Have you taken the temperature of your home lately? No, we are not talking about adjusting the thermostat on a cold day but getting a check-up on the overall health of your home.
Owning and maintaining a healthy home is what all consumers want and deserve. They want to come home to a place that is well-maintained, dry, clean, safe, free of contaminants, well-ventilated and maintained, thermally sound, and above all pest-free.
Recently, the Federal Healthy Homes Work Group released a report that identified being pest-free as one of the top eight characteristics for a safe and healthy home. These characteristics (listed earlier) are at the core of what the group listed as “must-haves” to maintain a protected living space.
The Sprague Pest Experts wholeheartedly agree with the group’s assessment that pests do not have a place in the family portrait on the mantel! Pests can have a detrimental impact on both the physical condition of a home and its residents.
Termites can literally destroy the image of a house surrounded by a white picket fence by eating the fence posts or the kitchen cabinets! Rodents are another home-wrecker consumers can do without. According to research from the National Pest Management Association, 25 percent of house fires are likely caused by rodents chewing on electrical wires.
Aside from structural damage and fires, pests bring a host of potential health hazards to a home’s environment and its occupants. From allergies to E. coli, pests do not play well with others.
Cockroaches are a proven cause of asthma symptoms and allergic reactions in children who are exposed to the feces, saliva and body parts of these filth-ridden pests. Cockroaches also transmit harmful disease and bacteria, and contaminate food and food preparation surfaces by crawling across them and leaving potentially deadly bacteria behind.
Flies are another commonly encountered pest in the home environment, as well as a generous distributor of harmful bacteria. Flies live in filth and bring along harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella with them when they land on food or kitchen counters.
The Federal Healthy Homes Work Group report estimated that more than 30 million homes in the United States have significant physical problems or contaminants (pests included) that place occupants at risk for potential illnesses and injuries. To read a copy of the report, visit =/program_offices/healthy_homes/advhh
The Sprague Pest Experts want to help homeowners maintain healthy living environments that are free of pests and the hazards they present. Sprague has the know-how, tools and innovative management strategies to protect your home and family from pests.