How to Protect Your Children From Pests

When you become a parent, you start to realize all of the dangers there are in the world.

One danger you can prevent is having pests in or around your home.

To protect your children from pests (and the bites, stings, or diseases they carry), make sure you know what to look for and what to do about them.

Keep Your Home as Clean as You Can

What does cleaning your home have to do with protecting your children from pests?

Well, actually they go hand in hand. Most pests commonly found inside of homes aren’t there just for the free shelter — they’re also there for the free food and moisture sources.

By slacking on your cleaning chores, you allow clutter to build up (shelter), spills and crumbs to exist (food), and leaks to persist because they’ve gone unnoticed (moisture). Cockroaches, rodents, ants, etc. are common household pests that appear when your home becomes messy.

A majority of these pests aren’t just nuisances, they can carry diseases and bacteria that can make your children sick (not to mention yourself). Make cleaning a regular thing with weekly cleanings (and even some daily chores to lighten the weekly load).

Make Room Inspections a Thing

Going into your children’s rooms is a thing you do as a concerned parent. (We get it.)

Rather than searching for something they have, look for something they might not know they have — bed bugs.

Bed bugs aren’t something you actively look for as a child, or even as an adult if you’re not aware of them. However, as a parent, you should inspect your children’s rooms in search of these pests every so often.

If you don’t see any obvious signs of bed bugs in their beds, toys, or clothes, take a good look at their arms, back, stomach, etc. A common sign of bed bugs is small bite marks that can have rash-like symptoms.

Be Careful When Playing Outside

Playing outside is something we all do as kids. Running around, diving into the grass, and living life without a care in the world.

Unfortunately, as a parent, all of the care falls on you. This is why you should keep an eye out for any nearby wasps (or their nests). If you happen to see a wasp or a yellowjacket flying around your child, tell them to put it into second gear and head back into the house until the pest flies away.

Another pest that’s commonly found in the yard is the blacklegged tick. This tick is the one we all hate that’s known for carrying Lyme Disease in the Tri-State area. Make sure you inspect your child after playing outside. Focus on areas like the armpits, behind the knees, and the scalp.

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You know your children aren’t worrying about pests, so now it’s your job…

You should be focused on prevention, you shouldn’t be worried about removal — that’s our job to do for you!

If you fear you may have an infestation of pests, dial our number and we’ll head right on over.