FAQsLizards, Silverfish & Household Pests

House geckos are not venomous and will not attack you. The genuine risk is what their droppings leave on kitchen surfaces.

Geckos carry Salmonella, and droppings landing on a worktop, chopping board or open food container can transfer it. They also shed material that irritates people with asthma and allergies.

What that means practically: wash any surface a gecko has been over before preparing food, keep food covered, and do not leave utensils drying uncovered overnight.

They do not bite unless picked up, and they are not aggressive toward people or pets.

The more useful point is what their presence tells you: geckos stay where there are insects to eat. A sudden increase usually means an insect population has grown somewhere in the building — and that is the problem worth solving.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Free inspection across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad — house lizard and gecko control or +92 343 879 7046.

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Remove the food and seal the entry points. Spraying for geckos alone achieves very little, because more simply walk in from outside.

Two steps, in this order:

1. Cut the insect supply. Geckos live where moths, mosquitoes and small flies gather — almost always around outdoor and stairwell lighting. An insect control programme removes the reason they are there at all.
2. Seal the routes in. Gaps around pipework, air-conditioner penetrations, window frames, door gaps and ventilator openings. Geckos pass through remarkably small openings.

Two things that help immediately and cost nothing: switch outdoor lights to warmer tones, which attract far fewer insects, and keep external lighting off when it is not needed.

Be realistic about results — a ground-floor home with a garden will always see the occasional gecko. What you can end is a resident population indoors.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. We treat the insect source and advise on proofing across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Book a free inspection.

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Heat multiplies their food supply and speeds up their breeding at the same time.

Three things happen together from roughly April onward:

• Insect activity rises sharply, particularly around lights after dark
• More insects support a larger gecko population in the same building
• Warmth shortens gecko egg development, so hatchlings appear faster

In Karachi the coastal humidity extends this well into autumn. In Lahore and Islamabad the peak is tighter but sharper through the hottest months.

This is why summer is the season to treat the insects rather than the geckos. Reduce the food supply before the population builds and you avoid the peak entirely — which is cheaper than reacting to it in August.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Book ahead of the season in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad.

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Mostly no. The household remedies sold for this have very little evidence behind them, and geckos adapt to them within days.

The common ones — scented balls, floor disinfectant, coffee grounds, eggshells — rely on smell. Geckos habituate to a constant odour quickly and simply resume their usual routes.

One of these deserves a specific warning. The traditional white mothballs sold for wardrobes and drains give off fumes that are not suitable around children, and they are frequently mistaken for sweets by small children. They are not a sensible household choice for lizards or anything else.

What actually works is unglamorous: remove the insects they feed on, and seal the gaps they enter through. There is no spray that makes a building unattractive to geckos while the food supply remains.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Child and pet safe methods as standard — see our safety policy or call +92 343 879 7046.

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Because those rooms hold the humidity they cannot live without. Silverfish are a damp problem before they are a pest problem.

They need consistently high humidity to survive, which is why they concentrate in bathrooms, kitchens, under sinks and anywhere a pipe is weeping slightly. They feed on soap residue, hair, food debris and the starch in paper and packaging.

Karachi’s coastal humidity makes them common for much of the year. In Lahore and Islamabad they appear mainly through and after monsoon.

Because moisture is the cause, the fix starts there: repair leaking pipework and taps, ventilate bathrooms properly, and keep stored paper and cardboard off bathroom and kitchen floors.

Finding silverfish repeatedly in one spot is worth investigating — it often points to a slow leak inside a wall or under a floor that nobody has noticed yet.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. See silverfish control — free inspection in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

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No. They cannot bite people — their mouthparts cannot pierce skin, and they have no interest in trying.

Silverfish carry no disease and pose no health risk. The damage they do is entirely to property, and it can be significant if they go unnoticed:

• Books, documents and photographs — they feed on paper and the starch in bindings
• Wallpaper and the paste behind it
• Natural textiles, particularly cotton and silk stored in damp cupboards
• Dry stored food and packaging

So the reason to act is not safety. It is that anything valuable stored in a humid room — certificates, records, family photographs, fabric — is slowly being eaten.

If you have paperwork stored in a damp cupboard, move it before treating anything.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Book a free inspection in Karachi, Lahore or Islamabad.

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They are not a serious threat to people, but they are a useful warning sign about your building.

House centipedes can deliver a defensive pinch if trapped against skin. It is comparable to a bee sting for most people, and it is uncommon — they move away from people rather than toward them. They carry no disease.

The part worth paying attention to is what they eat. Centipedes are predators, and their diet is other insects — silverfish, cockroach nymphs, spiders and small flies.

A centipede population indoors means there is a steady supply of other insects indoors. That is the finding. Treating the centipedes alone leaves the reason they came.

They also need damp, so they concentrate around bathrooms, basements, floor drains and anywhere with a leak.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. An inspection identifies what they are feeding on — centipede control or +92 343 879 7046.

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The overwhelming majority of spiders found in Pakistani homes are harmless to people and are actively useful, because they eat other insects.

Common household spiders here do not pose a medical risk. They are not aggressive, and bites are rare and usually the result of a spider being pressed against skin inside clothing or bedding.

Sensible precautions rather than alarm:

• Shake out shoes, clothing and bedding that have been stored or left on the floor
• Wear gloves when moving stored boxes, firewood or garden material
• Keep storage areas tidy — clutter is what they live in

If anyone is bitten and develops spreading pain, swelling or feels unwell, seek medical advice and take a photograph of the spider if you safely can. Identification matters more than anything else at that point.

Heavy webbing indoors usually indicates a good insect supply — the more productive thing to treat.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. See spider control — free inspection in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

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Because removing a web removes the spider’s work, not its reason for being there. Where there are flying insects, webs return within days.

Spiders build where prey passes. The usual concentrations are around outdoor lights, window frames, balconies, ceiling corners near ventilation, and above doors that are opened often.

What actually reduces webbing:

• Reduce the insects. This is the whole answer in most homes — fewer flies and moths, fewer webs
• Change external lighting to warmer tones, which draw far fewer insects
• Seal gaps around windows, vents and door frames
• Clear storage in garages, stairwells and store rooms

Removing webs regularly does help — it discourages re-establishment in the same corner. But on its own it is maintenance, not control.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. We treat the insect source rather than just clearing webs — book a free inspection.

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Very possibly. Dust mites are one of the most common indoor allergy triggers, and the pattern of symptoms usually gives them away.

The telling sign is timing: symptoms that are worst on waking, or that ease when you leave the house for a few days and return when you come back. Typical complaints are a blocked or runny nose, sneezing on waking, itchy eyes and worsened asthma.

They live in mattresses, pillows, upholstered furniture, carpets and soft toys, feeding on shed skin. They are invisible to the eye — you will not see them, only the effect.

What reduces them, in order of impact: wash bedding weekly and dry it thoroughly with heat, use protective mattress and pillow covers, keep indoor humidity down, and deep clean upholstery and carpets.

Nobody eliminates dust mites entirely. Reducing the population is what reduces symptoms.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Certified deep cleaning for mattresses, carpets and upholstery across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

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Almost certainly bird mites. When the birds leave, the mites lose their host and move indoors looking for another — which is you.

This is a very common sequence in Pakistani buildings: pigeons nest on an air-conditioner unit, ledge, balcony or ventilation shaft; the nest is cleared; and within days the household starts getting bitten.

What points to bird mites rather than bed bugs:

• It started shortly after birds or a nest were removed
• Biting is worst in the room nearest where the nest was
• No bed bug evidence on the mattress seams or bed frame

Treating the room without dealing with the nest site and proofing the ledge is what causes this to repeat. Both have to happen: remove and clean the source, treat affected rooms, then proof the entry point so birds cannot return.

Do not delay — this is uncomfortable but genuinely resolvable in a short programme.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Bird proofing and mite treatment in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad — +92 343 879 7046.

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Yes — but the effective service is not spraying for chipkali. It is removing the insects they feed on and sealing the gaps they enter through.

Geckos are in your home for one reason: there is food. Where insects gather — especially around lights at night — geckos follow. Treat the insects and the population drops away on its own.

What our service covers:

• An insect control programme targeting the moths, mosquitoes and small flies they live on
• Proofing advice for gaps around pipework, air-conditioner penetrations, window frames, door gaps and ventilators
• Guidance on external lighting, which is usually the single biggest factor

Be cautious of anyone selling a spray that permanently clears lizards. Household repellents sold for this have little evidence behind them and geckos adapt to them within days.

Realistic expectation: a ground-floor home with a garden will always see an occasional one. What ends is a resident population indoors.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Lizard and gecko control across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

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Attack the bedding first — that is where the exposure is. You spend a third of your life pressed against the largest dust mite population in the house.

In order of what makes the most difference:

1. Wash bedding weekly and dry it with heat. Heat is what kills them, not detergent, so a hot tumble dry or full sun drying matters more than the wash itself
2. Use protective mattress and pillow covers. These create a barrier between you and the population inside the mattress, and they work immediately
3. Reduce indoor humidity. Dust mites cannot survive in dry air — ventilate, and be aware that sealed rooms in smog season or monsoon raise levels sharply
4. Deep clean mattresses, carpets and upholstery periodically, which removes what washing cannot reach
5. Reduce soft furnishings in the bedroom of anyone badly affected — especially soft toys on the bed

Nobody eliminates dust mites, and any product claiming to is overselling. Reducing the population is what reduces symptoms, and it is genuinely achievable.

Give it two to three weeks before judging results — allergen levels fall gradually rather than overnight.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Certified deep cleaning for mattresses, carpets and upholstery — +92 343 879 7046.

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They are one of the most common indoor triggers, and the pattern usually gives them away — symptoms worst on waking, easing when the child is away from home.

Other signs pointing the same way: coughing at night or early morning, sneezing and a blocked nose on waking, symptoms worsening when the bed is made or the room is swept, and improvement during a stay elsewhere that returns on coming home.

Where to concentrate, given a child’s bedroom:

• Mattress and pillow protectors on the child’s bed first — the single highest impact step
• Weekly hot washing of bedding, including any soft toy slept with
• Reduce soft toys on the bed to one or two that can be washed regularly
• Keep the room ventilated and avoid drying laundry inside it
• Deep clean the mattress and any carpet in that room

To be clear about scope: this is about reducing a trigger, not treating asthma. Keep following your doctor’s advice — and it is worth telling them you are reducing dust mite exposure, because it is relevant to how they assess control.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Deep cleaning across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad — contact us.

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No to both. They are too small to see, and they do not bite — which is exactly why they are so often missed as the cause.

What people take for bites is usually an allergic skin reaction rather than anything biting them. Dust mites feed on shed skin, not blood, and have no interest in you directly.

This distinction matters practically. If you are genuinely being bitten at night, dust mites are not responsible — check for bed bugs in the mattress seams and frame joints, or bird mites if birds have nested near the building recently.

Symptom	Points to
Blocked nose, sneezing, itchy eyes on waking	Dust mites
Distinct bites in lines or clusters	Bed bugs
Biting that began after a nest was removed	Bird mites
Widespread itching with no marks	Worth a medical opinion

If you are unsure, photograph anything you find on the bedding and send it — we can usually tell you what you are dealing with before booking anything.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Free identification — +92 343 879 7046.

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You can remove them, but they are worth understanding first — they are predators, and their presence is telling you something useful.

House centipedes eat other insects: silverfish, cockroach nymphs, small flies and spiders. A centipede indoors means there is a steady supply of those to eat.

So killing the centipede removes the symptom. The population it was feeding on stays, and more centipedes follow the same food.

If you want them gone, the effective route is:

• Reduce the insects they feed on — that removes the reason they are there
• Fix the damp. Centipedes need moisture, so leaks, poor bathroom ventilation and standing water under sinks all attract them
• Seal gaps around pipework, drains and door frames

They are not aggressive and will move away from people. A defensive pinch is possible if one is trapped against skin, and it is comparable to a bee sting, but this is uncommon.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. An inspection identifies what they are feeding on — book a free inspection.

Answered by Pest Orbit Pakistan — ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified, IAF-accredited, Ph.D.-led pest control and fumigation in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Because the bathroom is the dampest room in the house, and it usually has an open route in through the drain.

Centipedes need moisture to survive and will not settle in a dry room. Bathrooms give them humidity, darkness at night, insects to eat, and floor drains connecting to spaces they travel through.

Finding them repeatedly in one bathroom is worth investigating properly — it often points to a slow leak inside a wall or under the floor that nobody has noticed. The same damp also grows mould and supports silverfish, so several symptoms usually share one cause.

What to do:

• Check for leaks around the WC, basin and shower, including behind tiling
• Make sure the extractor or window is actually used — ventilation matters more than cleaning here
• Cover floor drains and keep water in unused traps
• Do not store cardboard or paper in the bathroom

Reduce the damp and the insects, and centipedes leave on their own.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Centipede control — +92 343 879 7046.

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Largely yes — and this is one of the few pests where fixing the environment genuinely does most of the work.

Silverfish need consistently high humidity. Remove it and the population declines on its own, because they cannot survive in dry conditions for long.

What actually dries a home out:

• Fix leaks first — a weeping pipe under a sink or inside a wall sustains them regardless of anything else you do
• Ventilate bathrooms and kitchens properly, and use the extractor rather than only opening a window occasionally
• Do not dry laundry indoors in an unventilated room
• Keep stored paper and cardboard off floors, especially in bathrooms and store rooms

Be realistic about coastal Karachi. Ambient humidity is high for much of the year, so you are reducing rather than eliminating — and treatment plus moisture control works better there than moisture control alone.

Move valuable papers, certificates and photographs out of damp cupboards now, whatever else you do.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Silverfish control across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Answered by Pest Orbit Pakistan — ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified, IAF-accredited, Ph.D.-led pest control and fumigation in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Dust mites are an allergy problem only — they do not bite or spread disease. Bird mites are different, because they do bite.

	Dust mites	Bird mites
Bite people	No	Yes — when they lose their bird host
Main effect	Allergy and asthma triggers	Irritating bites, itching
Where	Mattresses, pillows, carpets, upholstery	Near old nests, AC units, ledges, roof spaces
Spread disease	No	Not significantly
Resolution	Reduce population — bedding, humidity, deep cleaning	Remove nest, treat rooms, proof the entry point

The dust mite burden is genuinely worth taking seriously despite not being dangerous in itself — poorly controlled asthma has real consequences, and dust mites are among the commonest indoor triggers.

For bird mites, treating rooms without removing the nest and proofing the ledge is what causes the problem to repeat. Both have to happen.

For more information contact Pest Orbit Pakistan. Bird proofing and certified deep cleaning — contact us.

Answered by Pest Orbit Pakistan — ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certified, IAF-accredited, Ph.D.-led pest control and fumigation in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.