Cockroaches: A Bigger Threat Than You Think

 

Cockroaches can spread a range of diseases, acting as both a reservoir and mechanical vector. Transmission of these diseases includes inhalation, digestion, and cross-contamination. Not only does this affect humans, but it also affects our animals. Meaning, you may want to start keeping a closer eye on your livestock. Some of the diseases and bacteria cockroaches spread include Sarcocystosis, Salmonella, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, and Listeriosis.

Sarcocystosis is a disease often found in pigs, cattle, horses, and chickens. Animals can get this disease through ingestion after their food is contaminated by infected vectors such as cockroaches. In horses, the disease involves infection of the nervous system, leading to depression, seizures, facial paralysis, and incoordination. Signs of illness in other animals may include weakness, muscle spasms, weight loss, abortions, and possibly death. Sudden death mainly occurs in birds with symptoms of difficulty breathing and lethargy.

When roaches crawl in filthy places, they compile Salmonella. After remaining in their digestive system for about a month, it can then be transferred and released through their vomit and droppings. Salmonella can cause a wide range of clinical signs in cattle, such as joint infections, abortion, dysentery, chronic pneumonia, and sudden death. This disease is also commonly transmitted to animals by contamination of feed and water but can be found anywhere, such as in animal bedding and gates and pens.

Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can spread extensively in the gut of cockroaches, causing disease in livestock, including mastitis in dairy cows, endometritis in horses, and urinary tract infections, sepsis, and digestive problems in humans. Transmitted primarily through water sources, this bacterium can also be found in soil, waste feed, and manure. Because of possible animal-to-human transfers, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa should be monitored closely. Human infection is often found in the lungs (causing pneumonia), blood, and other parts of the body. In addition, resistant strains of the germ can spread from one person to another through contaminated surfaces, equipment, and even hands.

Listeriosis is a bacterial infection of the brain, and it can affect a wide variety of animals, including cattle, birds, pigs, and humans. While this disease affects the nervous system, it can lead to other problems such as stillbirths, abortion, and encephalitis. The ingestion of bacteria causes most infections. However, direct contact or inhalation with the bacteria can also cause infection.

Keep your animals and employees safe with Starbar’s insect control products that kill cockroaches to protect your operation from the costly and dangerous effects of cockroaches. Try our Cyanarox^® Insecticidal Bait as it works great for controlling roaches on the ground in pig farms, milking parlors, broiler houses, caged layer houses, loafing sheds, feedlots, and on pastures. Alluvium™ Cockroach Gel Bait is used as a crack-and-crevice treatment for indoor and outdoor control of cockroaches. This cockroach killer gel is ideal for large-scale operations and is over 90% effective against roaches in animal housing facilities.