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29 March 2024

Only use approved pest-control firms: DM

Published
By Sneha May Francis

Following the death of a 11-year-old girl due to pesticide poisoning in Sharjah last month, the Dubai Municipality has urged residents to be extremely cautious when hiring pest-control services for their house.
 
They have asked the public to use only those companies approved by the Dubai Municipality’s pest-control section.
 
“There are more than 100 companies in Dubai that are duly approved by the municipality,” stated Hisham Abdul Rahman Al-Yahya, head of pest control section at Dubai Municipality.
 
“Still some people tend to hire illegal persons or companies, but unfortunately usher in havoc.” He added that often people use them because they are cheaper.
 
He insisted that residents must only hire those agents who have cards issued by the municipality.
 
“If anybody is selling items for pest killing without displaying the correct documents, you must immediately inform the authorities,”  he tipped.
 
A.K.M. Motahar Hussain, pesticides expert at the municipality, informed that their pest control crew is carrying out regular inspections to nab illegal agents and are working towards ensuring that the  banned stuff is not used in residential buildings. The municipality has recently shut down four companies for not complying with the requirements.
 
According to him, illegal agents use the banned phosphine gas tablets or Emulsion Concentrate (EC) formulations for domestic pest management.
 
“We have given strict instructions to the approved companies to avoid possible risks while applying chemicals for killing pests. Last month, we organised a comprehensive workshop to teach companies about using advanced technologies to eliminate pests safely,” he explained.
 
He added that the civic body has set in place an advanced method to track and control companies.
 
All registered companies are supposed to supply the list of the chemicals to Pest Control Section.

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