Monday, August 11, 2025
Hotels, Palaces & Luxury Villas

Myths and facts about pest control

Valentin Diego, operations manager of Riyadh-based Masa Establishment for Pest Extermination Services, details some of the misconceptions held by the general public about building material and construction methods in relation to pest control.

Masa's objective is to prevent the problem rather than cure.

When most people consider pre-treating a house during construction, they only have termites in mind. However, many measures can be taken to help to prevent future problems from other pests as well.

Virtually all pests find their way into homes through cracks, crevices and hundreds of routes of entry, which are available in every house. Once established, they will breed and grow in number.

Many people think there is something magical that can be done before, during or right after a house is built which will make it insect-proof. This is simply not the case. There is no single thing that will make the home free of insects forever.

Some of the misconceptions that the layman has regarding measures that can be taken to make his home termite proof are:

  • 'Slab homes are termite-proof because they have no basement'. In fact, unfinished basements make for easy, reliable inspection. Houses which have unfinished basements are easier to treat, less likely to develop any major problem and less likely to have termites in the first place.

    Most houses with an unfinished basement get infestation, through termites which have entered through the point where a garage slab is attached to the house, by the front or the rear stoop or any attached patio slabs.

    Finished basements are very likely to develop termites. Slab houses are the most likely type of structure to get termites and the reasons are many.

  • 'Termite shields are better than a termite pre-treatment job'. What a misrepresentation. Having termite shields really does nothing except for enhancing the ability to see from where the termites have entered! For this reason alone they are worth getting. But don't rely on them to keep termites out. It's not going to happen.

    A qualified pest control company like Masa Establishment for Pest Extermination Services should be contacted to keep termites out.

  • 'Solid concrete foundations keep termites out'. Again, it is not clear how this myth evolved, but rest assured, termites love to tunnel over solid concrete about as much as they love to tunnel over block, wood, brick, rock or any other building material. Solid foundations do improve inspection capability as well as keep the invaders on the surface. Block foundations can separate and crack and termites travelling in these cracks are much harder to find.

  • 'Caulking every crack and crevice leading into the house will prevent pests from entering'. While it may be worth making the effort, this not going to happen. But again, this is not pest control or pre-treating. This is mechanical control. In other words, by minimising gaps and seams through which insects can enter, the number of pests which may infest is reduced.

    Though the statement is true, there are simply too many cracks and crevices available. In addition, insect infestations generally don't occur because of continuous migration inside. Most happen because one gets inside and starts to reproduce. In other words, it only takes just one insect to start a problem and there are simply too many entry points to close.

    Therefore, to stop an infestation from a house, the routes of entry must first be minimised by doing a good sealing job. Secondly, minimise the number of pests living immediately adjacent to the house. This combination will prove to be most effective

  • Some people say: "We are installing pest treatment tubing so we won't have to worry about what we actually use to build nor our method of construction".

    Wrong again. Such systems offer the ability to treat wall voids and other hard-to-reach areas of the house. However, this only will prove to be effective if the pest problem is actually that deep and specific. Many problems never get below the surface. Even with its shortcomings, this method is good to have. But again, don't rely on one tool.

    Several materials are available to stop pests from living is treated areas. These products are easy to apply to wall voids during construction and will last for many years.

  • 'All the lumber being used for our home has been kiln dried so there is no risk of pests coming in with it'. Wrong again. Though kiln drying will help to kill off many wood-destroying pests, simply storing the lumber can reinfest it. Chances are some of the wood used for the house will have pests in it and such wood presents a real and clear danger of spreading this activity.

    Termite control should not be taken lightly during the initial phase of building construction as ignorance of this at early stages will definitely cause serious problems in the future. Hence, this should be done in the designing and planning phase.

    A qualified pest control consultant should be contacted and discussed with in detail. Masa is a pest control company which always wants to help its clients at this stage. Masa's objective is to prevent the problem rather than cure. It may be cost a little more, but will prevent houses getting infested forever.

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