Insect and pest control

Dr Paul T Francis, MD Community Medicine College of Medicine, Zawia

Rodents

Types of rodents

Domestic (House rat and Sewer rat) Wild

Rodents are part of mans environment and mostly cause harm Rodents destroy things like household equipment
Rodents eat human food and crops() Rodents spread diseases like plague

Diseases spread by rodents

Mode of transmission may be directly through biting, contamination of food or water and through rat fleas Bacterial plague Viral encephalitis Rickettsial scrub typhus Parasitic leishmaniasis Others - leptospirosis

Control of rodents

Trapping Rat poisons Fumigation Improved sanitation prevent accumulation of garbage, proper storage of foods etc.

Rat caught in a rat trap

Insects (Arthropods)

There are numerous types of insects in the environment. Some of them are useful for man (e.g. pollination) but most of them are of no use or are harmful to man. Arthropod borne diseases are a major health problem all over the world

List of arthropod borne diseases

Mosquito Malaria, Filaria, Japanese encephalitis etc. Housefly Typhoid, Cholera, Poliomyelitis etc. Sand fly Leishmaniasis, sandfly fever etc. Tsetse fly Sleeping sickness Louse Typhus, trench fever etc.

List of arthropod borne diseases

Rat flea Plague, typhus etc. Backfly Onchocerciasis Reduviid bug Chagas disease Hard tick Tick typhus, encephalitis etc. Soft tick Q fever Trombiculid mite Scrub typhus Itch mite Scabies

Type of transmission of diseases

Direct contact Scabies Mechanical transmission disease agent is transmitted mechanically e.g. housefly Biological transmission The disease agent multiplies or undergoes some development in the insect

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Principles of Arthropod control

Environmental control

Elimination of breeding places e.g. water collection to prevent mosquito breeding Insecticides e.g. DDT, Malathion etc. Use of Gambusia fish to control mosquito larvae

Chemical control

Biological control

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Genetic control Integrated method by using different methods

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