From doing door-to-door pest control, a Mpumalanga company now disinfects properties and supplies Covid-19 personal protective equipment.

L.T.E Pest Control is a Siyabuswa-based company founded by couple Themba, 38, and Kedibone Cindi, 36, in 2013 to provide hygiene management systems and affordable pest control.

However, as the Covid-19 pandemic presented challenges to all sectors of the economy earlier this year, the business-minded couple quickly decided to diversify their company's services and get into the Covid-19 space and take advantage of new opportunities.

However, for them to get all the necessary certification and accreditation, it meant tapping into their savings, including those meant for their household, Themba said.

"As we are in hygiene management, we naturally felt we could fill the gap [when Covid-19 emerged] but it was very difficult because every certification we needed cost money, so we needed to take our savings to put into this business," Themba said.

They started very small by supplying and distributing masks and sanitisers during the early days of the pandemic.

Now they are among the major players in rendering fumigation and disinfecting services to schools, businesses and churches in Mpumalanga.

L.T.E Pest Control now supplies surgical masks, coveralls, gloves, disposable gowns, infrared thermometers, Covid-19 testing kits and sanitisers in various quantities.

Themba said they have professionals who are trained and accredited to render deep cleaning and disinfectant service for both the public and private sectors.

The company has been involved in the disinfecting of schools and buses in Gauteng and Mpumalanga.

"We also try to employ the youth in all the provinces that we get projects in to empower and help transform their lives," Themba said.

He said they were offering temporary employment as they could only employ people based on a project that they would be working on at a time.

Themba said their business' main challenge was lack of exposure as they often struggled to access the clients they wanted to work with.

"We want to grow this company to make it even bigger and and expand into other provinces. We want to play a role in helping to fight the Covid-19 pandemic in SA."