PEST CONTROL

PEST CONTROL

Pest control literally means to destroy pests in a certain places like in houses, buildings or on an agricultural land. This is due to the perceiving thoughts of people that these pests will bring diseases or will bring loss either economically or ecologically to the people. Pests include termites, rodents, cockroaches and ants. Killing these pests can be performed in many ways. For example, by poisoning, setting up traps, and using pesticide. Pest control has been around since agriculture has started due to the need to terminate pests and to harvest more productive crops. This has become a problem to our modern community and we seek for help in exterminating these pests so that we can continue living our lives with ease. 

Many pest control company arises giving services to the community to destroy pests that has been pestering their lives. In all the methods available, the most popular way to kill these pests is by poisoning or by using pesticide. It is done by spraying the pesticide on the plants that are infested with pests. It is generally a chemical or biological agent which kills pests. Although pesticides are proven to get rid of pests on plants, it is also a potential toxicity to humans and animal. According the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, 9 of the 12 most dangerous and persistent organic chemicals are pesticides[1]. This is why users are turning to a greener way to get rid of pests which is more environmental friendly and not harmful to other living things. One of the methods that can be use is by blending garlic cloves, onion, cayenne peppers, liquid castile soap and warm water and spray the strained mixture on plants as a non-toxic substitute to chemical pesticide which has been shown by Andrea in her blog Frugally Sustainable. This method works just fine like the ones that are store bought and saves costs. There are a lot other recipes to make homemade pesticide which can be searched online and using ingredients found around the house. These tricks are born so that the gardeners and farmers can save up the cost to buy pesticides on buying other tools to increase their plants productivity.

The reason this topic has been chosen was that pest controlling are now a part of society. Wherever we go, we can find small pests either crawling or passing by in front of us. Especially in a dirty premises and restaurants that did not take care of their hygiene. Though they are instructed to keep their compound clean and hygiene, these owners take it for granted and did only minimal cleaning every day. Pests such rodents and cockroaches would come and infest the area which would make customers uncomfortable to visit the premise. These shop owners should take note about this matter in order to receive more positive feedbacks from the owner. Though they can use pest control to kill these pests but if they continue on doing the same thing they did, the pests will just keep coming back and will cost them more money. It is indeed true that prevention is better than curing.

Pests as small as ants and cockroaches has become such a threat to the society who does not understand the role of every living things created by Allah s.w.t..  Society should know the effect pest controlling will give so that nothing will be gone to waste. The society should also know whether this will affect the environment and others. The research should be supported by quotes in Quran as well as in Hadiths so that the statement will be solid enough for people to agree.

In the Quran, Allah s.w.t. stated that “We have created all things in due measure” (Surat al-Qamar, 49). Every creation of His are valuable and useful in its on ways that some may come to known of human while some only known to Allah. Prophet Muhammad also said that “There are five pests that may be killed whether one in ihram or not which are rats, scorpions, crows, kites, and mad dogs.” (Muslim, 2071). From these references, we can say that Allah create everything for a reason. We as humans, have no rights to take away lives as we like but only when it is threatening our lives (i.e. spreading diseases, destroying crops), it is allowed for us to kill it to avoid further destruction. For example, we are allowed to kill termites that has been eating up the structure of our house because if it continue to eat the structure, the house will collapse and it will trouble the owner to renovate the house which will cost a lot of money. But if it is only a small cockroach passing by in front of us, it is not permissible for us to kill it as it did not do any harm. It is also not allowed for us to kill pests using fire as we cannot do things as we wish just to achieve our goal as Allah has set a guideline on everything for us to follow according to His will.

 The Messenger of Allah said, "An ant had bitten a Prophet among the Prophets and he ordered that the colony of ants should be burnt. And Allah revealed to him, 'Because of an ant's bite you have burnt a community from amongst the communities which sing My glory."[2] From the hadith it can be explained that the Prophets are also human beings like any other man. They have the same human idiosyncrasies as any other man. Like all human beings they are displeased on being hurt and they get angry. This is what happened to the Prophet told us. Perhaps he was on a journey and had stopped so somewhere to rest under a tree. There was a burrow of the ants under the tree for an ant never lives alone but lives in a colony of ants. If anyone disturbs it at its burrow, it bites him and gives vent to its anger. Thus, when the Prophet sat there he became the target of the ant. He did not like that and decided to punish the ant. He had placed his luggage under the tree which he ordered to be moved away from there and the entire burrow of the ants was burned down. Hundreds of ants were burnt because of that.  Allah was displeased with this act of the Prophet and He let him know through revelation that He was angry. "If you had to seek vengeance then you should have punished the one ant that had bitten you. How is it that just because one ant caused you inconvenience you destroyed the whole community that was glorifying Me?" Justice demanded that the innocent should not be punished for the sin of the culprit. Besides, this behaviour was not consonant with the character of men of Allah. This also shows us that it is not permissible for us to kill animals as we like without a definite purpose.

The main purpose of pest control is to get rid of the pests. Thus, the effects of pest control should include killing the pests and stop it from breeding furthermore. On the positive side, killing these pests can increase the productivity of crops since there will be less interruption on the growth of the crops. Houses and buildings structure will be able to stay for a longer period of time without having to be renovated since termites are not there to eat the wood structure. While on the negative side of pest control includes respiratory problems from inhaling the pesticide sprayed on pests and may also contaminate the water source near it. The use of pesticide on edible plants may make the plants unsafe to be consumed as some of the pesticide is still on the leaves which contain harmful substances to human body. But all of these effects do not stop people from continuing to use pesticide in order to kill pests.

Another way to kill these pests is by using biological control which is a method of using an living organisms to kill other organisms[3]. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory or other natural mechanisms. Three basic types for biological pest control strategies are importation, augmentation and conservation. This method has its own pros and cons. Usually a biological control agent is imported into an area to reduce the competitive advantage of an exotic species that has previously invaded or been introduced there to protect the existing native species and ecology. However, the introduced control does not always target only the intended species; it may target the native species too[4]. In Hawaii during in the 1940s parasitic wasps were introduced to control a lepidopteron pest and the wasps are still found today. This may have a negative impact on the native ecosystem, however, host range and impacts need to be studied before declaring their impact on the environment[5]

The excessive use of pesticides is also one of the bad things that a person does and it causes harms to others as well. The homeowners, who use pesticides for getting, rid of the pests’ of home, uses more than 6 times than a farmer to do to prevent his crops from the insects. It causes various problems to the children and also to the elderly people who are residing in that house. It also destroys the environment of its near places too. Most of all, it also affects the food that we eat. It is necessary for a person to take help of a person who is having knowledge about dealing with such problems and through them they can come to know that how to spread the pesticides and what precautions he must take to protect the eco system as well.

In Surah al-Baqarah ayah 286, it is stated that Allah will not burden us with what we have no ability to bear. Therefore, He created a lock with its key. No problem is created without its solution. It is the responsible of us, the humans to find the solution. Pests were sent to us to eat our crops and destroying our house as a problem from Allah and our job it try to prevent it from continuing to do more destruction. Thus, pest control is found to be the solution of this matter. Usually houses and buildings are the place for termites to be secretly feeding out the structure of the house which are made from cellulose-based plant materials. Houses as a place for shelter, makes it essential for human. Therefore, any threat in damaging the house will force the human to take action to prevent it from worsen. This is when they seek for pest terminators who will get rid all these problems for them and they can continue to live in the house. Pest exterminators receive high demands for they services as they can destroy the pests with an easy way and effectively. This is what people with pests problems seek in pest exterminators.

According Yelp.com, an online community review website, a user of pest terminator service from a company called Proof It in California had an excellent experience with the company. No pests crawling on their house after they started using the service offered by the pest control company[6]. A pest control user from Malaysia[7] had an awful experience with her first time using the service from a Malaysian company though. She stated that the company used a pesticide that are not strong enough to kill the termites and did not destroy the whole colony. Therefore, the termites keep coming back after a few months and continuing to cause destruction inside her house. She then found another company which provide pest control service. This is when she found a solution for her problem regarding termites. This company used a method which they poison the termite and it will carry the poison back to the nest and spread it to the other termites and in turn will destroy the whole colony. This shows that pest control service shows effectiveness when the right chemical is used and on the right way it should be.

People around the world are becoming concern with pests for several reasons. Firstly, the pests are destroying their property such as lands and houses which will give a big impact on their lives. Secondly, pests are now seen much easier lingering around humans which puts humans in great risk of infecting diseases carried by these pests. Thirdly, historical manuscripts and other ancient materials may be at risk of disappearing due to termites and other pests trying to eat or destroy it. Important ancient materials may be at loss if no prevention is taken to avoid these pests further destruction.

Problems arise during handling and mixing of the chemical concentrates, and also during application where subsequent formation of surface deposits result from airborne concentrations. When an insecticide is sprayed on a surface indoors, the solvents and small amounts of insecticide are volatilized into the space occupied by the collections and human beings. These chemical concentrations, although of low levels, may redeposit on surfaces far from the site of initial application. Small amounts of chemicals may also be inhaled by individuals and may cause adverse reactions. The more volatile an insecticide, the more chemical will be released into the air. Depending on the type of application, these airborne amounts will subside after a period of hours or days, and eventually the insecticide itself will be broken down into nontoxic elements by the action of moisture in the air and ultraviolet light. The medical significance of chronic and incidental exposure has become as great as that of acute exposure[8].

Concern about the effects of pesticide exposure on human health was first expressed in relation to agricultural uses. It is now presumed, however, that significant exposure is also occurring in the urban setting, where the population at risk is not only different, but also much larger. In addition, the chemicals used by urban residents are often different from those used in agriculture, and misuse is frequent. Unfortunately, health concerns about pesticide use in urban areas are based largely on effects documented in agricultural situations, and few if any comprehensive studies of the effects in urban areas have been initiated.[9]

Questions are also arising from the community regarding pest management which is whether it is safe to use all the chemicals used to kill pests and whether is it okay to kill pests; will it affect the ecology system? The community is asking these questions as they are concern about the environment and the future of humans. This is also due to myths and false news they receive from the media about pest management. It is known that chemicals are dangerous for human to have a direct contact to. Some also said that cancer will develop from the pesticide used to kill pests and other health complications will occur. The community is also concern about the process of terminating these pests and the consequences that follows after the process. But, what is the most important is that whether pest control actually effective in removing pests in our life and keep our territory free from pests? Whether is it safe for our environment?

A study in October 2012[10] found that a plant grown in insecticide-treated plots rapidly lost its defensive traits which help to protect it from moths and other traits which help the plant to survive. These shows that the plant no longer produce its own defence system against any outside threat in surviving by mutation in just three or four generations. The research also reveal that trying to breed agricultural crops to be more resistant to pests will produce plants that are repellent to pests but have different traits which are important for the plant itself. Other effect of killing the plant-eating insects is that the crop will lose its good taste and high yields. This research ultimately proves the quranic ayah from surah al-Baqarah, ayah 216 where Allah s.w.t. stated that “…But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah knows, while you not.” We might see the pests as a bad thing but only when researches are done we knew that it has its own functions in the ecology system.

Another question that lingers around a Muslim’s mind is that whether we are allowed to kill pests? According to Shaikh Ibn Baz (rahimahullah), if these insects are harmful, they may be killed with insecticides but we are forbidden to use fire[11]. As stated by Prophet Muhammad in hadith narrated by Sahih Muslim (2071) the five pests that can be killed whether is in ihram or not which are rats, scorpions, crows, kites and mad dogs. Another report adds a sixth, snakes. This is due to the pests are harmful to humans and if they are not killed they most likely will attack humans. He also added that of other creatures, such as ants or cockroaches cause harm, they may be killed with insecticides but not with fire. This is to show that Islam does not allow killing animal mercilessly and to treat other living things kindly just like we treat another human as we are all the creation of Allah and we should obey His orders. Also, in the Kuwaiti Encyclopaedia of Islamic Jurisprudence, we read: 

“Generally speaking, it is recommended to kill every harmful insects and crawling thing [the Arabic word hasharat includes both insects and arachnids], like scorpions, lice, mosquitoes, or fleas.”

In my point of view, pest control services are needed in our community because nowadays more places are infected with pests. For instance, houses and buildings are infected with structure-eating termites and dirty eateries are infested with rodents which double the uncleanliness of the area as it will bring along the bacteria it carry to other part of the eateries. With the help of the latest technology, people can now get rid of pests easily, in a short period of time and most importantly, effectively removing the pests from the area. Killing the pests will cause in higher productivity of crops and in contrast will increase the economy of the country due to the number of quality crop produced and able to be sold. This will also make the community a cleaner area to live and reduce the risk of getting infections by diseases brought by these pests. And most importantly, it is not forbidden by Allah for us kill these pests as long as it brings harm to us whether it is economically or to our daily lives. It is forbidden that us humans kill these animals mercilessly and without a reason that it is threatening our lives. Since animals are just a part of Allah’s creation, we should respect it and care for it as it is our responsible to take care of it.

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[1] Gilden RC, Huffling K, Sattler B (January 2010). "Pesticides and health risks". J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 39 (1): 103–10. doi:10.1111/j.1552-6909.2009.01092.x. PMID 20409108.

[2] Sahih Muslim as narrated by Abu Hurairah (Bukhari#3319.Muslim#5567)

[3] Flint, Maria Louise & Dreistadt, Steve H. (1998). Clark, Jack K., ed. Natural Enemies Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Biological Pest Control. University of California Press. ISBN 9780520218017.

[4] Society for Conservation Biology (2002), "Biocontrol backfires again,"http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2002/C/20025043.html, accessed July 31, 2009.

[5] Wright MG, Hoffmann MP, Kuhar TP, Gardner J, Pitcher SA (2005) Evaluating risks of biological control introductions: A probabilistic risk-assessment approach. Biological Control 35, 338-347.

[6] Lisa H., Proof It Pest Control, Yelp.com  (January 2011), http://www.yelp.com/biz/proof-it-pest-control-pacifica

[7] Adam’z Pest Management (October 2012), http://adamzpest.blogspot.com/2012/10/pengalaman-daripada-pelanggan-kami.html

[8] (National Academy Press 1980), INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES, Unesco.org

[9] (National Academy Press 1980), INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT FOR LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES,  Unesco.org

[10] Anurag Agrawal, Why We Need Pests, Even “Pesky” Ones (October 2012), National Science Foundation, http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=125636

[11] (Baz)Shaikh Ibn Baz, Fatwa on Killing Insects http://www.ahya.org/amm/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&d_op=viewdownload&artid=170&orderby=dateA