While malaria is not endemic in Jakarta, it is found in many areas of Indonesia. Dengue fever is a concern throughout the country, including Jakarta. The mosquitoes that carry dengue fever breed in clean stagnant water. Rats and shrews scuttle about in dirty places and could track filth in if you don't block their access into your living environment. Rats not only spread disease, but are also a nuisance as they like to chew through doors, window screens, cables on appliances, computers, electric cables in your attic and even deserted cars where the seats become their nests.
Cockroaches live in unclean conditions, where garbage is open and there is access to food.
Termites, as in any tropical climate, can threaten the very structure of your home, if they are not detected early and taken care of. The fruit they bring back to their nest to eat draws cockroaches and rats into your attic as well. Their urine stains the ceiling below their nest and lets forth a pungent vanilla-like scent. Ants are a perennial fact of life in Indonesia. Their industrious efforts to sustain their nests mean that trails of ants into your home may be a fact of life during your stay.