Unlicensed, untrained and using dangerous chemicals: Inside the inner workings of the capital’s pest control services
In light of the deaths of two young boys reportedly from pesticide poisoning at their Bashundhara flat earlier this month, we look into the inner workings of pest control services in the capital, how they are regulated and how they procure chemicals
Through a road in Shahjadpur, Bashtola, in the capital, past several tin-shed houses, is a pest control office sitting atop a hotel.
Entering it, a distinct smell hits the olfactory nerves almost instantly. After all, this is where Jahan Pest Control Services – launched in 2016 with a current staff size of 11 – keeps its products.
On a recent weekday morning, the owner, Md Muslim, met with a potential customer at his office, where the duo discussed service fees among other things. For Tk4,000, his company would exterminate cockroaches and rats in a two-bedroom flat.
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Curious, the customer inquired about the chemicals that would be used and the safety protocols to follow. The customer also informed Md Muslim that he has a child and a pregnant wife at home.
"Even two weeks ago, we would have said to stay away for two hours. But now, for extra caution, four hours will be okay," he replied to the customer.
"I think it will be better if we just stay away for a whole day," the customer said. "That would be the best," Md Muslim quipped.
How do you usually conduct your operations? The customer asked. "After a client makes a request, my employees call me upon a visit to the respective house. We speak on the phone, where they describe the size of the house [or the non-residential space], the problem of the client, etc. And I tell them what to do," Md Muslim replied.
And what about your qualifications? The customer asked. "I have had a 20-day training from Krishna Pest Control Services in Kolkata in 2020," he replied.
The customer also received a copy of the Md Muslim's certification from the Kolkata-based pest control company. Additionally, the pest control company's visiting card says "allowed by the Bangladesh Government (license no. 258)."
The customer in question was one of the reporters of this story, who visited this pest control company under the disguise of a potential customer.
In light of the deaths of two young boys, reportedly from pesticide poisoning at their Bashundhara flat after a pest control service fumigated their home, we looked into the inner workings of pest control services in the capital and who regulates them.
These companies are working with toxic chemicals which require precision and the know-how to conduct business safely. And while it is understood that these companies will not intentionally put their clients in harm's way, which will also negatively impact their business, there remains the risk of accidents.
Qualifications, permits and the law
We reached out to the pest control services in Kolkata. They do provide training sessions, according to Sujata Samaddar Das, General Manager of Sales & Marketing of Krishna Pest Control. However, by the time of this writing, we were unable to get on the phone again with this company for answers about the specifics of their training courses and if they generally get foreign students.
Closer to home, a quick Google search shows thousands of active pest control service companies. But "at least 118 pest controllers, mostly based in Dhaka, have been given licenses so far," said Md Faridul Hasan, Additional Director (Pesticide Administration and Quality Control) at the Department of Agricultural Extension.
Are you aware? "Yes, we know there are thousands of unlicensed pest control service companies mostly in the capital. Monitoring the licensees is tough in Dhaka, while upazila-level DAE officials can easily monitor/guide pest control," said Hasan.
The list of the licensed 118 companies available on the DAE website (http://www.dae.gov.bd/site/files/e30afe82-dd1a-4f63-81ab-93de4775b29d/List-of-Pest-Control-Opertator) includes Jahan Pest Control. However, it also includes DCS Organisation Ltd – the company which serviced a Bashundhara flat earlier this month leading to two premature deaths of residents. All contact numbers of the company remain unreachable for the past few days.
"There are probably 10, let's say 20, authentic pest control service companies in the capital," said a pest control company manager based in Dhaka requesting anonymity, "But you will find thousands."
How is that possible? "Sometimes our employees [or employees at other companies] quit to start their own business. They print out visiting cards, and with their limited knowledge of the business that they learn from us, they carry out operations. Also, they use our networks – sellers and dealers know them as our employees, and so they use that."
This sounded vague. Then do you not flag such fraudulent operations? "How will I keep track of such companies or work? I have my own business to run."
According to the Pesticide Act 2018 (amended from Pesticide Ordinance Act 1971), for a pest control company to operate in the country, it needs to have applied for and secured a license authorised by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE). And without this license, it is a criminal offence to advertise, promote or conduct pest control services.
"Moreover, the DAE lacks the manpower to monitor pest control activities. For law enforcement like the mobile court, DAE requires support from the administration (for magistrates) and law enforcement agencies (for police personnel)," replied DAE official Hasan.
For the reasons mentioned, Hasan says, DAE's hands are tied.
And what is the procedure to gain a license? After the pest controller applies for a licence, a DAE committee sends two designated officials to visit the applicants' office space. Primarily to assess the manpower and whether the employees can spray and keep safety gear (masks) or not.
The officials then report to the committee. The committee finally approves the applications.
Do the officials examine whether the employees can determine the pesticide doses? "The required amount of pesticides must be determined according to the specific doses marked on every pesticide's labels," replied Hasan.
In an earlier story by The Business Standard late last year, one pest cleaner company employee informed that one needs to have two licenses to start a pest control business, one from the city corporation and the other from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
The city corporation provides trade licenses to pest control companies, while the ultimate permit or authorisation of a license lies with the DAE.
"But it's a lengthy process. And four years ago when I was exhausting myself with frequent visits to the agriculture department, I saw a license-approving officer had a license of his own and in exchange for a certain percentage, he lent his license to some big companies to import chemicals and pesticides," the pest cleaner, on condition of anonymity, said.
Additionally, one pest control company founder told us he learned about the measurements and the use of chemicals from his mentor – another pest control company where he previously worked. And later he studied the subject and attended training courses.
And how are the chemicals procured?
One pest control service company's founder, Jamal (pseudonym), explained how he uses "dealers", and also goes to the market to buy some of his supplies and makes his mix too.
"But I do not use a gas tablet [this is the aluminium phosphide tablet used in the Bashundhara apartment which reportedly caused two deaths]," said Jamal, "fumigation service requires paperwork and one needs experience for it. Besides, this is only to be used in warehouses and go-downs. Never in a residential house."
Managers at two other pest control companies, requesting anonymity, also agreed. Although they cannot say what or how DCS Organisation Limited used gas tablets inside an apartment, they claimed they would never do such a thing.
"You have to stay away for a minimum of 72 hours and then there's a scale that is to be used by the company to gauge the toxicity level. If a satisfactory level is shown on the scale, people can be let back in," explained Jamal, "and that is for warehouses."
So are these tablets available in the market?
For this story, one of the reporters visited Siddiq Bazar in Gulistan – known for its agricultural products like seeds and pesticides – as a potential customer.
Gas tablets lined the front rows of tinned roadside shops. If you want to buy, the owner of Moushumi Beejagar, Abdul Awal Bapari, said that he has "low-power" Chinese gas tablets for Tk140 and "high-power" Indian gas tablets for Tk160.
The customer opted to buy the Indian tablet. And the owner explained the rules of use. "3-4 tablets should be kept in a bowl. The house should be closed for 12 hours. All the insects in the house will be gone."
Sounds simple. And the owner also asked the buyer to call him – handing the customer a business card – before applying the pesticides if necessary. The store also had liquid insecticides called Fighter and Nyco. The seller said, "house insects will not die if applied according to the amount mentioned in the wrapper because these are only for agricultural fields. More doses should be applied at home."
In another shop, Afroja Seed Company, Dursban are available at Tk70 (this is a broad-spectrum insecticide acting as a nerve poison on insects). The shop assistant said it should be used with caution. "Give more [use more] than what is given on the bottle [instructions on the body of the product].
"100 ml of Dursban in 1 litre of water," the owner of Moushumi Beejagar said, adding "to give 100 ml of Nyko or Fighter in 4 litres of water. Things are the same."
Dursban is one of the common medicines used by pest control services in Bangladesh. The United States banned all home and garden uses of Dursban in 2016.
Other common chemicals or insecticides are Fipronil (termites) and Imidacloprid (bed bugs). Some of these chemicals such as Dursban and gas tablets are also available on Daaraz for purchase.
So how do you know what is the accurate measurement to make medicine mixes? "I use a margin of the insecticides. And I have also studied on the subject," explained Jamal.
Another common way to procure the products to run a pest control service in the capital is to have "dealers."
Basically, they are the ones who work as middlemen between an "importer" who has the license to import chemicals, pesticides and insecticides and the pest control service company. According to the DAE official Hasan, there are approximately 3,000 licensed importers in the country.
"I call my guy [dealer], tell him what I need and how much of it, and it gets delivered to my office," was the common response from several pest control companies.
AutoCare Ltd is an importer company which has 700 "dealers" across the country. "We are not responsible for who the dealers sell our products to, and where it gets ultimately used," said Mizanur Rahman, manager at the company, "we only sell agricultural pesticides. And our products say so, that it is for agricultural use."
But bottles at the AutoCare office did not carry the disclaimer. And Md Muslim (owner of Jahan Pest Control) and Jamal, did not get such disclaimers on their products.
Jamal did explain how most, if not all, of these chemicals (pesticides and insecticides) are for agricultural use. Expertise and knowledge of the know-how can ensure the safe conduct of pest control service businesses in the capital using those products.
