Are you starting to see pests like roaches, spiders, or ants in your Houston or Austin-area home? You may step on one or two and flush them down the toilet or pick them up with a paper towel and escort them outside. Perhaps you do that a few times and hope they won’t return, but that’s not likely to happen with most household pests. 

Many small insects and bugs come into homes for food, water, shelter, and safety from intense outdoor weather. They may stay long-term if they find what they’re looking for and feel comfortable in your home. That means they build nests and reproduce, quickly leading to a full infestation with hundreds, possibly thousands, of pests you can no longer ignore. 

One of the biggest dangers of a pest infestation is the contamination of your food supply. Let’s look at the types of contamination you may experience and discuss why they’re dangerous. 

Most Common Types of Pest Contamination 

How do pests contaminate your home? The discomfort of seeing them on your counters or in your cabinets is bad enough. What they’re doing while crawling through your home is even worse. Let’s look at some of the most common contaminations that can occur, and then we’ll talk about the dangers of not handling the problem quickly. 

Food Contamination 

The biggest concern for home and business owners is often food contamination. Small pests can crawl over plates, cups, and silverware that you use daily. They can get into bread, cereal boxes, and fresh food left on the counter for even a short period. Some signs of this contamination are so subtle that you may miss them, leading to potentially dangerous food contamination.  

Surface Contamination 

Pests crawl over many surfaces in your home, from the floors to countertops and possibly even your dresser and bed. They leave feces, saliva, dead skin, and other debris as they move, contaminating your home. 

If you’ve ever seen the tracks that roaches leave behind or a line of mice feces, you understand the concept of surface contamination from pests. When you touch the contaminated areas unknowingly or use plates, bowls, and other items that have touched a contaminated surface, you put yourself in danger of illness and disease often caused by cross-contamination. 

Air Contamination 

If pests get into your walls or HVAC system, they can spread waste throughout your home through the air. When you breathe in that air, you may experience signs of allergies or increased asthma attacks. Contaminated air may lead to various illnesses and diseases that interfere with your quality of life and threaten your life if not treated properly. 

The Dangers of Contamination from Pests 

Pests like roaches and mice can cause cross-contamination, leading to food-borne illness and disease. You may also develop an infection or disease after inhaling contaminated air or touching contaminated surfaces in your home. For instance, some people develop active signs of allergies in response to pest infestations, especially if sustained for long periods in the home. 

When researchers isolated microorganisms from cockroaches, they found the following food-borne pathogens: 

• Escherichia coli 
• Staphylococcus aureus
• Bacillus cereus 
• Shigella dysenteriae 
• Salmonella enterica 
• Rotavirus 
• Aspergillus fumigatus 
• Cryptosporidium parvum 

These pathogens are scientifically proven to cause illness or disease in humans. For instance, staphylococcus aureus can cause skin infections, and rotavirus can cause fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain that lasts up to eight days. 

These are just some illnesses you may receive from pests in your home. If anyone in your home has asthma, they may even struggle to control attacks when there are pests in the immediate environment. The only way to help is to remove the pests from your home and clean up all tracks, feces, and other debris left behind. 

How Do Food Factories Prevent Pests from Contaminating Food? 

Factories, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities approach pest control like many people in their residential homes. They start with understanding the pests most likely to cause a problem at their facilities. Then they develop a strategic plan that does the following: 

• Deny pests access to the property 
• Ensure no food or water sources are left open to pests 
• Identify the presence of pests quickly if they do make their way inside 
• Cleaning up the surrounding perimeter, so pests are less likely to nest nearby 

These are the same steps you can take to prevent pest infestations at home. Start by acknowledging the type of pests that could make their way into your home, including roaches, spiders, and ants. Then create an action plan to keep your home clean of food and water sources and other attractions for common pests. 

Chemical Use in the Food Supply 

It’s important to note that many fresh foods entering factories and warehouses have been treated with pesticides. That often occurs when fresh produce is prepared for shipment, so the chemicals are already in place when the food enters the factory or warehouse. 

Some factories and warehouses may also have their pest control sprays inside and outside. Many will use green solutions that present no danger to the food stored on the premises. Others may use non-green sprays only applied in areas where food supplies aren’t stored. 

You can also use sprays in your home but look for non-toxic formulas whenever possible. You can also call Natran to ensure the products used in and around your home are 100% safe for children, pets, and even adults in your household. We have green solutions that can eliminate current infestations and prevent future pest problems without introducing toxins into your environment. 

Your Home is Infested – How Can You Prevent Food Contamination? 

The only way to ensure your food is never contaminated by pests is to eliminate all pests from your home. The first step is to identify all pests in your home, including roaches, spiders, ants, and other unwanted visitors or houseguests. The second step is determining the best way to get rid of those pests. That will require a different process, depending on the extent of your infestation and the pests involved. 

In the meantime, there are some things you can do to protect your food as much as possible: 

• Don’t leave food out on counters or in cabinets. With tight lids, you can put cereal, pasta, and other dry goods in plastic or glass containers. Many foods are easily stored in the refrigerator without spoiling. 
• Keep your microwave and other small appliances clean at all times. Many pests can get into your microwave and other small appliances, feeding on old dried food left on trays or splattered on the sides. 
• Place dog food, cat food, and bird seed in tightly sealed containers rather than in their original bags. These foods are good sources of nutrition for many small household pests. 
• Make it a habit to wash all dirty dishes, wipe down countertops, and sweep the kitchen floor before you go to bed each night. You may also want to mop the floor, ensuring there are no spills or crumbs of food that pests can take advantage of while you sleep. 
• If you have a serious infestation, rewash dishes before using them. Roaches and other pests may crawl over plates, bowls, and cups in your cabinets while searching for food. Assume that is happening and wash your dishes before every use, just in case. 
• Fill a water bottle halfway with water and halfway with white vinegar. Add peppermint or tea tree essential oil. Spray this mixture under your sinks and around other areas of the home where you’ve seen pests. The scent may deter some pests from entering those areas, but it’s not as effective if you already have hundreds or thousands of pests in your house. 

These actions can help you prevent food contamination from pests while you work to eliminate pests from your property. The faster you get rid of the pests, the faster you can relax with peace of mind. 

Eliminate the Pests without Harmful Chemicals

We have good news for you if you’re avoiding the call to a professional pest control service because you don’t want your home sprayed with toxic chemicals. Natran offers green pest control! That means we use non-toxic solutions that are safe for you and every household member, including your pets. 

When you call Natran at (281) 326-9858, our expertly trained technicians will thoroughly inspect your home to determine the extent of your infestation. We’ll treat your home to eliminate all current pests quickly and can continue treating your home for long-term protection.