If there are vulnerable people in your precious abode, it has to be the children. WHO data shows that children’s bodily systems (e.g., nervous system, digestive, immune) are far more vulnerable than those of adults. Small wonder children from impoverished nations are worse affected by their degraded environments. Their ability to fight germs and other disease-bearing insects can be largely compromised.
This is nowhere as apparent as in the cases of malaria. It is estimated that nearly half a million people or 438,000 perished in 2015 due to malaria. That number went up to 620,000 in 2017. While many of those who died are adults, most are children. Approximately 57% of malaria fatalities are children ages five and younger. It’s estimated every 12th child who died in 2017 died because of malaria.
That’s how dangerous the Anopheles mosquito is. To note, most of these mosquito-driven deaths are in Africa, where the most impoverished people live.
It’s paramount then that you keep mosquitoes away from children in your home. Even better, you should make sure other disease-bringing pests are as far away from your children as possible. We’re rounding up three of the most dangerous little pests that can visit your precious abode and how you can effectively take them out of the picture.
Flies
House flies not only are pesky pests that test your patience; they’re disease carriers. That’s because flies land on just about anything dirty you can think of: dead animals, feces, and manure. They’re the king of the pile. When that happens, they pick up dirt and, along with that, disease-carrying germs. These germs attach themselves to the fly’s hairy body.
Once you let flies land on your food or on things you use to handle food (e.g., knives, spoon, fork), you can be at risk. Imagine how much harm such can do to kids.
Some diseases commonly shopped around by flies are:
- Hepatitis B (viral)
- Trachoma (bacterial)
- Salmonellosis (bacterial)
- Shigellosis (bacterial)
The best way to control the multiplication of flies in your area is to ensure they don’t have a place to breed. We’re talking about taking care of trash and ensuring they don’t have access to the rubbish bin. Additionally, dog poop must not be left sitting around the floor as flies can land and spread the germs from there.
Mosquitoes
By far, mosquitoes are the most dangerous of these home-invading pests. Some experts detail that nearly half of all humans who walked the planet have been erased from existence thanks to these blood-sucking flyers. We’re talking about 52 billion humans lost of the 108 billion who ever walked the Earth.
Knowing that there are 110 trillion of these pests flying around the planet can give you some perspective of how dangerous these pests are. What makes them so deadly is they carry some of the world’s most dangerous diseases. These are:
- Malaria
- Dengue fever
- Ross River virus
- Murray Valley encephalitis
- Barmah virus
- Kunjin virus
- Zika virus
- West Nile virus
- Chikungunya virus
The thing is, female mosquitoes need to have a blood meal before laying their eggs. If that female mosquito carries a disease (e.g., Aedes mosquitoes), it can infect the person bitten. It can spread disease from one person to another this way.
To start controlling mosquitoes, you must ensure you’re not keeping places where they can breed. Meaning, no containers or pools are keeping standing water. Even tin cans and plastics containing water can be breeding places if you’re not careful.
As dangerous as these flying pests are, giving top mosquito control experts a call can be a wise decision. Professionals can do a better job of ensuring no disease-carrying pests are flying around your house, endangering children.
Cockroaches
Not only are these creatures naturally hideous, but also they can carry disease too. Just like flies, roaches roam just about the filthiest parts of the environment. Thus, they easily pick up rubbish and dirt along the way. When they fly about and land on your cutlery or your food, they’re actually endangering the people around them, children including.
Some of the most common diseases associated with cockroaches include:
- Hepatitis B (viral)
- Gastroenteritis (viral)
- Salmonellosis (bacterial)
- Shigellosis (bacterial)
Again, making sure garbage and all sorts of dirt are not readily available for cockroaches to infest is a good first step in controlling the harm cockroaches bring. Additionally, you can take extra steps to ensure safety against them:
- Store food in containers with tight lids
- Clean places where they can hide (shelves, cupboards)
- Apply gel insecticide in places where cockroaches hide (e.g., cracks and crevices on floors or outside your house)
Preventing these pests can sure look daunting. But you should know it’s all worth it seeing your children growing strong every day.
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