Health Threats Posed by Pests

Your home should be a place where you always feel safe, but unfortunately, pest infestations can completely take away that feeling of security. They’re unsightly and shocking, and should be left to pest control services to remove, but the biggest concern you might not immediately think of is what they mean for your health.

Cockroaches

Roaches are the last choice of many homeowners to find in their homes. They’re undoubtedly disgusting to look at, but their looks aren’t the only thing you should worry about; the risks they pose to your health are even more upsetting. While they scuttle across your floors and countertops, they leave contaminants such as bacteria and pathogens in their wake. This can lead to a range of illnesses, including food poisoning, E. coli, dysentery, typhoid fever, salmonella, and gastroenteritis. Their presence alone can also be a serious allergen to asthmatics, especially children.

Rodents

Rodents are common pests, and much easier on the eyes than our first entry on this list, but they’re still one of the most dangerous pests for your health. They’re the carriers of multiple types of diseases, from hantavirus to leptospirosis, and they’ll contaminate any surface they come into contact with during their search of your home for a meal. Coming into contact with them directly (biting or scratching) or indirectly (their droppings, urine, saliva, or hair) is cause for concern.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are the chief annoyance of summer nights with their irritating bites, but those bites can result in more serious side effects than itchiness. West Nile Virus infections crop up every mosquito season in the United States, and while many who experience the mosquito-borne illness will only experience mild symptoms, the odds of dying from the disease are still significant (approximately 1 in 1,500), especially in weaker patients such as the elderly, children, or the already ill.

Bedbugs

Bedbugs actually aren’t carriers of diseases or parasites that could be transmitted to humans, but they can still have a significant impact on your mental health. Physical results such as rashes, scars, lesions, itchiness, and allergic reactions can still occur, but the result of their unruly infestation can often cause stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and sleep deprivation. These mental health concerns have a higher chance of going undiagnosed or ignored, and it can cause homeowners to take extreme measures in trying to get rid of the bedbugs, possibly involving property damage or fire hazards.

Fleas

Fleas can be a headache akin to bedbugs for you, but they’re a much bigger threat to your pet’s health. They’ll jump onto your pet’s fur to feed off of their blood, but if ingested the problem can turn from bad to even worse. Some fleas may become “infected” with tapeworm larvae, and if swallowed by your pet the tapeworm will become a parasite that lives in their intestines, living off their food and growing up to 50 feet long. This can happen to humans as well if the infected flea is ingested, but it is a rare condition and mostly seen in children and tends to be far more common in pets.

Saela provides both residential and commercial services including: Pests, Mosquitoes, Rodents, Fleas & Bed Bugs.

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