April has a lot of events this year. We have Easter, Passover and Earth Day, and it’s also National Poetry, National Parks and Volunteer Month. One of the big ones for us here at Good News Pest Solutions is National Pest Management Month – for obvious reasons.

But why should anyone who’s not in the pest control industry care? We’re glad you asked!

Protect Your Family

The theme for this year’s National Pest Management Month is “Advancing Pest Management for a Healthier Tomorrow.” The experts in our industry have found, year after year, that many people are just unaware of the serious health and structural threats posed by pests.

Yes, cockroaches creep us out, but did you know they are known to spread at least 33 kinds of bacteria, at least seven types of human pathogens, and six types of parasitic worms? That’s according to the Centers for Disease Control. We mentioned last week that roaches leave their feces around, which is disgusting enough. But crawling around on the floor where they’ve been, or breathing in if the material gets airborne, can lead to asthma, tetanus and tuberculosis infections.

Mosquitoes aren’t just annoying pests at your backyard BBQ. As we’ve seen more and more over the past decade or so, Florida’s unofficial state insects also transmit malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya, yellow fever and the Zika virus.

Flies can bite you and your pets – from no-see-um sand fleas to horse and deer flies. But even more horrifying is what the common house fly shares. First, they are always vomiting or defecating. Always. The moment they land on your food it’s contaminated. What’s worse, researchers say house flies can harbor at least 65 illnesses that infect humans, including diarrhea, food poisoning, dysentery, Anthrax and cholera. They can also carry eggs of parasitic worms that wreak havoc on your insides if you ingest them.

Pestworld.org reports that termites cause more than $6.8 billion in property damage each year to homes. In agriculture and forestry areas, it jumps to $40 billion. Yet this damage is not covered by homeowners insurance. Only programs like our Term Assure 365 have damage warranties – and that’s because we’re really good at spotting and stopping termites before the damage escalates.

Cleanliness is Next to Godliness

You don’t have to be a “neat freak” to want a home that is clean and organized. And what better time to give it a little more focus! We are in the midst of spring cleaning season. In a survey last year, the National Pest Management Association found that 60 percent of Americans say having a pest-free home is important to them.

There are steps you can take on your own. Wipe down and sanitize counters and cook spaces, check screens and door frames for tears or gaps, and make sure your dry goods are all sealed in the pantry. But professional pest control goes beyond surface-level cleaning.

Here at Good News Pest Solutions, we start with a comprehensive inspection of your property. That includes spaces you may not have even thought of, like where your electric and cable wires come into your house. Or where the phone landline used to. Then we do a customized treatment plan that utilizes integrated pest management. That’s a fancy term for making sure we manage pests – whether insects or rodents – sustainably. We want to protect the planet as well as your family, so we use the greenest, most organic solutions we can find. Having professionals come by for regular maintenance and monitoring helps prevent problems – or at least catch them quickly.

“National Pest Management Month provides an opportunity for the industry to lead the conversation on why professional pest control matters,” explains Dr. Jim Fredericks, BCE, executive director of the Professional Pest Management Alliance, “…ensuring the public understands the immeasurable impact of proper pest management in keeping our communities safe and healthy.”

Our goal is to give you the best protection at the lowest risk to your family and pets. If you’d like to try our basic program, Go Green Perimeter Plus, or upgrade to something more comprehensive, we are here for you. Just give us a call!