Blog Post

4 Risks When You Let Pests Take Over Your Home

Admin • Oct 29, 2019

Mouse Eating Bread — Melbourne, FL — Bobby Grisson's Pest Management

Bugs and rodents are everywhere, but you want to keep as many as possible out of your home. One or two bugs here and there is common, but if your home becomes infested with pests, it can lead to many complications, including potentially life-threatening diseases. If you would like to learn more about how pests can devastate your home and family, check out these four risks of having pests inside the house.

1. Disease

Insects and rodents can carry many types of disease. If they bite, they may spread this disease to you or a loved one. Fleas, in particular, can carry many diseases, which include the virus responsible for the Black Plague. Other diseases spread by fleas include trench fever, relapsing fever and typhus.

Ticks are another insect that can spread many diseases, such as Lyme disease, tick-borne meningoencephalitis, babesiosis and tularemia.

If rats or similar rodents get inside your home, not only do you have to worry about the fleas, but the rodents themselves may spread disease too. One common disease spread by the white-footed mouse and cotton rat is Hantavirus, which can be life-threatening. Other disease include lymphocytic choriomeningitis, salmonella and rat bite fever.

2. Allergies

Many insects can also cause allergic reactions. Stinging insects like hornets inject venom when they sting. For most people, the inflammation and discomfort eases in a few hours or day. Biting insects may also cause some minor allergic reactions, but they are rarely life-threatening.

Depending on the type of allergen, you may only have minor redness, itching and swelling around the bit or sting site. However, in people with severe allergies, anaphylaxis is possible. This results in swelling inside the mouth, stomach pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc. In extremely rare cases, the venom may act like a poison, causing a toxic reaction, which can lead to seizures, shock and death.

3. Electrical Damage

Insects alone may not cause too much trouble to your electrical system, but rodents actually like to chew on electrical cords. This is because the soft plastic is perfect to help wear down teeth. Since the rodents are likely hiding in the walls, you won't be able to see the damage until it's too late.

First, at the very least, if rodents are electrocuted and die in your walls, it may begin to smell even worse than the rodent droppings in the walls. However, in some cases, the damage to wring can lead to an electrical fire if the cord overheats or sparks. Again, because this damage is often unseen, you may not be able to prevent the fire.

4. Structural Damage

Some insects are relatively harmless for your home's structure, but other actually destroy your home. Termites and carpenter ants destroy many types of wood, including support beams. According to the National Pest Management Association, termites alone cause about $5 billion in structural damage in the United States every year.

The most common type of termite, the eastern subterranean termite, probably won't do too much damage. However, Formosan termites are considered a super species because they are aggressive and can create huge colonies to destroy your home. Carpenter ants aren't as destructive, but over time, they can weaken structures and make wood look ugly.

Pests don't just make a mess in your home and get into your food. They can spread diseases and cause major damage to your home, including potentially causing an electrical fire. Luckily, there are many things you can do to keep pests at bay. If you believe your home is infested, contact us at Bobby Grisson's Pest Management today. We'll take care of the problem.

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