Understand pest biology to defeat infestation
Compiled by our in-house entomology team — accurate identification is the first step to effective control.
Cockroach
Cockroaches are nocturnal scavengers that thrive in warm, humid environments and reproduce at alarming rates. A single female can produce 400+ offspring in her lifetime.
- Lifespan: 6–24 months
- Carries 30+ pathogens
- Triggers asthma & allergies
- Active in 8 minutes from hatching
- Survives 1 week without head
- Reproduces every 6 weeks
Rats & Rodents
Rats are intelligent, neophobic mammals that cause structural damage by gnawing and spread serious diseases including leptospirosis, hantavirus and salmonella.
- Lifespan: 1–3 years
- Gnaws through concrete & lead
- Carries 35+ diseases
- Reproduces every 3 weeks
- Jumps 4 feet vertically
- Squeezes through 12mm holes
Termites
Termites cause ₹500 crore+ in property damage annually in India. They consume wood 24×7, silently weakening structural integrity until collapse.
- Colony size: 1M+ members
- Eats 24×7 without stopping
- Lives in soil & wood
- Queen lives 25 years
- Damage often invisible
- Reproductive swarms in monsoon
Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are blood-feeding parasites that hide in mattress seams and crevices. They are difficult to detect and notoriously resistant to over-the-counter sprays.
- Survives 12 months without food
- Bites in linear patterns
- Females lay 500 eggs
- Hides in mattresses & furniture
- Travels via luggage
- Resistant to common pesticides
Wood Borers
Powder-post beetles bore into seasoned hardwoods and bamboo, leaving tell-tale powdery dust. They can destroy heirloom furniture within a few years.
- Lifespan: 1–4 years
- Targets seasoned wood
- Powder-dust signature
- Damages furniture deeply
- Multi-generation infestation
- Hidden until severe
Ants
Ants live in highly organized colonies of thousands. Killing visible workers is futile — only queen-targeting bait gels solve infestations permanently.
- Colony size: 100K+ members
- Queen lives 15 years
- Multiple species: black, red, carpenter
- Contaminates food
- Bites & stings (red ants)
- Nests in walls & soil