She used to fear insects – now she keeps buildings pest-free, one rat and cockroach at a time

What would normally give the average person the shivers is nothing to Norhayati Samsudin. The pest control officer deals with all manner of vermin, from cockroaches to termites, mosquitoes, rats, wasps and monkeys, on a daily basis.

Her job at Industrial & Commercial Facilities Management isn’t what most people imagine frontline work to be, but it’s something Norhayati takes pride in.

To the 44-year-old, pest control isn’t just about “getting rid of” or killing pests. It’s about keeping a place clean and making sure animals are moved to a safe space so they don’t disturb the area.

“I like what I do,” she said. “I keep places clean, and that makes me glad.”

She is usually stationed at a single location – a shopping mall, school, hotel, or restaurant – and she spends the day checking for cockroach infestations, mosquito breeding and wasp nests, while clearing out termites and deterring monkeys.

COCKROACHES, TERMITES, RATS – SHE’S SEEN THEM ALL 

Pest control officers have to pass certification tests to ensure they’re able to respond appropriately to different animals and pests. 

For example, Norhayati, who has been in pest control for over four years, is trained to handle situations involving monkeys, to get the animals to leave an area without resorting to force or harm. 

Norhayati carries equipment with her, such as a 5kg pesticide sprayer to get rid of cockroaches. 

“Sometimes, my pest control uniform is enough of a deterrent,” she laughed, recalling when her team was called in to handle a troop of monkeys gathering near a restaurant. 

This troop was a familiar nuisance, and indeed, the moment Norhayati appeared on the scene, the animals seemed to recognise her uniform and scurried off.

At one school she was stationed at, she stepped in to make sure the monkeys that had wandered in from a nearby park wouldn’t disturb and steal items from the students.

“People always give me this weird look when I say I do pest control,” she said in Malay. “Then I tell them I handle monkeys, and suddenly, they’re interested.”

The most common pest she’s had to deal with is, however, the infamous cockroach. 

“Cockroaches are everywhere, that’s something you can’t run away from,” she said. 

Norhayati has become somewhat of a roach expert. She is so familiar with them that she can guess how big they are, whether they’re the type that can fly or not, and how fast they can move, just from their droppings. 

“It’s gross, but the information can be pretty handy because with it, we’ll know how best to deal with cockroaches,” she laughed.

Once, she uncovered a whole corner of cockroach eggs. It’s an episode that still makes Norhayati’s skin crawl. 

In another incident, she had to calm a crying woman who was terrified of a flying cockroach. After removing the pest, Norhayati made sure the room was free of nests and eggs before leaving.

She’s now grown used to seeing all sorts of pests, like a gathering of lizards in the corner of a classroom or a large wall of termite nests growing in a cupboard. 

AN INTEREST IN THE UNCONVENTIONAL 

“I’m a mum of seven awesome children, and I’ve helped my sister care for her kids too,” she said. “So very little fazes me and I like trying new things.”

She formerly worked in the food and beverage industry, starting as service staff and eventually managing a few restaurants. She also dabbled in facilities management, tried food delivery, and for a while, was a stay-at-home mum to her kids, now aged between 11 and 25.

One thing has stuck with her across all her experiences: She likes keeping places clean.

“If a place isn’t clean, it can really affect the mood,” she said. 

“It may sound obvious, but I saw how a dirty place can turn many people off in the restaurants I managed.”

She got into pest control “accidentally” after a friend in the industry suggested she might enjoy the work because she was so particular about cleanliness.

At first, Norhayati laughed it off. 

“I had the same reaction most people probably would, which I’m honestly embarrassed about now,” she said. “Why would I want to work in pest control? It sounded dirty and gross.”

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. She’d already been trying out different jobs, and she was craving something more stable that would allow her to be home more with her children. 

Plus, as someone who gravitated towards the unconventional, this didn’t seem so far off. Even her initial fear of cockroaches and other insects like large ants and termites disappeared quickly once she immersed herself in her job.

“It was like the fear was all in my head,” she said. “Just because I’m a woman, I thought I had to be scared of pests, but they didn’t bother me that much at all.”

A BOOST TO HER CONFIDENCE

It’s this fearlessness from work that Norhayati also brings to other aspects of her life. 

At home, she regularly impresses her children, especially her sons, when she deals with pests swiftly and silently, without flinching.

She sees herself and her teammates as “unsung heroes”.

“If I keep thinking my job is lame, that nothing I do is special, and I’m just some pest killer, of course I’ll feel low about myself,” she said. “I don’t want to fall into that. So I choose to see what’s special about what I do – and how my colleagues and I can all make it special, too.”

To Norhayati, being a pest control officer isn’t just about spraying chemicals or chasing off animals – it’s also about protecting people. 

“If there weren’t people like us, places wouldn’t be clean. And when things aren’t clean, a lot can go wrong,” she said. “So we help make things right, and to me, that’s enough to make us heroes.”

Being the only woman in her team of around 10 also doesn’t bother her. In fact, she enjoys the dynamic. 

Working with men, she said, has taught her to stand her ground and speak up when she needs to. It also offers a kind of balance in her life – most of her social circle is made up of women.

“This is a role people don’t really pay much attention to,” she said. “But it keeps me active. It has taught me to be more alert and observant. The stability and predictability of the schedule lets me spend time with my children, and it literally keeps the streets clean.”