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The Truth About Cockroaches and Asthma

A cockroach is not only an unsightly, and unpleasant pest, it’s a health risk as well. According to the American Lung Association, cockroaches trigger allergens for asthma patients. Research is showing these pests can actually be the cause of asthma developing in preschool-aged kids.

How Cockroaches Affect Asthma

If you or someone in your family has had a recent flare-up with asthma symptoms, it could be related to cockroaches nesting in your home. The cockroach carries allergens that are responsible for reactions in humans, and are a significant reason that many suffering from asthma experience worsened symptoms.

Asthma has different environmental triggers, and these vary from person to person. Your physician will help you determine what your triggers are, so you can avoid or eliminate your exposure to them. If you should discover cockroaches are a trigger for your symptoms, Pest-Away Exterminators can search your home to learn if you have these pests living anywhere on your property.

The allergens carried by cockroaches act a lot like dust mite allergens and will stick to particles that settle. The allergens are not airborne for long but will become active from vacuuming or other activities. Most people inhale the cockroach allergen along with other allergens and dust that have settled in furniture, bedding, or other dust-trapping fabrics.

Cockroach Excretement and Asthma

As the cockroach makes its way through your home and property, it leaves behind excretions and exoskeletons. Most people are allergic to these excrements and will experience:

• Sore throats
• Stuffy nose
• Sinus infection
• Asthmatic persons will suffer more serious and frequent attacks

Treatment for these symptoms will become less effective over time as you have to find the root of the problem and remove it from your environment. Whether you are asthmatic or suffer from allergic reactions, you do not want to live with cockroaches. These pests have incredibly poor hygiene making them carriers of all types of germs and diseases. Pest-Away Exterminators have the answer to removing these critters from your home.

How to Remove Cockroach Allergens

If there are cockroaches on your property or in your home, their allergens will spread throughout your breathing areas. There are precautions you can take to protect individuals who are sensitive to these allergens:

• Keep your home free of food scraps falling and laying on the floor. Clean under furniture and appliances routinely to ensure no food scraps are left under these areas.
• Keep humidity levels low as damp spaces foster the growth of cockroaches and other pests.
• Routinely wash bedding, furniture, and carpets with hot water. If possible remove fabrics such as upholstered furniture and curtains. Encase your pillows and mattresses.
• Smooth flooring works well in reducing your risk of cockroach infestation and reduces exposure to their allergens. Carpets are an attraction for these pests, and when vacuumed, it stirs up allergens and dust. If you or someone in your family is allergic to the cockroach allergen, you should not be in a room when it is vacuumed.

The best solution to remove the cockroach allergen is to remove the cause- exterminate the cockroach habitat.

How to Exterminate the Cockroach Infestation

Pest-Away Exterminators has extensive experience in helping homeowners and businesses remove their cockroach infestations. The cockroach has numerous ways they will use to enter your home, and we have the knowledge on how to locate all possible entry points. You want a professional to handle pest control, and with Pest-Away Exterminators your infestation and health risks will be eliminated.

Tags: allergens, bedding, german cockroaches