Many pests (insects and rodents) are managed by pest control professionals to get rid of them from their households, or offices, through methods involving exclusion, repulsion, physical removal, or chemicals. Disinfection service, on the other hand, refers to regular sanitization services that are held to disinfect your workplace or household building from microbes that are impossible to target from the naked eye.

The primary difference between the two services is that disinfection service lies in organisms they remove (bacteria, viruses, germs, microbes, or diseases), while pest control services take care of insects that are visibly dangerous to most things, rarely affecting human health.  Therefore, both disinfection and pest management services are needed to create and maintain a safe and hygienic environment for everyone residing in a particular community and physical space.

Odor removal service is also a part of confined physical spaces where we frequently come across animal carcass and their remains, causing rotten bad odors that may pollute the environment, cause discomfort, and create unsanitary conditions for all the users of such facilities, Therefore, disinfection is required for all confined facilities.

ETS professionals are well-equipped with the best methods, tools, and knowledge to disinfect and sterilize all corners of your premises (home, office, workplace, warehouse, storage areas, etc.) and offer a powerful high-grade government-approved disinfection service.  This service is designed to help you maintain the highest level of disinfection in your home and workplace.  We use eco-friendly municipality-approved disinfectants to do surface decontamination services in order to kill and reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19, viruses, bacteria, and fungi by 99.99%.  We can achieve maximum treatment effectiveness with minimal downtime which enables the residents and employees to re-enter the premises in a short period of time.  In addition, ETS encourages facilities managers and employees to engage in regular check-ups to determine if they display any symptoms of illness that might be attributed to the disastrous presence of pests and viruses.

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It is well known that the scope of sanitation (or general cleaning and sanitization) is very broad, and can be defined as “the promotion of hygiene and prevention of disease by the maintenance of sanitary conditions; characterized by or kept in cleanliness”.  The concept of sanitation, as it relates to pest management, is simple: pests must have food, water, and harborage to survive. By maintaining sanitary conditions, eliminating the conducive areas, and concealing routes of movement for pests, we control pest populations. We definitely say that sanitation is pest control.

1. Sanitation in Food Plants
2. Sanitation in Warehouses and Grain Storage Facilities
3. Sanitation in Health Care Facilities

1 – Sanitation Programs in Food Plants

Sanitation programs in food plants must have the full support of top-level management (presidents of companies) to be effective. These programs require that plant sanitarians and quality assurance managers (trained in fields such as bacteriology, chemistry, sanitary engineering, and entomology) should be involved with many aspects of the pest management and sanitation practices of the food plants.

The three main components of sanitation practices in food plants that are important in pest management are general housekeeping, organization of stored goods, and waste disposal.  Housekeeping refers to maintaining the deadliness of buildings and all equipment associated with the production, handling, and storage of food (inside and outside the plant).  Pest management professionals can aid in identifying areas where improper housekeeping contributes to or causes pest problems.

Cleaning of interior areas and equipment of the food plant must be thoroughly cleaned to remove visible and hidden debris.  Cleaning operations involve dry and wet cleaning procedures by trained professionals.  Wet cleaning includes hand cleaning and scrubbing, and mopping to ensure that surfaces are dried properly following wet cleaning.  Dry cleaning procedures range from floor sweeping to the use of vacuum cleaning systems.

The outside of the food plant affects pest relationships. Weedy areas can be the source of continual mouse or ground beetle infestations inside the plant.  Winds may carry insects from the surrounding areas into the plant. Therefore, you need to keep the doors and windows of the plants closed or properly screened to prevent pest entry.

Good storage practices are important in maintaining sanitary conditions and preventing pest problems from arising. Infestations of insect and rodents in storage areas can easily spread to the rest of the plant.  Food-related materials must be stored in tightly closed containers or packages to prevent contamination and discourage pest infestation.

Proper collection and disposal of waste materials are essential components of the food plant sanitation program.  This is necessary to prevent attracting pests or providing them with harborage and breeding sites. Removing the waste is required to eliminate a breeding medium for flies and attract many other pests to the plant.  Also, a sufficient sewer system must be in place and in good repair.  Pest problems develop when sewage pipes leak underground or in hidden areas.In order to design, implement, and maintain the sanitation program, food plant managers are recommended to use the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Program (HACCP) to identify, evaluate, and control food safety hazards.

ETS provides reliable pest control and hygiene solutions to our customers in the food processing industry and continues to provide the best sanitation services in all 7 Emirates through contract-based regular services and one-time treatment services too. Our ties with corporate clients are much in demand to enable their undisrupted services and quick and fast services in hours to clean surfaces and provide digital sanitation reports for municipality compliance.

2 – Sanitation in Warehouses and Grain Storage Facilities

It is important to notice that pest control practices in warehouses and food processing areas have many aspects in common, despite the fact that food in warehouses houses are packaged.  In warehouses and grain storage facilities, regular inspection is required to determine the presence of stored food pests.  Sanitation is at the forefront of preventing infestations. Pest control professionals should inform the facility managers to remove all grain, cereal dust, broken grain, weed seeds, and other debris in which insects can breed, and explain to the owners of the premises that products kept too long in storage can be a major source of infestation to the entire facility. As soon as infested products are discovered, these products should be removed from the premises to prevent the spread of the infestation to uninfested goods.

Pest control professionals and facility managers need to implement all necessary preventive and corrective measures.  Efficient stock rotation is considered a simple practice to prevent these kinds of problems.  First-in, first-out (FIFO) stock rotation system can be used, in which the stored products are coded by the date received, and placed in storage so that the oldest stock is always in front of the newer stock, and therefore rotated out first.  Stock rotation programs can influence pest problems in food plants and warehouses

Sanitation is the first key component necessary for a successful pest management program in warehouses, followed by building design and pest-proofing, storage practices and pallet management, packaging, insect trapping and monitoring, and pesticide applications for both insect and rodent control (if needed).

There are several groups of stored food insects and based on their feeding habits.  ETS-trained professionals have the ability to identify these different pests and the knowledge of their feeding habits, biology, and behavior.

3 – Sanitation in Health care Facilities

Sanitation in health care facilities (hospitals, clinics, medical offices, dental offices, nursing homes, etc.) is the process of cleaning and sanitization that include the removal of all visible organic and inorganic materials from surfaces and medical equipment.

Pests such as insects (bed bugs, for example), microbes, and rodents, can carry pathogens that may cause diseases, and reduce the effectiveness of the sanitation process.  Pests that do not carry pathogens are considered nuisance pests in these facilities.   Integrated pest management, a preventative approach, is an effective method to avoid the activity of these health-related pests or control them, using pesticides if needed, to prevent future infestations.

Sanitation can be accomplished either manually or mechanically using water with detergents.  This process is essential before using the high-level disinfection and sterilization process because the materials that remain on the surfaces of instruments interfere with the effectiveness of these processes.

ETS provides comprehensive solutions to health care environments based on an integrated pest management approach suitable for your facility.  We offer a preventive approach and specialized procedures to prevent the spread of infectious agents and protect your patients and staff.  Recommended actions to be taken by health care employees are offered by ETS to reduce the risk of future pest infestations.

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ETS use trained personnel and adopt humane methods to capture the animal (which may include traps which do not harm the animal) and impound the animal.

The animal impounding service ensures the protection of public health by managing animals that are stray, feral, or by nature of their proximity to human habitation, roadways, and other such situation as identified to cause a threat to humans.

It is essential to set up a long-term approach to deal effectively with this issue.  The objective is to protect the people against those animals and safeguard the welfare and health of the animals.  Management of these animals depends on their types.  Several methods are being used: poisoning, euthanasia, contraceptives, trap-neuter-return, or even gun shooting.  Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages as to their cost, effectiveness, practicality, ethics, and other issues.

Pest control professionals should comply with local laws related to stray animal control measures, and work together with municipalities, veterinary agencies, and other government departments and organizations.  These professionals should provide food, shelter, and medical care (treatment and vaccination), and control their reproduction.  When our customer service department receives a call to attend to feral or stray animals, or any other dangerous pest (snakes), our technicians respond and attend to such call immediately, and within no longer than one hour. In order to protect the public from these animals, they should be captured and transported to the impounding facility.

The Impound facility should provide adequate shelter for animals and should take should into consideration the following, as a minimum:

1. The separation of all animal types (for example cats, dogs, livestock);
2. The separation of each animal into a separate enclosure (except for livestock of a like nature, example camels may be housed together);
3. Facility with adequate shade, ventilation and such other facilities to ensure the animals do not overheat;
4. The adequate provision of clean and potable water for the animals;
5. Floors and walls should be cleaned and disinfected, at least once per day.
6. A qualified veterinarian should visit the impounding facility each day when there is any animal impounded and provides special veterinary care whenever required.
7. Disposal of animal waste should be removed daily.

A quarantine unit should be constructed distant from the impounding facility to help minimise the risk of disease outbreak, and treat the infectious animals discreetly taking into account all safety measures designed to minimise potential risks.

At the impounding facility, ETS keeps a record of each animal impounded which includes the following:

1. Complete description of the animal.
2. The manner and date of impound.
3. The location of the pick-up and identification of the impounding officer.
4. The name and address of the redeemer or owner.
5. The name and address of any person relinquishing the animal.
6. All expenses occurring during impoundment.
7. Details of medical treatment or any kind of services provided. These include the method(s) used for managing the animal.

In 2021, Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Center) published a document entitled “Technical Guidelines Permitting Public Health Pest Control Companies” GL-LTCSD-PPHPC-01 in order to comply with the UAE Cabinet Decree no. 27 for 2012.  The guidelines included a section on stray animals and covered the following information for pest control companies to follow:

1. Licensing requirements for stray animals impounding services.
2. Stray animals’ transportation (vehicle requirements and GPS tracking system).
3. Operational staff requirements such as qualifications of technicians, vaccinations, and compliance assessment.
4. Stray animals’ shelter or hotel (technical requirements). Trapped animals should be kept in good condition which ensures animal welfare during the impounding periods.
5. Tools and equipment necessary to perform animal impounding activities professionally and safely and effectively.
6. Periodical training plan to be provided by the pest control company.
7. Violations and fines for non-compliance to any of the requirements or procedures requested by local or federal regulatory authorities.

Special public awareness campaigns, on the importance of providing healthcare and shelter to these animals, should be conducted in the community should be raised.

ETS has a periodical training plan to carry effective training to its technicians, and as requested by Tadweer, the training is specialized in stray animal impounding techniques, methods, tools, and safety.

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