Abu Dhabi smokes out pests from hiding

Abu Dhabi: Rodent infestations in the emirate have gone down from 80 to 10 per cent in a period of one year, thanks to the pest control division of the Abu Dhabi Municipality.

"The municipality has successfully reduced rodent infestations in the emirate from 80 per cent in 2007 to 10 per cent in 2008," said Engineer Mohammad Mahmoud Al Marzouqi, who heads the pest control section. "In commercial centres and parks, the infestations is as low as 2.4 per cent," he told Gulf News.

Three types of rats are commonly found here - the house mouse, Norway rat and roof rat. "Continuous efforts have paid off and we have been able to bring the numbers down. Our aim is to reach zero infestation in public areas," said Al Marzouqi.

Left uncontrolled, infestations could be disastrous since the breeding cycle of pests is rapid, he noted.

With a 95 per cent plague, cockroaches were a major a problem. "Cockroach infestation was reduced to 20-25 per cent late last year." While unveiling new projects, Al Marzouqi said that by the end of this month the department will introduce solar powered mosquito killers in the farms for the first time.

"Earlier, we used bacterial pesticides, insect growth regulators and we also bred certain types of fish in the irrigation system to control mosquito breeding. But many farmers are against these measures. So, the solar powered mosquito killers will help us in this area," he said.

The mosquito population too has declined from 10 per cent to one per cent within the city and 4 per cent outside the city in the past year while flies have been reduced to three per cent, from 18.