Disease & Cautions

PESTS ARE HARMFUL TO YOU AND YOUR PETS AND EVERY EFFORT SHOULD BE MADE TO RID YOU HOUSE OR BUSINESS OF THESE PESTS. WHETER IT'S DISEASE, BITES OR DESTRUCTION, PEST ISSUES SHOULD NOT GO UNCHECKED.

Raccoons

Wild raccoons can be surprisingly aggressive and dangerous. Mothers are extremely protective of their young and will defend her litter if she feels threatened. Raccoon safety should not be taken lightly. Raccoons have a habit of getting into attics, under decks, sheds and garages. Destruction usually accompanies their entry. All efforts should be made to make these areas as raccoon proof as possible.

Raccoons are also susceptible to a large number of different infectious agents including bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Common diseases include roundworm, rabies, distemper and parvovirus. Fleas, ticks, and lice are common with raccoons and will often times become a nuisance to humans and pets.

Skunks

Skunks are considered nuisances, especially when they choose to den underneath homes, dig holes in yards looking for grubs, or simply the smell of their odor of being in the area. Making the area unattractive to skunks is one of the best ways to resolve nuisance issues. Steps to preventing nuisance skunk situations include installing barriers to prevent skunks from getting underneath your homes, decks and sheds, not leaving pet food outside and removal of brush piles and junk.

Skunks are a significant carrier of rabies in Colorado. This status, as well as their propensity to use urbanized areas, makes them a serious potential source of human exposure to rabies. Other zoonotic diseases and parasites carried by skunks include leptospirosis and intestinal roundworm. These diseases, in addition to distemper, canine hepatitis, fleas, ticks, lice, and mites can cause problems for pets as well.

Squirrels

Squirrels are more than a nuisance when it comes to home invasion. These small animals destroy soffits and vents to get into attic spaces. Once inside they soil insulation and have been known to cause significant damage to electrical wiring. Steps should be taken to remove and prevent squirrel activity in and around your home.

The primary squirrel health risk is linked to ticks and fleas which squirrels tend to be infested with. Ticks carry the danger of tick fever and, once carried into your home by squirrels, may also infest your pets. Fleas are also associated with squirrels and most small mammals and may also take up residence in your family pet – and once a flea or tick infestation has begun it is can be difficult to get rid of as these tiny insects take up residence in carpets, soft furnishings and furniture. Another way squirrels may be a health risk is because of their droppings. In common with other rodents, squirrels take a spray approach with both their feces and urine which may pose the risk of salmonella infection to anyone coming into contact with it.

Prairie Dogs

Many people love looking at these adorable, furry animals but they can become very destructive quickly. Once a population is establish, a colony of prairie dogs can create hundreds of mounded burrows throughout a property. When this happens, the prairie dogs will eat or chew down all the vegation within reach, often times even invading green, grassy areas. Farmers, ranchers and property owners alike should never let populations go unchecked. The mounds can be dangerous and the ground below these burrows is undermined and can become unstable.

Prairie dogs, like most small mammals can harbour several parasites and bacterias. Most notable would be pneumonic and bubonic plague. These are typically spread by rodents carrying infected fleas. Bubonic plague takes hold under the skin of humans and animals through bites from infected fleas or by handling infected flesh. Pneumonic plague is spread in the same way, but takes hold in the lungs similar to pneumonia. The infected potentially could then spread the diseases to other people and pets through the air. Tularemia is a bacterial disease caused by Francisella tularensis and is most commonly found in wild animals, most notably rodents. People and their pets can become ill from tularemia by coming into contact with infected dead or ill animals through animal bites and exposure to contaminated blood or raw meat. Tularemia can, much like plague, also be transmitted by the bite of an infected flea or tick.

Mice and Rats

Rodents can multiply quickly and will do significant damage to your home, business and furnishings through their gnawing activities. Not only are they destructive, but have been known to cause house fires after chewing through electrical wires. They will also contaminate food and other materials through the droppings they leave behind. Soiled insulation in attics and walls are also common problems associated with rodents. Left untreated, overrun areas can become serious health hazards and should be remedied as soon as you see activity.

Rodents are affected by many parasites, bacterias and diseases. Some of the most common and how they are transmitted are listed.

Hantavirus

• Breathing in dust that is contaminated with rodent urine or droppings
• Direct contact with rodents or their urine and droppings
• Bite wounds, although this does not happen frequently
• Leptospirosis
• Eating food or drinking water contaminated with urine from infected animals
• Contact through the skin or mucous membranes (such as inside the nose) with water or soil that is contaminated with the urine from infected animals

Plague

• Bite of an infected flea
• Direct contact with infected animal

Rat-Bite Fever

• Bite or scratch wound from an infected rodent, or contact with a dead rodent
• Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rat feces

Salmonellosis

• Eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated by rodent feces

Tularemia

• Handling infected animal carcasses
• Being bitten by an infected tick, deerfly or other insect
• Eating or drinking contaminated food or water
• Breathing in the bacteria, F. tularensis

Additionally, a protein in mouse urine triggers asthma attacks and other allergic reactions. If you have rodent problems,call us immediately.

Bats

Several fatal diseases have been linked to bats. Rabies is perhaps the most well known disease associated with bats. An exposure to rabies most commonly occurs when a person is bitten by a rabid animal. It can also be transmitted when the saliva from a rabid animal comes in contact with a person's mouth, eyes, nose, or a fresh wound.

Histoplasmosis is another disease associated with bats. Its symptoms vary greatly, but the disease primarily affects the lungs. Occasionally, other organs are affected. When this happens it can be fatal if untreated. Additionally, Histoplasmosis is caused by a fungus that grows in soil and material contaminated with droppings from animals, including bats. Droppings, also known as bat guano, can contaminate the soil and cause infectious spores to be released when the soil is disturbed. Bats also harbour batbugs, a very close relative to the dreaded bedbug. If colonies are left to propogate, there is a good chance you will soon see batbugs. Because of these reasons, it is highly advised to rid your property of bats and their feces. We can do both to make your home or business a safer place.

Birds

Most bird species are filthy and capable of causing disease and damage. Their droppings are unsightly as well as accelerating the aging of structures and statues. More seriously, birds may carry diseases such as cryptococcosis, toxoplasmosis, salmonella, food poisoning and more. Birds also have been implicated as reservoirs for encephalitis viruses such as West Nile encephalitis virus, which are carried by mosquitoes. Also, their droppings may harbor the growth of fungus which causes histoplasmosis. Other pests may live on these birds, including fleas, lice, mites, ticks and other pests. If you have bird problems, call PestMafia to come out and evaluate your situation.

Insects

Insect pests can cause damage or interfere with desirable plants in our fields and gardens, landscapes, wildlands or damage homes or other structures. These pests can also impact human and animal health. They may transmit disease, inflict nasty bites or stings or in many cases just be a nuisance. We treat for wasps, spiders, ants, crickets, flies, mosquitos, Box Elder bugs and most other common insects.