Controlling Pests Or Being Controlled?

It was a horrible, yet familiar sight. My kitchen counter invaded by baby cockroaches.

Photo Credit: Srikant Ranganathan

Unable to stand the sight, I got the pest control people to 'clean' up my home. I was assured that the pesticide being used was not harmful and that it was safe for humans.

Since then, since so many years ago, I have been 'clean. I get periodic pest control done and have been cockroach free. Then when I got termites, I did termite control too done.

As a consequence, I do not have lizards in my house either. Or the one or two that come go away on their own due to lack of sufficient nourishment.

But am I happy and content? No! The king of pests, the mosquito, seems to have taken over my house. As I read and think more and more about the food cycle and human interference that is disturbing it, I am wondering if the same is not happening with regard to the mosquito menace as well. Who are their natural predators? Whom have we eliminated from the insect food cycle because of which we have such an overload of mosquitoes? We either have to keep all our windows and doors closed, cutting off all natural breeze, or have chemical means to reduce this nuisance.

A hard question to answer. I dread allowing cockroaches to invade my home. But I hate this forced self-caging to protect my skin and that of my near and dear ones from the mosquito bite!

Oh yes, my pest control service provider has something for mosquitoes, but that is effective for two months only! There was a time I was told cockroaches can survive even nuclear bombing. But I think someone overlooked mosquitoes. They can survive much more!

Who is smarter, finally? These tiny pests or man?