Central mixes hawker centres, wet markets, shophouse kitchens, hotels and dense housing within a few streets of each other, which is why pest work here looks different from the outer estates.
Cockroaches and rodents follow food waste and bin areas, while mosquitoes follow standing water in flats, landed gardens and construction sites. Dengue awareness is high in Singapore and NEA runs vector control campaigns.
The trade is regulated: service providers must be NEA-registered vector control operators, with licensed technicians and certified workers, and pesticides must be registered with NEA.
Customers increasingly ask to see that registration before agreeing a visit, and food businesses know NEA inspects them, so proof of a proper operator matters to both.