Malta’s rapid urban development, waste and sewage practices, construction activity and longer periods of hot weather are creating increasingly favourable conditions for pests, according to pest management specialist, Arnold Sciberras.
Sciberras, founder and co-director of Exterminator Ltd and a pest management consultant, said human activity was the main factor behind many of the pest problems being experienced across the Maltese islands.
In an interview with The Malta Independent, he said warmer conditions were also allowing some insect species to remain active and reproduce for longer periods than they did in the past.
According to Sciberras, prolonged periods of heat have altered the life cycles of some pests, particularly insects capable of living in buildings and other environments closely associated with people.
While extremely high temperatures can eventually become harmful to some species, he said sustained warmth generally creates conditions that allow many pests to thrive.
Human responses to hotter weather can also unintentionally provide breeding opportunities.
Sciberras cited stagnant water in plant saucers, artificial water containers and condensation or water discharged by air-conditioning units as examples. Even relatively small amounts of standing water, he said, can provide mosquitoes with enough water to develop during their early stages of life.
He linked these conditions to broader changes in Malta’s urban environment, including the way waste and sewage are managed and the continued expansion of densely populated residential areas.
“Human activity” accounts for essentially all of the country’s pest problems, Sciberras said, arguing that many species classified as pests have either been introduced from elsewhere or have adapted particularly well to environments created by people.
“The way we’re living in apartments and the way we manage our sewage and garbage, Malta has become literally a paradise for most pest species,” he said.
Rats remain a persistent urban problem
Rats are among the species benefiting from Malta’s highly urbanised environment, although Sciberras said 2026 had not been the country’s worst year for rat activity.
He identified 2018 and 2023 as particularly significant years for rat problems based on records he had previously published.
Population density and continuing construction remain important factors, he said, as building activity can disturb existing habitats and force animals into new areas.
“Construction constantly moves species from one zone to another,” Sciberras said.
Rats can cause damage by gnawing on buildings and electrical installations and can also pose public-health concerns because they are capable of carrying disease.
Sciberras said he was particularly concerned by what he described as a noticeable rise in black rats in some villages. The species, he said, has traditionally been less frequently encountered than brown rats.
He nevertheless urged caution when assessing the current situation, noting that demand for professional rat-control services remains substantial from year to year.
Bed bugs and termites raise wider concerns
Rats are not the only species attracting attention from pest-control professionals.
Sciberras said the spread of bed bugs also warranted greater concern, while termites presented a different challenge because infestations cannot always be effectively dealt with by treating an individual property alone.
He argued that termite control should be approached at a neighbourhood or community level, rather than relying solely on isolated treatments of individual homes.
The inspection of imported goods and materials should also receive greater attention, he said, because international trade and the movement of materials can provide pathways for invasive species to enter Malta.
Not every unwanted animal is a pest
Sciberras stressed that pest control should not mean automatically eliminating every animal found inside a home.
Some species that enter buildings are harmless or can actually help control other pests. He described these animals as “casual intruders” rather than genuine pests.
Among them are shrews, small mammals that can resemble mice but have noticeably elongated snouts. Sciberras said shrews prey on insects such as cockroaches and that their presence could therefore point to a more significant pest problem.
Rather than killing the shrew, he advised residents to address the underlying infestation.
The same applies to geckos, which he described as highly effective natural predators of insects. A single gecko, he said, can consume dozens of mosquitoes during a night.
Snakes can also be misunderstood. Their appearance around a property may be connected to the presence of rodents, meaning that eliminating the food source could encourage the snake to move away naturally.
Where protected wildlife has to be removed, Sciberras said professionals should ensure that animals are transferred to appropriate organisations or returned safely to suitable habitats.
He said protected and endangered native species should not be killed as part of pest-control operations.
More than 250 species identified as pests
Sciberras said he is currently preparing a book about pest species found in Malta and has so far identified more than 250 animals across different pest categories.
The range is broad, extending from very small insects such as ants to larger animals such as feral pigeons.
Some species that are not normally regarded as pests can become problematic when their populations grow substantially. Sciberras pointed to feral chickens as an unusual example.
His company, he said, has received requests from residents and local councils seeking assistance with growing numbers of chickens living in the wild.
He described the scale of the problem as particularly striking, saying chickens can now be seen in large numbers around roads and roundabouts.
Controlling them humanely presents another challenge because captured animals need somewhere to go.
Sciberras said he had caught hundreds of feral chickens during the year, while the number of people willing to take them remains far smaller than the number requiring relocation.
He also encounters terrapins, snakes and other animals through both his professional work and his involvement with the Malta Herpetological Society.
The objective, he said, should be to manage problematic populations without unnecessarily harming animals.
“As an animal lover and a naturalist,” Sciberras said, his aim was to find a balance between effective pest management and wildlife protection.
Pigeon programme shows limits of short-term solutions
Sciberras cited a pigeon-control initiative he developed with a local council as an example of how longer-term approaches can sometimes offer an alternative to lethal population control.
The programme used contraception to gradually reduce pigeon numbers rather than killing the birds. Sciberras said he had estimated that continued treatment in targeted locations could eventually reduce populations by about 30% annually.
However, he said funding and interest in the initiative eventually declined and the programme was stopped.
He had warned, he said, that ending the intervention would allow pigeon numbers to recover — which he claims subsequently happened.
The experience reinforced his criticism of what he considers an overreliance on low-cost solutions when specialist expertise is not sufficiently incorporated into environmental and pest-control projects.
According to Sciberras, an initially cheaper intervention can become more expensive if it fails and another contractor or method has to be introduced later.
Education needed to protect Malta’s wildlife
For Sciberras, effective pest management involves much more than removing unwanted animals.
Professionals need to understand wildlife legislation, identify species correctly and consider the ecological role of animals before deciding how to respond.
He also believes residents need better information about which animals should remain in the wild, which species are appropriate to keep in captivity and when intervention is genuinely necessary.
“Education is key,” he said, arguing for a broad public-awareness campaign involving specialists from different disciplines.
Sciberras said he has attempted to contribute to public education through television appearances, lectures and publications, alongside his professional work.
He described his interest in pest control as closely connected to his wider interest in natural history and wildlife conservation.
One of his concerns is that people often judge animals primarily by whether they appear attractive or unpleasant, rather than by their ecological role.
He called for greater recognition of the contribution made by native species such as geckos, lizards and snakes.
Concern over Malta’s shrinking natural environment
Sciberras’ concerns ultimately extend beyond individual pest species to Malta’s wider biodiversity.
He described the country as increasingly becoming an “alien island” from a biodiversity perspective and said he was losing hope as genuine natural areas continued to deteriorate.
Simply adding plants to heavily built-up spaces, he argued, cannot replace functioning ecosystems.
For Sciberras, protecting biodiversity requires preserving natural habitats rather than relying solely on decorative greenery in urban environments.
At the same time, he said nature needs to be incorporated more effectively into Malta’s towns and villages.
The dominance of concrete, he argued, affects not only wildlife but also people’s relationship with their surroundings.
Bringing trees, vegetation and functioning natural spaces back into urban areas could therefore provide benefits beyond biodiversity, he said.
“We are part of nature,” Sciberras said, arguing that even seeing trees and natural vegetation can have a noticeable effect on people’s sense of wellbeing.
The challenge, in his view, is to move away from treating pest management, wildlife protection and urban planning as separate issues and instead address them as interconnected aspects of Malta’s increasingly built-up environment.
