It’s important that your home is a healthy environment. If your home has a pest problem, your health is at risk. A pest infestation can cause stress and psychological discomfort, and it could spread viral, bacterial, and fungal infections, such as salmonellosis or rickettsialpox. By eliminating pests, you’re creating a much healthier environment for you and your family to live in.
Potential Dangers of an Infestation
Rodents Transmit Diseases
There are many diseases rodents can transmit. These diseases include:
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome: A virus that causes the lungs to fill with fluid. It’s fatal over one-third of the time.
- Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome: A virus that causes many symptoms and can lead to kidney failure. It is sometimes fatal.
- Leptospirosis: A bacterial disease that affects humans and animals and can lead to liver failure, kidney damage, meningitis, respiratory distress, and death.
- Plague: Between 1347 and 1351, a bacterial disease, Yersinia pestis, was responsible for the deaths of millions of people in Europe. Symptoms included fever, weakness, enlarged lymph nodes, gangrene, shock, and death.
The best way to avoid catching a disease from a rodent is to keep them away from you, your family, and your pets.
Cockroaches Trigger Allergic Asthma
Image via Flickr by Mike Prince
Pollen, dust, pet dander, and insect stings are some well-known triggers of allergic asthma. One of the most common triggers is cockroaches. This is a big problem because there are reports of cockroach sightings in most American homes. Symptoms of allergic asthma are:
- Wheezing
- Coughing
- Shortness of breath
- Fast breathing
- Tightening of the chest
Bed Bugs May Cause Anemia
While bedbugs probably don’t transmit diseases, they can cause other problems. They feed on the blood of their hosts, which can cause mild to severe anemia. This is more common in smaller animals because they have less blood in their body. Signs of anemia may include:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Shortness of breath
- Cold hands and feet
- Dizziness and lightheadedness
- Pale or yellowish skin
- Headaches
How to Secure Your Home Against Pests
You can secure your house against pests by tightly sealing all spaces, gaps, and cracks. Make sure you always put food away and dispose of garbage outside in bins with tight-fitting lids. Fix any leaking pipes so pests don’t have access to water in the home. Put weatherstripping on all doors.
Why Contact a Professional?
Experts in pest control in Raleigh know the most effective ways to get rid of infestations. These days, they have access to a variety of solutions that are non-toxic to humans and pets, so you don’t have to worry about putting yourself and your loved ones at risk. They’ll create a personalized pest management plan for you and follow up to ensure that they have resolved the problem. They can also give you tips on how to keep pests out of your home in the future.
You can schedule routine inspections to make sure your prevention methods are working, and you’ll be able to get rid of any pests before they become a problem.
