Guide Home Improvement

What Diseases Can Pests Cause

Written by Robert

With the increase of pests comes an increase in the potential of infestations and, as a consequence, health risks. A large health risk many pests present is that of disease. Along with impacting on sanitation, a range of different pests have the potential of being carriers of several forms of disease.

Pests that carry disease

Pests including – but not limited to – flies, rats, cockroaches, mosquitoes and pest birds are all capable of either carrying diseases of attributing to the contraction of diseases. Mosquitoes, for example, are notorious for spreading diseases such as Dengue fever, Ross River virus, Australian encephalitis and the Barmah Forest virus. Then, of course, there is malaria, which takes millions of lives each year and is a specifically mosquito-borne virus.

If you have Zothex Flooring in your house, you can be sure that mosquitoes would definitely come inside even though it does not damage the tiles that easily, it does provide a perfect plan for the insects to spread their virus amongst all family members.

These are just the diseases that one pest can cause. Pest birds can cause serious illness due to carrying parasites that they can pass on through a number of means, including their droppings. If these droppings happen to find their way into food or drinks without individuals being aware, this can all that’s necessary for a parasite to pass on. Even the existence of bird droppings within a concentrated area is enough to cause illness or disease.

The common housefly is capable of causing the following diseases:

  • Dysentery
  • Salmonella
  • Leprosy

It may be surprising to realise that flies are capable of causing leprosy, but while it may be rare, if a fly happens to come into with rotten food, there is the potential they could become a carrier for this confronting disease.

Rats are also capable of carrying some very diseases, one of which is rat bite fever. As the name suggests, the common means of the contracting this disease is through a rat bite, but contact with rat secretions can also be enough for such a disease to take hold. Symptoms include chills, fever, joint pains, rashes and open sores where the bite occurred. A more serious rat-related disease is that of leptospirosis, with symptoms that can range from nausea and vomiting to kidney failure and even death.

Other pests, including cockroaches, that tend to live in filthy conditions (e.g. rummaging through rubbish and human waste) present a number of health risks simply through transferring filth from one spot to another. It’s their very lack of hygiene that can present very real risks.

If you have a pest problem, it’s important to be mindful of just how dangerous they can be, even if they will not actively be going after you. The number of diseases that pests can carry and survive that can be harmful to humans and household pets is staggering. So if you believe you have a pest problem, make sure you seek the services of a pest management service provider.

About the author

Robert

Robert loves the sea and dreams of getting a home with a beachfront. He used to be a Data Scientist in a multinational company but left his job to follow his passion for writing.