- Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) refers to regulating the various parameters that impact the quality of the indoor environment and therefore occupants’ wellness. This includes air, light, temperature, and ambiance. The main objectives of IEQ services include improving Indoor Air Quality, IAQ (reducing pollutants & increasing ventilation), natural lighting, and optimizing thermal comfort. The scope of IEQ that Sky Pest Sdn Bhd embarked on is in the Indoor Air Quality services which include Identifying & Isolating any sources of indoor air pollution, and Restoring & Regulating the quality of the air we breathe.

The subset of IAQ, are:
1. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to contain pathogens produced and spread by indoor pests. 
2. Indoor Mold Remediation (Fungal) to identify, treat and contain indoor mold and other biological microorganisms at an acceptable CFU/m3 index. 
3. Besides containing pollutants, with BROAN fresh air system, good ventilation systems dilute & exchange indoor air by exhausting contaminated air and replacing it with fresh air flow to acceptable ASHRAE standards of l/s per person or cfm.

Read more on How Fresh Air System Cooperate With Air Conditioners? to regulate thermal comfort (temperature, humidity & air movement), What Humidity Got To Do With Fresh Air?, and How air pollutant PM2.5 Particulate Matter as a carrier to Airborne Microorganisms including Covid-19? 

Prevention of potential health hazards is better than cure.

Indoor Air Quality in a nutshell (adaption from ASHRAE)

Why indoor air is considered the determining factor of human exposure to airborne contaminants? 

Because, people spend the majority of their time indoors, and that indoor air contains contaminants originating from both indoor and outdoor sources. Many of these contaminants affect health, comfort, and productivity. It is crucial to incorporate good IAQ practices in a building’s HVAC system design, construction, and operation. The benefits of improved IAQ are societal and individual well-being. 

Good practices of IAQ for buildings include Source Control (contaminant emissions, from occupant activities, prevention through filtration, environmental impacts including moisture and humidity control), Ventilation, and Air Cleaning.

Integrated pest management (IPM)

A pest management strategy that focuses on the long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems with minimum impact on human health, the environment, and non-target organisms. Preferred pest management techniques include encouraging naturally occurring biological control; using alternate plant species or varieties that resist pests; selecting pesticides with lower toxicity to humans or nontarget organisms; adopting cultivating, pruning fertilizing, or irrigation practices that reduce pest problems; and changing the habitat to make it incompatible with pest development.

Pesticides are used as a last resort when careful monitoring indicates that they are needed according to pre-established guidelines. When treatments are necessary, the least toxic and most target-specific pesticides are chosen. Implementing an integrated pest management program requires a thorough understanding of pests, their life histories, environmental requirements, and natural enemies, as well as the establishment of a regular, systematic program for surveying pests, their damage, and other evidence of their presence.

An Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches problems with more than one technique to reduce or eliminate pests.

• OBSERVATION involves monitoring, identifying, and determining the level of threat from pests.
• The OBJECTIVE is to make the environment hostile to pests.
  Foremost is reinforcing a physical BARRIER to push pests out with building materials or a repeller.
• Reduce SOURCES of attractions such as food sources and hiding areas.
• Non-chemical REMEDIES include using traps and other physical elimination devices.
• Appropriate and approved PESTICIDES for identified pests are safe when properly administered to.
• CONSULT an approved Pest Consultant.

Biologic Pollutants are bacteria, molds, viruses, dust mites, cockroaches, and pollen. Allergic reactions are the result of repeated exposure and immunologic sensitization to particular biologic allergens that can be life-threatening. Biologic pollutants that trigger asthma include cockroaches; house dust mites; pets organic residues; mold and mildew. These allergens become part of the indoor air pollutant.

For more information on General Pest control, Termite Control, Microbes Disinfection, and on Indoor Air Quality.

Mandatory Pest Control Operator License (PCO) and Pest Applicator License (PAL). The Pest Management Industry is highly regulated as it involves extensive usage of chemicals and related substances. Pest Control Operators (PCO) must undergo thorough training, and certifications, and their operational qualification are audited by the Pesticide Board of Malaysia and governed under the Pest Control Act 1974 (amended 2004). Only an approved PCO can operate and provide pest management services to the industry, to homeowners, and to commercial accounts (restaurants, hospitals, food industries, etc). 

Common Urban Pest

• Ants
• Bedbugs
• Booklice
• Carpenter Ants
• Carpenter Bees
• Carpet Beetles
• Cockroaches
• Fleas
• Flies
• Mosquitoes 
• Perimeter Pests: Centipedes, Crickets, Earwigs, Grasshoppers, Ground beetles, Millipedes, Scorpions, Crawling Spiders
• Rats and Mice
• Silverfish 
• Stored Product Pests
• Subterranean Termites
• Wasps, Hornets & Yellow Jackets
• Wood-Infesting Beetles

4 basic strategies for controlling RATS:

• Eliminate food sources with good sanitation, including proper storage & solid waste management
• Eliminate breeding and nesting places (habitat denial), such as minimizing cluttering
• Constructing rat-proofing structures such as sealing entry points
• Early prevention program includes chemical treatment and trapping

4 basic strategies for controlling COCKROACHES:

• Prevention with structural modifications
• Sanitation by denying food, water, and shelter
• Trapping that serves as a monitoring device
• Chemical treatment to reduce population

Guideline for controlling FLEAS:

• Treating all pets and their environments (indoor & outdoor)
• Physical removal is possible as many fleas can be treated with vacuuming and steam cleaning
• Outdoor cleanup such as mowing, decluttering, and removing organic debris
• Chemical application to heavily infested source points

Guideline for controlling FLIES:

• Sanitation by denying food and breeding sites
• Physical barriers through a physical barrier (screening)
• Trapping using an Insect Light Trap
• Chemical treatments such as Fogging and Baiting

Reduce risk for subterranean TERMITE attack:

• Eliminate wood contact with the ground
• Prevent moisture accumulation near the house foundation
• Remove wood clutters from the foundation
• Treated structured by a professional pest controller

Reducing MOSQUITO population:

• Preventing breeding sites such as water retention, clogged gutters and managing water features
• Organize a community-level control
• Treat larval and adults differently