Bird Control Problems: Health Hazards
Bird infestations can make residents, employees, and customers sick
Thorough bird control isn’t just about the building. Bird problems can lead to health problems for the people who occupy and visit the premises. More than 60 types of disease, infection, and illness have been associated with bird infestations and the related droppings. Additionally, birds can be host to a number of mites, ticks, and other ectoparasites that can attack people— all the more reason to invest in sound bird control before such problems arise.
Buildings suffering from a pest bird infestation place the building’s occupants, customers, and maintenance workers at risk. World health officials have also raised concerns about a possible epidemic of the avian flu virus that has already killed 63 people. If you’re responsible for tenants, employees, or visitors to your building, can you afford not to look into what bird control companies have to offer?
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Click here to set up a free consultation. Or, call us at 877-406-2473 to speak with a bird control expert today.
Bird infestations are tied to four means of disease transmission
- Inhalation of contaminated dust (often via air handling systems)
- Transference by parasites— fleas, ticks, mites and other ectoparasites
- Direct contact with feces
- Food and water contaminated with feces
How poor bird control can make you sick – means of entry
Air handling equipment
Many "sick" buildings have led managers to discover their health problems are directly tied to bird problems. Contaminated dust is often brought into a building through air handling equipment. With over sixty diseases attributed to pest birds, it is more important than ever to keep rooftop air conditioning and heating equipment free of bird infestations with the application of effective bird control services.
Transference by parasites
Without bird control, you may find yourself dealing with many new pests, feathered and otherwise. Fleas, ticks, mites and other ectoparasites thrive in and around bird nesting materials and accumulated droppings. A bird infestation can bring in more than pest birds, it can bring in millions of bugs. These pests then infiltrate buildings and spread diseases. As such, all bird nests and droppings should be considered hazardous waste.
Direct contact with feces
Bird droppings found anywhere have the potential to be highly toxic. Any direct contact can spread disease. If left to accumulate, dropping may require expert bird control cleanup services. If adequate bird control is installed before a bird infestation takes place, such procedures can be avoided.
Other bird problems complications: Avian Flu
The avian flu has already infected 116 people, killed 63 and has forced the killing of 140 million birds. World health officials fear the avian flu virus may be further transported around the world by migratory birds, allowing it to combine with a human virus and mutate into a strain transmitted from human to human. The U.S. Government is developing a plan to deal with a worldwide epidemic that could endanger millions of Americans.
The avian flu, also referred to as H5N1, has several genes that resemble those found in the "Spanish Flu" that killed more than 50 million people at the end of World War 1. According to the United Nations coordinator for avian and human influenza, health officials are unprepared to treat a worldwide outbreak of human/avian flu, should it happen. There is precedent: the 1918 flu virus spread to humans when wild bird feces dried, was, pulverized, and was inhaled by humans.
"I do not know when. I do not know where. But I do know it will come sometime,'' said David Nabarro, the UN's flu chief.
While bird control services applied to any single building cannot stop such a powerful force, increased bird control as a whole can decrease contact between migratory birds and humans.
Bird infestation can sicken employees, residents, and customers
Contamination of food and manufactured goods
Bird control services and bird control products can help prevent indirect exposure to an existing bird infestation. Droppings, feathers, and debris from birds roosting overhead can contaminate food that is being packaged, stored or sold. Transference of contaminates can start at any warehouse and can quickly spread anywhere, which is why it is so important to ensure all buildings are inspected and serviced by a professional bird control company.
Diseases
The following diseases have been known to be associated with a pest bird infestation. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list; dozens of illnesses can result from poor bird control.
Bacterial: Paratyphoid, Vibriosis, Salmonellosis, Listeriosis and Pasteurellosis
Viral: Encephalitis, Meningitis, Newcastle Disease, St. Louis Encephalitis and West Nile Encephalitis
Mycotic: Histoplasmosis, Candidiasis, Sarcosporidiosias and Blastomycosis
Protozoal: Toxoplasmosis, Trichomoniasis and American Trypansomiasis
Click here to set up a free consultation. Or, call us at 877-406-2473 to speak with a bird control expert today.