Cockroaches don’t directly cause disease. However, they are extremely efficient carriers of infectious agents and bacteria that could cause various diseases. Below are some proven ways that cockroaches could harm you:
- Cockroaches virtually eat anything — your food, dead animals and plants, paper, glue, soap, leather, hair, and even poop. The bad news is that they usually strike at night and contaminate anything that they can by eating anything, defecating on them, and leaving dead skin, hair, and empty eggshells in their wake.
- Not all cockroaches bite people, but some do. They target soft, flesh parts like your fingertips, toes, and even your face. These can cause huge wounds and sometimes, an infection.
- In a widespread food poisoning outbreak, studies have found that the rate of new cases decreased following the elimination of cockroach infestation. Likewise, some cockroaches have been found to play host to Salmonella, an immensely harmful bacteria that could cause food poisoning and typhoid.
- Cockroaches discharge their own digestive fluids and saliva while feeding and inoculating your food with bacteria or germs right from their gut. A study discovered that the Pseudomonas bacterium could extensively reproduce in cockroach guts. This bacterium could cause various health issues such as sepsis, digestive problems, and urinary tract infections among others.
- Cockroaches are known to trigger allergy and asthma attacks. Their saliva and body parts are host to countless of allergens and trigger allergy symptoms like watery eyes, sneezing, stuffy nose, and skin rashes. Exterminators in Indianapolis added that even people who don’t have asthma could develop it through constant inhalation of cockroach allergens.
- Aside from invading your beloved abode, cockroaches could likewise invade your body parts. There have been a couple of cases wherein cockroaches enter a person’s nose or ear while in deep sleep.
With all this in mind, if you have a cockroach infestation or have tried eliminating cockroaches from your home with DIY methods but to no avail, it’s time to call in the pros. Following professional treatment, you must then make certain practice proper sanitation to avoid a cockroach re-infestation.