The numbers and types of insects in Aboriginal communities vary with the season and local conditions. Climate and the systems that have been set up for rubbish collection and disposal, sewage and effluent disposal, and other factors will affect the insect and pest population.
To control insects in the long term you have to remove their food supply, shelter and access to the area. If you do not do these things then insects will continue to enter houses, breed, and spread diseases.
Any combination of the following factors will mean an increase in the populations of different kinds of pests:
The main insect pests that affect environmental health in the NT are cockroaches, flies, mosquitoes, fleas, mites and ants.
Cockroaches, flies and vermin carry many diseases in and on their bodies. They live and breed in areas such as rubbish bins, tips, carcasses and drains. They pick up germs from where they live and spread disease.
Diseases transmitted carried by cockroaches, flies and other vermin include:
Mosquitoes can be a health hazard and a nuisance. They need water to breed. Eggs are laid in water by the female mosquitoes. The life cycle of a mosquito takes seven to ten days to complete. Wherever sheltered water stands for ten days there are opportunities for mosquitoes to breed.
Mosquito bites are not only annoying, they can become infected and lead to more serious complications. Some species of adult biting mosquitoes can transmit several viral diseases including Ross River Fever and Murray Valley Encephalitis.
Rats and mice live and breed in drains, rubbish tips, and all sorts of dirty places where they pick up disease causing germs. They can spread germs in a number of ways including biting people, passing germs to household pets, and spreading their urine and faeces in areas that people come into contact with.