ILRI Nairobi Campus Offices have had a surprising number of pests find their way inside. Many of us have seen ants marching into the coffee rooms or gnats hovering around indoor plants—or heard a co-worker complaining about itchy bites.

When pests invade, you may be tempted to spray them yourself or demand that your building manager bring in a pest control company to spray, but there are safer and more effective options than spraying pesticides indoors.

THIS FACT SHEET describes how and why pests get into buildings, how to prevent pest problems without using pesticides, and what to do if you think you’ve been affected by pesticides in the workplace.

WHY ARE THERE PESTS IN MY BUILDING?

When insect and rodent pests enter buildings, they’ll stay if they find food, water, and shelter.

Building managers and maintenance crews try to prevent pests from getting in by plugging holes and caulking cracks, but they can’t stop you from bringing in cereal infested with beetles or a potted plant that will eventually generate thousands of gnats.

WHICH PESTS VISIT OFFICE BUILDINGS?

Almost any pest can crawl, fly, or hitchhike into your building.

• FRUIT FLIES feed on yeasts present on ripe fruits and vegetables, food scraps, and sugary liquids.
• FUNGUS GNATS may buzz around your face and computer screen as you’re trying to work. If you notice them, look for the usual culprit—overwatered plants.
• PANTRY PESTS include beetles and moths that lay eggs in nuts, cereal, crackers, and even chocolate. They can show up when someone leaves uneaten snacks in a drawer for months and those snacks contain beetle or moth eggs.
• These insects easily spread to other parts of the building.
• ANTS often come indoors to find food during summer and fall when they no longer find food outside. Rain or irrigation will sometimes drive ants indoors to escape flooded conditions.
• COCKROACHES can get into buildings by slipping under doorways or entering through underground parking lots. Most species live outdoors, but you may see a few roaches indoors searching for food and water. If you see roaches, don’t spray or use foggers.
• RATS & MICE squeeze under doors or into holes. They nest in papers and will eat almost anything, including paper, fabric, and plastic.
• SPIDERS are beneficial predators of mosquitoes, gnats, and house flies. Most are harmless. Black widow spiders rarely live inside office buildings, and brown recluse spiders are not found in offices.

PREVENT PESTS FROM INVADING

• Take ripe fruit home or store in a refrigerator—don’t leave fruit on your desk overnight.
• Keep snacks in rigid, sealed containers, not in plastic bags.
• Clean food-soiled dishes, utensils, and surfaces by the end of each day.
• Dispose of food in garbage cans that have plastic liners.
• Ask that garbage cans be emptied each night.
• Reduce clutter in work areas. Store items away from the floor in cabinets, racks, or bins.
• Don’t overwater potted plants. Bring plants home if you notice they’re infested with gnats.

GOT PESTS? CALL OR WRITE TO EOHS AND FACILTIES!

• The sooner you let building management know about pest problems or sanitation issues, the easier it is to correct them. Report spills, plumbing leaks, or areas that need cleaning.
• When reporting a pest, note the evidence you’ve seen: droppings, damage by the pest, or the pest

LEAVE YOUR OWN PESTICIDES AT HOME

Never bring in your own pesticides, even if you think a product is harmless. Even botanical pesticide sprays can cause coughing or eye irritation, and cause or trigger asthma.

PESTICIDE APPLICATION AND SIDE EFFECTS. (WHY YOU SHOULD STAY AWAY THIS SATURDAY)

When employees returned to work on a Monday after their office building had been fogged and sprayed with pesticides over the weekend, a number of them experienced symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and headaches.

Thinking that they had food poisoning, they stayed in the building instead of going outside for fresh air. As a result, their symptoms worsened, and three workers were sent to the hospital.

Several factors led to this incident. The applicator did not use Integrated Pest Management or IPM for example; he sprayed pesticides, although he hadn’t identified a pest beforehand. The building, poorly ventilated to begin with, was not well ventilated after the treatment.

And no one informed employees about the application, so they delayed leaving the building and getting medical care.

YOUR RIGHTS

Your employer or pest Control Company (in this case EOHS) should tell you which chemicals,

Including pesticides are used in your work area and when they’ll be used. Before a pesticide treatment, you should have time to remove personal articles and food from your desk or office.

If you are not provided with a material safety data sheet containing information about the chemical, you should ask to see one.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU THINK YOU’RE ILL FROM PESTICIDE EXPOSURE?

• If you or someone else is seriously ill, call 911 and ask for an ambulance or the emergency numbers on your hospital insurance card
• Notify your employer immediately. Find out the name of the pesticide involved.
• If you decide not to call 911, seek medical attention through your employer’s workers’ compensation medical provider tell them that you may have been exposed to a pesticide at work and include as much information as possible about what happened.
• Please note that drinking milk on exposure to pesticides does not help and may in fact may worsen the situation. See a doctor.

CONTACT NUMBERS

Cleaning
ilrichemserve@cgiar.org
+254 20 422 3346

Maintenance and Facilities
ilriengineering@cgiar.org
+254 20 422 3237

EOHS
Ilrikenyaeohs@cgiar.org
+254 20 422 3992
+254700617448

PEST CONTROL MSDS

The pest control will be by way of fumigation and baiting. Residents of affected offices/areas/houses are advised not to be in close proximity of the areas being treated. Offices and occupied areas will be sprayed on Saturday.

The premise should not be cleaned until after 12 hours to allow the pesticide to act. Below is the brief on MSDSs of each pesticide that will be used.

1. Bromatrol (Bromadiolone)

Bromadiolone is a white to off-white powder used against rats. Its solubility in water is very low but is slightly soluble in ethanol and ethyl acetate, and soluble in dimethylformamide.

It is used as a rodenticide in urban and farm rodent control and acts by disrupting the normal blood clotting mechanisms causing an increased tendency to bleed in rodents which causes the drying out of the rodent.

As bromadiolone is mainly used in urban rodent control in the form of  low-concentration baits, increased levels in air are unlikely and toxicity to humans is low. The specific antidote is vitamin K₁ in both animals and man.

First Aid

In the case of contact with the rat block the following first aid measure should be used:

• INHALATION (Unlikely route of exposure) – remove patient to fresh air, keep warm and at rest.  Apply supportive measures if necessary and seek medical attention.
• EYE CONTACT -Rinse affected eye with clean running water, or eyewash solution, for at least 15 minutes holding eyelids well apart.  Rinse entire surface and do not allow run-off to contaminate unaffected eye.  Seek medical attention.
• SKIN CONTACT -Remove and wash contaminated clothing immediately.  Wash affected area thoroughly with soap and water.  If the patient feels unwell seek medical advice.
• INGESTION (SWALLOWING) – Do NOT induce vomiting.  If unconscious place in the recovery position and apply supportive measures if necessary.  If conscious give patient up to ½ litre or 1 pint of water to drink.  Seek medical attention.

1. Goliath Gel-Cockroach killer

This is a commercial cockroach killer. The active ingredient is Fipronil. Fipronil is a broad use insecticide that belongs to the phenylpyrazole chemical family.

Fipronil is used to control ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, ticks, termites, mole crickets, thrips, rootworms, weevils, and other insects.

It’s a white powder with a moldy odor. It kills insects when they eat it or come in contact with it.

Fipronil works by disrupting the normal function of the central nervous system in insects. It is more toxic to insects than people and pets because it is more likely to bind to insect nerve endings.

First Aid

The following are the measures that should be sued in case of accidental contact away from the pest control activity:

• EXTERNAL CONTACT-Remove contaminated clothing.
• INHALATION-Keep patient calm, remove to fresh air.
• SKIN CONTACT-Wash thoroughly with soap and water.
• EYE CONTACT:  Wash affected eyes for at least 15 minutes under running water with eyelids held open.
• INGESTION-Rinse mouth immediately and then drink plenty of water, induce vomiting, seek medical attention.

Environmental precautions

Do not allow contamination of public drains or surface or ground waters the local water and sewerage company should be contacted if it enters surface or ground waters. Keep people and animals away.

1. Termidor-Termites control

This is a termite control pesticide. Its main ingredient is 1, 2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one. It is in liquid form and is used as a spray. On contact it may produce an allergic reaction.

It is harmful by inhalation and irritating to eyes and skin. There is danger of serious damage to health by prolonged exposure if swallowed. It is to aquatic organisms and should not be used around pet aquariums.

First Aid

• INHALATION- Keep patient calm, remove to fresh air, seek medical attention.
• SKIN CONTACT-After contact with skin, wash immediately with plenty of water and soap. If irritation develops, seek medical attention.
• EYE CONTACT: Immediately wash affected eyes for at least 15 minutes under running water with eyelids held open, consult an eye specialist.
• INGESTION-Rinse mouth immediately and then drink plenty of water, induce vomiting, seek medical attention. Never induce vomiting or give anything by mouth if the victim is unconscious or having convulsions.

1. Fendona

Fendona is a spray treatment for insect pests. It is a high performance residual insecticide with a broad spectrum of action against a large variety of insect pests.

It is odourless, non-staining and of very low toxicity to humans and mammals making it ideal for sensitive accounts.

It has low toxicity to human beings and warm blooded mammals with an LD 50 >5000mg/Kg. It controls mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, bed bugs, fleas and ants.

It contains alphacypermethrin a synthetic pyrethroid with small crystalline particles that adhere to bare wood, glass and even alkaline surfaces such as bricks, concrete and masonry for up to 9 months.

Environmental precautions

It is not to be discharged into the subsoil/soil, drains/surface waters/groundwater.

GENERAL POINTS TO NOTE

The Fire-Fighting Measures Suitable in case the above catch fire – water spray, carbon dioxide, foam, dry powder.

For any queries please contact our EOHS Office on 3883/3992/3887, ilrieohshelpdesk@cgiar.org.