Household pets create numerous problems for both your home and for the health of the individuals whom reside within it. Obviously some pests pose bigger problems than others, but let’s face it, they are all just downright annoying. Dust mites, spiders, lice, ants, fleas, cockroaches, and other rodents (mice, squirrels, raccoons, etc.), all are common pests that find ways to enter and inhabit your home. These pests living, excreting, and reproducing within your home creates an unsafe living environment. Unfortunately the day to day activities of the pests living in your home isn’t the worst part. A majority of the most effective pesticides to kill these pests are a health concern in their own right. Some common negative health effects associated with pesticide exposure include, irritation to nose, throat and eyes, damage to the kidneys and central nervous system, and for some a dramatic increased risk for cancer. Other symptoms include headaches, dizziness, muscle twitching, weakness, and nausea.

In 1990, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that nearly 79,000 children were involved in common household pesticide poisonings or exposures. Additionally, almost one-half of households with children were found to have at least one pesticide product within reach of children. Surveys have shown that nearly 75% of homes located within the United States use at least one pesticide product indoors every year!

Pesticides
Pesticides are indoor air pollutants that are widely used to reduce many household pests. They are sold as sprays, powders, crystals, balls, and foggers. Pesticides typically used within the home include products to control insects (insecticides), termites (termiticides), rodents (rodenticides), fungi (fungicides), and microbes (disinfectants). These products are specifically designed to eliminate certain organisms, and consequently they pose health risks to humans as well. Some studies suggest that between 80%-90% of most pesticide exposures occur indoors, and that measurable levels of up to a dozen pesticides have been found in the air within homes tested. Clean Air Systems technology is environmentally friendly, uses no chemicals or solvents, leaves no residue and is guaranteed to be 100% effective, which means when removing pests, you and your family don’t have to worry about any negative health effects.

Dust Mites
House dust mites are microscopic bugs that are closely related to spiders and ticks, and are a major cause of poor indoor air quality. These bugs live on dust and dead skin cells shed from either people or pets. These skin cells, most commonly called dander, are often concentrated in areas where much time is spent such as stuffed toys, furniture, beds, pillows or associated carpet areas. A typical mattress can contain anywhere from 100,000 to 10 million dust mites, with each mite producing about 20 waste droppings each day (it has been reported that nearly 10% of the weight of a two year old pillow can be composed of dead mites and their droppings). Dust mites waste contains proteins to which many are allergic. Dust mites are second only to pollen in causing allergic reactions that range from itchy eyes and nose, to severe asthma attacks. Studies have showed that the most potent house dust allergens can be extracted from the feces and skin sheds produced by dust mites. Mites prefer warm, moist surroundings and they thrive when the air is humid.

Bed Bugs
Bed bugs are increasingly becoming a problem within a wide variety of residences including homes, apartments, hotels, cruise ships, dormitories and shelters. Bed bugs are small, wingless insects that solely feed upon the blood of warm-blooded animals. Bed bugs and their relatives are essentially nest parasites, waiting in the nests (beds) of their prey. Their color ranges from off white to a deep brown or a burn orange. Bed bugs seek out people and animals, generally at night while these hosts are asleep, and bite them in order to suck their blood. While feeding, bed bugs inject a small amount of saliva into the host’s skin, and repeated exposures to bed bug bites will cause the host to become sensitized to the saliva of the bed bugs, and can illicit intense allergic responses. The bites of bed bugs are similar to other blood feed insects such as mosquitoes and fleas, so it is nearly impossible to determine the cause of the skin legion.

Lice
Head Lice are small parasitic insects that mainly live on the scalp and neck hairs of their human hosts. Head lice are equal opportunity parasites, and their presence in no way indicates a lack of hygiene. Head lice are acquired through direct head-to-head contact with an infected persons hair, usually through the sharing of hats, combs and other hair accessories, pillows, and in some circumstances from resting ones head on headrests on couches, chairs, and other furniture items. Head lice extract nutrients from their hosts by blood-feeding every 4-6 hours each day. Each female head louse is able to deposit more than 100 eggs at a rate of nearly six per day. Generally, an infested person has a dozen or fewer active lice on their scalp at any time, but may have hundreds of viable, dead, and hatched eggs on their scalp as well. The presence of lice creates an uncomfortable situation for the host, with guaranteed itching and scratching, and the risk of spreading the pest to others in close proximity.

Ticks
Although ticks are commonly thought of as insects, they are actually arachnids like spiders. They have four pairs of legs and no antennae. Ticks are among the most effective bugs at carrying and transmitting diseases because they firmly attach to their hosts when sucking blood, feed slowly, and usually their presence goes unnoticed for a considerable time while feeding. The disease most commonly associated with ticks is Lyme disease, and nearly 90% of all Lyme disease cases have been reported in the northeastern part of the US. Lyme disease is a potentially serious bacterial infection which is transmitted through the bite of certain ticks. There are two groups of ticks, soft ticks and hard ticks. Hard ticks like the common dog tick have a hard shield just behind their heads. Soft ticks prefer to feed on birds and are seldom encountered unless they are nesting and rooting within an occupied building. Some common ticks include, American Dog Tick, Lone Star Tick, Blacklegged Tick, Winter Tick, and Brown Dog Tick. All of these ticks should be considered equally dangerous and treated with the same level of seriousness.

Fleas
Fleas are very small insects that are typically brought into the home by harboring passage on the skin of a family pet like a dog or cat. They are reddish brown & black, wingless insects, who obtain blood meals from their hosts. Fleas account for more than half of all dermatological conditions requiring professional help, and even a single bite to a hypersensitive animal or person may induce an intense allergic reaction and major itching and irritation. The cat flea is suspected of transmitting murine typhus to humans, and may also serve as an intermediary host of dog tapeworms, so while annoying, fleas pose a serious health risk as well. The average female flea will lay about 20-30 eggs per day on the host. They eggs sometimes fall of the pet on to surfaces like bedding, furniture and the carpet, because of the animal’s day to day interactions. There the eggs will hatch in about two days. So it is possible that fleas are reproducing and growing in number within you home even though fleas on a pet may have been identified and removed.

Spiders
Spiders are ancient animals with a million year history. Spiders are abundant and widespread as a natural control of increasing insect populations. They are found in dark places within the home like the attic, basement, under furniture, in closets, and within cabinets. In nature these bugs help maintain a suitable level for insect populations, however indoors, they pose a huge health concern. Bites from certain species of spiders are devastating in their ability to harm humans. Brown Recluse and other species of spiders should be avoided at all costs. These pests creep out of their hiding places at night to find an ideal place to weave a web, sometimes crawling on us while we sleep. Spider bits are usually only an annoyance, however bites from select spiders can be much more serious. Spring and/or fall cleaning, moving in or out of a home, and just normal routine in and out of basement/attic can uncover an undesired circumstance if met with a spider with a vicious bite.

Ants
There are several species of ants that may typically be found within a home or structure, ranging in size from 1/32 to ¾ inch long. They come in a range of colors from yellowish, light brown, reddish-brown, to jet black. Ants have three body parts; a head, thorax and abdomen, and most ants do not have wings. Ants are social insects that live in large colonies, usually located within the soil near the foundation, under concrete slabs, in crawlspaces, within structural wood, and in the garden or yard. Ants live within a caste system, and there are three castes of ants, queens, males, and worker ants. New ant colonies are started by a single fertilized queen ant that lays eggs and tends to the larvae. When the worker ants go looking for food for the queen and her young, ants will enter houses and other structures and become a nuisance by their presence and their ability to contaminate food. Ants who build colonies within the home pose a major problem both for the viability of the structure, but also for the health of the individuals residing within the building. Some common species of ants include the carpenter Ant, Cornfield Ant, Larger Yellow Ant, Pharaoh Ant, Grease Ant, Pavement Ant, Little Black Ant, and the Lawn Ant.

Termites
Termites are incredibly small insects that have mastered cooperation. They are able to achieve some very big things in comparison to their small size including, hollowing out huge trees, moving amazing amounts of soil, and of course eating your house. Termites are not ants, and are actually more closely related to cockroaches. Most termites have a soft, pale body, and they live in a social colony system. Termites primarily feed on cellulose items, commonly used in the building of homes. These bugs can create quit a financial problem, because most of the damage associated with termite infestation happens deep within a home. Actual damage cannot be realized until certain parts of walls and ceilings are torn down to reveal actual structural damage caused by termite feeding.

Fruit Flies
Fruit Flies are common in homes, restaurants, supermarkets and anywhere else food is perpetually present. They are attracted to tomatoes, grapes, melons, squash, bananas, and potatoes, among other things, and indoor infestation usually occurs when a fruit or vegetable is brought indoors with fruit fly larvae on it. These flies will also breed in drains, garbage disposals, empty bottles, trash containers, and on mops and cleaning rags. Fruit flies have the potential to contaminate food with bacteria and other disease-producing organisms, so their presence should create immediate action for removal.

Cockroaches
Most cockroaches have a flattened oval shape, spiny legs and long antennae. Most adult cockroaches have wings capable of flight and are reddish-brown to dark brown in color. Cockroaches are usually found in restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, breweries and anywhere where food is perpetually present, prepared or stored. Typically cockroaches hide during the day, and become more active at night, feeding on dead and decaying organic matter. Some adult cockroaches can live 2-3 months without food, a month without water and can easily survive outdoor freezing temperatures. New studies are finding that not only are cockroaches pests, but they pose a major health concern. Some medical studies show that cockroaches are responsible for childhood asthma, and the increase in asthma symptoms in asthmatic individuals. The presence of cockroach inhabitation creates a situation within the structure known as “roach dust.” Roach dust is made of roach body parts and droppings. Roach dust is a very strong asthma trigger causing severe asthmatic symptoms. Research is proving that this roach dust will linger within a structure even after the roach infestation problem is curbed, still able to trigger asthmatic responses.

Mice
Mice are little four legged pests incredibly adapted to living indoors year-round. There are typically found in homes, restaurants, commercial buildings and other structures, where building owners most likely notice them during cold winter months following their migration indoors for search of food and shelter. Once mice enter a building it is very difficult for one to control them. Mice are prolific breeders, in some cases producing up to 10 litters continuously throughout the year. They can travel throughout ones home, behind walls and through cabinetry and the major economic loss comes from the amount of food and materials that needs to be thrown out from their presence near or within it. Food, clothing, furniture, books, etc., must be throw out because their droppings and urine contaminate everything, and have the potential to transmit diseases such as salmonellosis (bacterial food poisoning.)

Pet Dander
More than 70% of U.S. homes have pets consisting of either cats or dogs. Pets provide companionship, a sense of comfort, and sometimes it’s just nice to see their cute faces. For some however, pets can be reason to stay away. An estimated 6 million Americans are allergic to either cats or dogs. For these individuals pets can cause sneezing, wheezing, and running eyes and nose. These symptoms are usually considered “pet allergies,” and these allergies stem from the tiny little particles pets let off called pet dander. Pet dander is skin flakes shed from cats, dogs, and other indoor pets. These dander particles are sticky, and they collect on the pet’s fur, and are then released into the air within a home. Dander is able to stick on surfaces within the home like furniture and carpeting, and is even able to bind to clothing to be carried around throughout the day. Some individuals are also allergic to the harmless proteins contained within some pet’s saliva. Once these contaminants become airborne, dander and other particles are able to stay present within a home for up to six months! Pet dander is universally considered one of the top contributors to poor indoor air quality.