Summer is a season favourable for insect breeding and an active growing period for Aedes albopictus, the vector of dengue fever. For this reason, IAM’s rodent control team carries out its mosquito control measures from April onwards every year. Mosquito pesticide is applied to the facilities under the supervision of IAM, including parks, recreational areas, children’s playgrounds, watchtowers, cemeteries, etc. Residents are therefore guaranteed safety from such pests when using these facilities. Apart from the mosquito control, other targets of prevention and control include pests such as flies, cockroaches, midges and blackflies.

When applying the pesticide spray, which is most frequently used to eliminate adult mosquitoes, IAM’s rodent control team makes use of thermal foggers, cold foggers and pressure sprayers to spread the pesticide over a sufficiently extensive area to kill mosquitoes at their active locations. To prevent larvae from maturing, IAM also applies solid metamorphosis inhibitors in regions where water accumulates over a long period of time. To prevent mosquitoes from building up resistance, pesticides with different chemical compounds are used in rotation, such as organic phosphorus compounds, which are of low toxicity to mammals and can reside on inert surfaces for a long time for pest control; and pyrethroids, which are highly toxic to insects, stable in their residual effect, strongly resistant to decomposition under ultraviolet light and valid for months.

Adult mosquitoes are used to be active between 6:00am and 9:00am in the morning and between 5:00pm and 8:00pm in the evening. Since mosquito control is most effective during these time periods, it is mostly scheduled to be done during these two time periods. Since residents do their morning and evening exercises during these time periods, and certain working spots (such as recreational areas) are open for the whole day, IAM staff will ensure minimum disturbance to the residents when carrying out their mosquito control work. If any residents stay behind in such areas or intend to enter the areas when the control work is in progress, they will be gently advised to temporarily vacate the areas.

Apart from Aedes albopictus and other pests that pose a threat to hygiene, red imported fire ants also cause nuisance to residents. One of the duties of IAM’s rodent control team is to eliminate red imported fire ants and their anthills. When either of these is discovered, IAM will carry out preventive and control measures by setting bait with strong feed attractant, tailored to the eating habits of the red imported fire ants. This bait is an insecticide of biological origin. If it is carried to the anthill by the worker ants, the entire anthill will be destroyed.