magnesium phosphide that are active as gases or vapours. They are primarily used as pellets or tablets that release their gases when exposed to air, leaving behind non-toxic ash.
Fumigation is a highly specialised and technical science, requiring a great deal of skill, knowledge and experience for successful and safe operations. Fumigants penetrate cracks, crevices, pores in wood and the commodity being treated. Their ability to penetrate and fill all voids makes them ideally suited in many situations for the control of structural and commodity pests that other type of chemicals cannot reach. Fumigation should only be part of a pest management strategy, especially where stored products are involved. The goal in the management of pests in storage areas should be to improve the methods of handling, storing, processing and packaging. Fumigation should be used only in case of severe infestations.

Keeping termites out
Termite control operations must be carried out only by professionals. The main focus is to accomplish a continuous chemical barrier around the walls and footings of the building foundation between the structure and possible termite nests. Termite control includes mechanical alteration as well as environmental modification or moisture control, all of which have their value in the control and prevention of infestations.
Chemicals are the ultimate treatment against termites and involve the judicious use of termiticides, which are specially designed to last over long periods of time in the soil to keep termites at bay and prevent them entering a structure.
Termite prevention and cure is usually backed by guarantees from the applicator.
Preventive treatments involve the use of a termiticide emulsion during the construction stages of a building starting from the foundation footings, while curative treatments are usually done by drilling and injection plus application of dusts, gels and other type of formulations, to kill any existing infestations within the structure.
A specialised pest control operator, Masa offers the latest termiticides and chemicals that are registered and approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Saudi Arabian Standard Organization (Saso).
The company is the sole distributor of Josh/Idea (Imidacloprid), a water-based, odourless termiticide that is considered safer than conventional organophosphates with a higher success rate. Leading construction firms and consultants often specify Imidacloprid as it is relatively less toxic than other insecticides and has a long residual life when applied as a barrier.
Based in Riyadh, Masa is a member of the British Pest Control Association, National Pest Management Association of America, Australian Environmental Pest Managers Association, Society for Vector Ecology, The Welsh Pest Management Forum, UK, Pi Chi Omega (The National Professional Pest Control Fraternity, US), the International Maritime Fumigation Organisation (IMFO), and the Saudi Environmental Society.
Masa also has a research and development department staffed by experienced entomology and pesticide specialists who are devoted to keeping abreast with the latest treatments, pesticides and equipment.