The Damaging Effects of Pests On Your Home And Health

If you have pests in your home, you may be risking more than just a few chewed up wires or attic gutters. You already know how important it is to keep pests at bay, but what are you really risking if you don’t get the problem under control as soon as possible?

In this article, we will be talking about the damaging effects of pests on your home and health.

Disease

Pests like fleas, cockroaches, rats, and mosquitoes are common carriers of the disease. Illnesses such as malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease can get inside your home through these annoying pesky bugs. When your pest problem is left unsolved, your family is put at great risk for contracting these pest-borne diseases.

Although most of these diseases aren’t fatal if you live in an area where medical treatment is readily accessible, it can cause significant harm to your family’s health, especially those with an already compromised immune system. Moreover, your pets can be put at stake, too; pests can transfer diseases to them, which they can then pass onto you.

Allergies

The presence of pests in the home can significantly increase the number of allergens in the air. The waste products from these pests, such as feces and dead skin, can cause allergic reactions when finding in excess in the air indoors. Dust mites, in particular, emit dander and droppings that are the most common causes of indoor allergies.

If you have family members that are very sensitive to allergens or have existing respiratory problems, the allergens brought about by pests can cause them significant discomfort and exacerbation of their health issues.

Food contamination

Pests like rats, cockroaches, flies, and ants can compromise your food stores. Hundreds of dollars worth of food can be wasted due to contamination. And that’s if you notice that pests have gotten into your food. If you don’t notice and eat contaminated food, this can lead to bigger problems for you and your health.

Most homeowners deal with their pest problems by keeping their food stores shut tight. Although this can be a useful temporary solution, the dander and waste that they release into the air can still get on your food. In this case, you can’t keep food out in the open, too, since pests like flies and ants can get to it right away.

Contaminated food can be big trouble for people who have less than ideal immune systems, such as very young children and the elderly.

Discomfort

No one likes seeing rats or roaches in the place where they live and eat. Apart from being uncomfortable, the presence of pests can significantly reduce the quality of living in the home.

House damage

There are so-called wood-destroying pests that, when left ignored, can cause you thousands of dollars in house repair.

The four main types of wood-destroying pests are carpenter ants, termites, woodborers and bark beetles, and powderpost beetles. Although they have their differences, all of these pests can cause significant damage to your house’s structural integrity.

These pests tend to dig cavities into the wood, so you won’t readily notice that the structure is compromised. Over time, the wood can crumble and collapse, causing your home to lose some of its integrity.

The best way to prevent these pests from creating major damage to your home is to look out for signs of their presence. Powderpost beetles, for example, leave a residue when they bore through the wood. If you suspect that you have a pest problem in your wood, call in an exterminator to diagnose the issue immediately.

Damage to belongings

Another annoying thing that pests can do is destroy your belongings. Rodents can physically damage your stuff like electronics or clothes, while other pests can leave their waste products on your things to render them unusable.

Wiring damage

Rats and other rodents are notorious for chewing electrical wiring inside and outside walls. Chewed up wiring can lead to short circuits and in the worst-case scenario–can even start house fires. Besides the potential hazards that these pests cause, they can also cost you a lot of money in repairs.

Unpleasant smells or sounds

If you have an abundance of pests in the house, you may start smelling and hearing their presence. Some pests emit unpleasant odors that are caused by their waste products, while other pests make unsettling noises that can disturb your sleep at night.

Psychological effects

Exposure to pests, especially when prolonged, can lead to psychological problems. You and other members of the family may develop a phobia of a particular pest or pests. While a phobia is considered an irrational fear, living in a house with pests while being deathly afraid of them can cause detrimental effects on a person’s mental and physical well-being.

As a result of this phobia, a person may also develop OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Because they are so afraid of these pests, they may be inclined to do obsessive behaviors like washing their hands multiple times or cleaning repeatedly.

Conclusion

Due to the many harmful effects of pests on people’s health and homes, you must nip the problem in the bud by calling in the exterminator immediately. Otherwise, you may end up with a pest problem that is significantly harder to control in the future.