Traveling is amazing – the places you get to visit, the romance of a different culture, the languages and people you are exposed to – it all seems magical. That is until you get exposed to their problems as well, the chief of all being pests.
Pests – such as rats, roaches, lice, spiders – are common problems every place has, and it is almost impossible to eradicate them completely. However, you could use some techniques like setting up mouse traps (you can see how to do this on sites like PestWiki) or using baits to lure them away from you and your precious homes.
It is rather troublesome to have been infected with pests, so we talked to travelers and compiled a list of some of the different and dangerous pests you should look out for when you travel to foreign places.
Lice
Lice are considered to be problems only for schools since these infectious pests like to travel on the heads of children the most. The reason for this is because, compared to adults, children keep scurrying from one place to another. This is the same reason why travelers are more prone to lice than the average person. Lice like to spread out and colonize, and that is why they absolutely need to travel along with other travelers.
Most people fall prey to these parasites, not consciously but rather through negligence. For instance, not thoroughly inspecting the place fo stay can be an issue. Lice can stay cleverly hidden in uncleaned spots of the house/hotel, and it makes sense to check whether or not your place of rent is properly cleaned before entering the house.
As for the size of lice, they are very small and always want to be in warm places like follicles. They are very contagious, so much so that if someone is in contact with another person who already has lice, they make their way to the heads of that person. They are almost the size of grain so identifying them is extremely hard. You can use some of the pest control techniques by PestWiki to help you get rid of them.
The biggest problem is they can’t stand light so they can’t be seen easily. Mostly, people having lice on their heads tend to have itchy heads, having their scalp damaged because of the biting. Lice have certain things called nits which are basically the egg packets. Once these eggs hatch they start biting off the scalp immediately.
To handle these infestations, you can use a shampoo that prevents lice from staying. You can also have your hair combed to bring the lice out of hiding. In most cases, these lice cannot be eradicated by a single treatment; it would take more than three times for the curing to complete. If you are in any case infected by lice, remove them as early as possible and treat your hair with more caution.
Chiggers
These are also called red bugs, and cannot be seen with the naked eye. However, the bites they leave are as clear as daylight, and the pain from these bites cannot go unnoticed. These bugs are majorly found in warm places around the world and are mostly active only in the summer or sometimes spring. This is when these chiggers lay eggs on their host.
The larvae and the eggs feed by breaking out the cells and then feeding on their tissues, slowly damaging the skin. They cannot spread as fast as the other bugs, but they can surely transmit a disease, known as the scrub typhus – a type of bacterial disease.
To identify the bite of such bugs, they look like bumps that are small in size and form a pattern that is similar to a rash. They mostly happen in places like waistbands or armpits.
To avoid these types of bites it is recommended to use a bug repellant before you start traveling outdoors. These rashes can also be treated by using a relief cream for itches.
Fire Ants
The chiggers are almost invisible but when it comes to fire ants are crystal clear. These fire ants cause more problems than any other ants and the pain by their bites is no less of an exaggeration.
The fire ants originated from the South of America and started their quest upwards from there. You can really tell a lot about an ant by the way it bites, and fire ants are no different. First, they sting on the target place, then followed by a stinger at the end of the hind. Mostly the bites of these ants on humans cause a type of a small pustule effect on the place where it is bitten, but for some people, these bites are dangerous and allergic as well and needed to be taken care of immediately.
The symptoms of fire ant infestations are that they cause pain and the whole area is swelled. But the fact behind this ant is that once they bite a person they don’t bite him again. The most important thing is that if you are bitten by it then don’t burst out the pustule.
There are a lot of ways to prevent fire ants from invading your space. For instance, you could set up an ant trap to kill these vermins on the spot. You can even find out the different tools used to get rid of ants on the PestWiki.
Mosquitoes
These are some of the most dangerous species other than the bed bugs we have yet discussed. They are the main reason for the widespread of all the dangerous diseases in the world and are a huge problem for society as a whole. They are then the main reason for the transfer of the infamous Zika virus.
Mosquitoes are almost in every part of the world, but usually prefer places that are cold and at the same time have a moist environment. Blisters and all the other stupes of bleeding can also be originating from mosquito bites.
First, the bites can go unnoticed but after a while of being exposed in the sun, they can cause a total collapse of the human body. The bites from these devious pests are also divided by the size of the irritation they cause. Sometimes, the bites can also be treated by using an anti-itch cream.
Mosquitoes are sometimes dangerous as well. They can be eradicated in many different ways, but for some people who are allergic to these bites, it is deemed necessary that you consult a doctor at the earliest. For a traveler, the usage of mosquito repellants that can avoid any further bites is suggested. Wearing lavender perfume can also prevent mosquitoes from harming your body.
Those were just some of the many pests that could possibly infect you or your loved ones this travel season. It never hurts to prepare for the worst, and have medications in hand.
You can also consult sites like PestWiki to get an idea on how to control pests and eradicate some if need be.
