Health Risks of Pest Infestations
Health Risks Associated with Pest Infestations
Health Risks After Pest Removal

Rats and Mice
The most dangerous rodent-borne health risk, the hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a potentially deadly disease that attacks the pulmonary system, caused by a virus that becomes airborne when fecal matter is disturbed. The virus can be contracted by ingesting food contaminated with rodent urine, droppings, or saliva; inhaling the airborne virus; touching anything that came into contact with the virus, then touching your mouth, nose, eyes, or open wounds; and being bitten by an infected rodent. Although the disease is considered rare, it has been reported in 34 states so far.
Early symptoms include fatigue, fever, and muscle aches, especially in the large muscle groups—thighs, hips, back, and sometimes shoulders. In addition to headaches, dizziness, and chills, other symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain, and discomfort; around half of all HPS patients experience these symptoms. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that HPS has a 38% mortality rate.
Rat Bite Fever
The initial wound may persist with swelling and ulceration, and reappear at the onset of systemic symptoms. In some cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, and can travel to the heart and brain, causing damage and abscesses. The main symptom is a fever cycle lasting from two to four days. Other symptoms usually continue for four to eight weeks, but may continue for up to one year, possibly resulting in complications such as heart infection, meningitis, hepatitis, and an enlarged spleen. Six to ten percent of untreated cases of rat bite fever resulted in death.
Food Poisoning
Asthma
Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis (LCM)
Bubonic Plague
Rickettsialpox
Rabies
Squirrels
Squirrels attract fleas and ticks, and they transport them into your attic and leave them in their nest. When a squirrel leaves the nest for a lengthy period of time, fleas or ticks will look for new hosts. If you contract tick fever, you can have flu-like symptoms, including fever, chills, severe headache, achy muscles, stiff neck, light sensitivity, and a spotted rash.
Powassan Encephalitis
Rabies
Bats
Bat guano (droppings) carry histoplasmosis, a fungal infection that normally affects the lungs. People with immunity disorders, the elderly, the very young, or those that have asthma are at much higher risk for developing meningitis. Symptoms include fever, chills, cough, chest pains, shortness of breath, neck stiffness, mouth sores, skin lesions, body aches, rashes, and skin nodules. Complications can cause scarring in the chest that can cause problems with major blood vessels, the esophagus, heart, and lymph nodes.
Rabies
Bat Bugs
Bat Tick
Safeguard Your Property from Health Risks Associated with Pest Infestations Today
Even after a pest removal operation, you cannot guarantee your safety from the harmful pathogens those pesky pests have left behind. At Rodent Solutions, we can help you decontaminate your property so that you can rest assured knowing you, your loved ones, your employees, and your clients are safe from these health risks. Contact us today!
Opossums
Cutaneous larva migrans come from the larva from opossum droppings. They resemble red, worm-like burrows that are visible beneath the skin. The infection results in a red, intensely itchy rash. Scratching the itch might lead to secondary bacterial infection if the irritation becomes severe.
Tuberculosis
Tularemia
Spotted Fever
Toxoplasmosis
Coccidiosis
Chagas Disease
Raccoons
Raccoons are the primary host of a very dangerous roundworm called Baylis Ascaris procyonids, whose eggs are passed in raccoon feces. Raccoons leave their droppings in shared sites called latrines, found at the base of trees, inside infested attics, or on flat surfaces such as logs, tree stumps, rocks, decks, and rooftops. Predatory animals, including dogs, may become infected by eating an animal or feces that has been infected with Baylis Ascaris.
The millions of Baylisascaris eggs found in infected raccoon excrement are not immediately infectious; the eggs are able to cause infection after fully developing in the environment for 2 to 4 weeks. In dogs, the roundworm may grow into adults and pass eggs in the dog's feces.
Roundworm eggs are resistant to the most severe conditions, and can survive for years with moisture. Humans become infected by ingesting fertile eggs; young children and the mentally disabled are particularly at risk for raccoon roundworm infection as they tend to put their fingers, soil, or objects into their mouths. Once inside the body, roundworm eggs hatch into larvae in the intestine and travel throughout the body. Depending on where the larvae migrate, the infection can affect the brain, spinal cord, eyes, and/or other organs. Signs and symptoms may take a week or so to develop, and depend on how many and wherein the body larvae travel.
Symptoms of infection in humans include nausea, tiredness, liver enlargement, loss of coordination, lack of attention, loss of muscle control, blindness, coma, and even death in severe cases. No medications so far have been found to be completely effective against Baylisascaris infection, and it is often incorrectly diagnosed as it can mimic flu symptoms.
Armadillos
Studies have shown that as many as 20 percent of armadillos are infected with leprosy. Leprosy has two common forms: tuberculoid and lepromatous. Both forms produce sores on the skin, but the lepromatous form is the more severe of the two as it causes large lumps and bumps. Lesions have decreased sensation of touch, heat, or pain. Symptoms include muscle weakness, numbness, or lack of feeling in the hands, arms, feet, and legs.
Don’t Let These Health Risks Infiltrate Your Property with Reliable Pest Control Services
You don’t have to worry about all these health risks if you keep your property protected from pests with the most trusted pest control services in Bradenton, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Parrish. Rodent Solutions can keep you and your property safe from pest infestations using our specialized tools and techniques to eliminate and prevent any type of pests from making a home in your residential or commercial property.