Your kids are precious beings that you want to protect from everything possible. Unfortunately, nasty pests like bees and wasps can swoop in and injure your children. Bed bugs can cause nasty rashes. Allergies can make even minor pests a much more dangerous issue. As a parent, there are some actions that you can take to help minimize your child’s risk of being injured by common pests.
Be Mindful of Your Pets
Your pets can bring in a number of dangerous pests into your home via their fur. For this reason, it’s vital that you treat your pets with pest prevention measures. Fleas and ticks are two of the most common pest preventative treatments that your pets should have. Bathing them or getting them groomed on a regular basis can also help to minimize their ability to bring unwanted pests into your home.
Protecting Your Home
The best step that you can take to reduce your child’s risk of injury from a common pest is to protect your home from invasion in the first place. Your home is where your child spends a large portion of their time, so it needs to be super safe. All doors and windows should have screens to keep pests out. Having regular pest control treatments or services can help to reduce your risk of a potential pest infestation. Hire a professional or make sure to do thorough research on your own. If the infestation is inside or in outdoor play areas, use kid and pet-friendly products.
Travel Safely
Bed bugs are a growing problem that you need to nib in the bud before they enter your home. It’s best to always look over any of your luggage before unpacking everything in your home. This means checking your suitcases when you get back from vacation and even looking over your children’s overnight bags after staying at a friend’s house. The sooner you can identify any bed bugs, the smaller the problem will be to handle. Know the signs if they are common in your area.
Educate Your Children
One of the best measures you have as a parent to protect your child from harmful pests is to educate them about the pests. When your children are old enough to understand, you’ll want to teach them to identify harmful pests and what to do if they find any. By giving your children a programmed response for how to handle a particular pest, they can work to make the right decision to protect themselves from harm.
Educate Yourself
Know the signs of an allergic reaction. If your child comes home with a bee sting, keep an eye on them for the rest of the day to check for signs of a severe reaction. If they start feeling dizzy, nauseated, or experience trouble breathing, bring them to an urgent care facility. If the issue is a spider bite, ask if they saw the spider that bit them, or research what spiders are common in your area. If the bite isn’t healed in a day or two, or if your child feels sick, seek medical help.
Any parent can tell you that keeping your children safe is an all-day affair. When it comes to common pests, it doesn’t have to be overly difficult. By implementing the strategies that we went over above, you can help to drastically reduce your child’s risk of being harmed by a common pest.
Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and walks in the park with her three-year-old husky, Snowball.