Oftentimes, people simply turn their furnace on in the winter without thinking about what might be lurking inside of their ducts. Sure, you might think about all of the dust and other debris that has built up inside of there because your system isn't being used, but that doesn't account for all of the pest contaminants that are lurking under the surface. In fact, the majority of debris in your ducts results from rodents and cockroaches. Their hair, droppings and skeletons end up building up inside of the system and causing you to feel ill.

How can household pests cause you to fall ill?

You might not realize it, but rodent droppings, skeletons and hair can end up making more sensitive individuals suffer with asthma, sinus problems, headaches and allergies. If you are someone who struggles with breathing problems already, it is going to cause you to be even more sensitive to all of the agents swirling through your air from the pests. When your system is contaminated, it becomes a harbor for all of these contaminants. Once in use, your home can quickly become contaminated from everything inside of your system.

What types of reactions can these allergens cause?

All too often, people overlook pests as being an allergy trigger. Most people think of pollen, pet dander, dust and debris as being the reason for their sneezing, itchy eyes and wheezing. Pests can end up causing you to suffer from an allergy attack for hours at a time. A cockroach allergy can actually cause you to suffer with stuffiness, a skin rash, sinus infection, bronchial asthma and an ear infection. Due to cockroaches, more and more children are suffering from asthma attacks. This is due largely in part to how much children are playing indoors today, versus what they did 20 years ago.

How does it all start?

Pests end up getting into your confined space through a faulty seal along the ductwork. They then deposit their waste in your system without you even realizing it. Even once you get the rodent problem under control, you are left with their hair, urine and other contaminants inside of your system. All of these things remain behind inside of your home, which causes you to suffer from any number of different allergic reactions.

Take the time to call in a specialist to get your pest problem under control before it takes over your home and makes you ill. The website of a professional pest exterminator can also offer good advice about how to deal with this problem, so be sure to check it out if you need further help.