Bed bugs or dust mites generally attack us while we are fast asleep. Hence, if we cover our mattresses with the bed bug mattress cover and dust mite cover it will be beneficial. All these covers are clinically tested in the laboratories and ensure that the bugs or mites cannot chew through them and the zippers are self locking ones which bar them completely from coming out. The fabric used is generally polyester, nylon or cotton, which are quite comfortable and can be easily machine washed and reused. Moreover, they are water-proof which is quite advantageous. Urethane membrane which is laminated to the cover fabric gives an added protection against the mites. These bed bug mattress cover and dust mite cover prevents all the bed bugs and dust mites from making infestations in our pillows and mattresses and also forms a protection layer against the already exiting mites and bugs; the exiting ones remain trapped inside the covers.

Many researchers have proved that these dust mite cover or bed bug mattress cover is an effective preventive measure against the mites and allergens. According to a recent study if a cover with a 246 thread count and pore size somewhere between 2 to 10 in the order of microns can block almost 99% of dust mites and works equally well on bed bugs. Such a high percentage is a good enough reason for you to invest in some good quality bed bug cover and dust mite cover. The pore size being as less as 2-10 micron ensures that the dust mites would not come out. Whereas the bed bugs are much larger compared to dust mites, which means they have even lesser chances of seeping out.

Purchasing a bed bug mattress cover or dust mite cover is fine but only when you pick the right one. First and foremost check the pore size; the smaller the size the better it is as it would hold the fabric more tightly against the bugs and mites. The zipper is equally important. It should not rust or break off after a number of washes. A fabric that gives you ultimate comfort is the right fabric for you. Although there are a variety of them available, go for a simple as well as tested one, which can take repetitive washes of temperatures over 140 degree Celsius that kills 100% mites and 96% bugs(like cotton or polyester). Everyday technology is creating something new but it is always best to settle with the safer option.

Protect yourself from bed bugs and dust mites and invest in bed bug mattress cover and dust mite cover respectively, for a good sleep.
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What is a bed bug cover and dust mite cover? is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

Dust mites are too tiny to see with the naked eye, you could fit at least 5000 on the head of a pin! Their small size does not mean their impact is insignificant as they are a major cause of skin conditions and asthma. Reducing the number of dust mites in the home is an important step to making your life easier should you suffer from any allergies.
 
Dust mites feed off of human and animal dead skin cells which are in abundance around our homes, regardless of whether you have a pet or not. They can be found on any surface on which there is dust but have a particular liking for warm and cosy area such as beds, carpets and most types of upholstery. Keeping these areas as clean as possible will help prevent the growth of dust mites to a minimum.

Your first step in the battle against the mite is to clean every surface in the house.  Methodically work your way throughout the house tackling each room one at a time. An organised plan of attack means no area will be accidently left unclean.

Begin your efforts in the bedroom to achieve the most damage against the dust mite invaders as the pesky creatures love the warmth and humidity that is found in the bedroom. We spend a huge proportion of our lives sleeping so it makes sense that our beds will be a dust mite playground of dead skin and bacteria. Start by removing all the sheets and bedding and vacuuming your mattress, especially the base and head of the bed. Change and wash your pillowcases, sheets, and under blankets on a high temperature setting ( 130°F to 140°F).  Clean all flat surfaces in the bedroom to remove dust. Be sure to focus on the carpet in your bedroom, as this is another great breeding place for mites. Also, if your curtains are fabric, make sure you wash these thoroughly on a high temp or at least give them a good clean with a lightweight vacuum.
 
To maintain this wonderful level of cleanliness and keep the mite threat at a low level there are a number of steps you can take. Wash all your bedding frequently in hot water. Wash your curtains regularly as well. Make sure you air your bedroom on a regular basis. Throwing back the bed sheets for a few hours each day helps prevent dust mites from multiplying out of control. Keep your mattress as dry as possible as dust mites like it damp, especially with sweat. A Dehumidifier can help with this as it can starve the dust mites of the humidity they need to live and grow.

If you still can’t stand the thought of these spider-like creatures in your bed at night, or you have some form of dust mite allergy, there are many more drastic measures you take. You can purchase a special dust mite matress cover, synthetic bed sheets and pillows that the mites don’t like to snuggle in.  Even more drastic you can change your bedroom floor to hardwood or laminate and change your curtain to wooden slats or blinds.

All of the methods mentioned above will help in the fight against the mite. Remember to be vigilant and maintain a good cleaning regime. While you may not totally eradicate dust mites from your home you will certainly be the master of your house.

Keeping your house clean will help against dust mites. A vacuum cleaner is a useful weapon in your arsenal. If you’re too busy to vac, you may want to consider a Robotic Vacuum cleaner. Effective for maintaining a dust free house.
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Fighting the battle against Dust Mites is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

The main problem is that we dream but we keep doing the same thing we did yesterday hoping for a different result. Life in the rat race is a bit like running on the treadmill. The faster you run the more your tire and burn yourself out but when its all said and done you haven’t actually gone anywhere and tomorrow you basically start in the same place again. Sure your fitness improves and you burn of much needed calories but its not like you ran a marathon and finished a race. But lets say you do want to run a marathon one day, eventually you are going to need to get off the treadmill and just join a marathon. How can you ever hope of completing a marathon if you never get out on the road and run the race. Its all great to prepare, it would be ill advised to just wake up one day and run in a marathon, but all the best preparation and training does not compare to actually running the race.

The treadmill is a little like life. We all get so comfortable and used to running the treadmill that we never stop to decide what we are actually wanting to accomplish. What is the marathon of our life in a sense. Is it to one day travel, start and raise a family or maybe spend more time on the water. Whatever it maybe you have to decide what it is for you and you have to decide that you are going to have to get out of the treadmill and just go for it.

We can all get preoccupied with running on the treadmill of life sometimes but you have to remember that you can run as fast as you want, work up stress and sweat but you aren’t actually going anywhere. You have to step out of your comfort zone and do something different if you want the results in your life to change.

I came across this inspirational short movie clip of a guy who quit his job and with the money he saved went traveling around the world for six months until his money ran out. Now that is inspirational. He decided to start a blog and filmed himself dancing at the different countries he visited to keep his friends and family up to date on where and what he was doing.

So if you want to change your experiences and get yourself out of the rat race, the first thing you have to do is decide what race you are running and why you are doing what you are doing in the first place. Once you find meaning you will find purpose.

Terence Young – For more weight loss and personal growth articles visit: http://www.personalgrowthunlimited.com

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How To Get Yourself Out Of The Rat Race is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

Our sales-driven culture is wearying, especially to economically average people. Sales is not an end in itself, yet many people in the workforce today must adopt Sales as their daily religion. Sales can be a good thing, granted. It springs forth from a potentially healthy, capitalistic model. But the result of our take-take-take mentality is an ever-increasing class of people who do nothing but sales. They are called “Salesmen.” Average folks who would love to do something honest for a living are forced to sell their bosses’ products the other masses who buy the aforementioned products using the revenue they accumulated from commissions earned from selling their respective bosses’ products, and so on.

This is the destructive futility of doing anything apart from God. This also hints at the oppressive tendency of any human system that tries to function apart from God. Godless men are driven by their insecurities to position themselves above others as they try to offset their giving with as much taking as possible.

Work apart from God must be meaningless and therefore also discouraging. If God is not making our work meaningful, then what is our meaning? To earn money? Earn money to spend on what? Feed our families? To what end? So that our families might live? Live for what?

God is continually offsetting our destructive tendencies with His grace. There must be a single, great Giver to offset the fact that men are always taking. Men would tear themselves and the world apart through their hoarding and clinging if not for God, who chooses to patiently hold the world together.

Worldly men would think a man crazy for giving and dying unconditionally so that others might benefit from his giving and dying. God’s otherworldly grace inspires such craziness. This insanity is the only productive way to live. This good kind of insanity offsets the Godless world’s insanity, which is self-destructive.

God makes it possible for men to die to themselves by making them spiritually full. To the heaven-bound man, Jesus Christ is all the nutrition and wealth that he could ever want. Christ is our eternal Wealth. This Wealth is unfading, impossible to steal. The spiritual wealth that comes from knowing Jesus Christ is grounded in God, who is eternally set apart from the world.

Christ makes His followers useful to world by freeing them from worldly concern. He fills them and strengthens them so they might give and die unconditionally, to benefit others.

It is not the race that makes a rat race, but the rats in the race that make it a rat race. God frees us from this rat race by making us something better than rats.

A career of sales, for example, will drain a person’s life. But a salesman who depends on God will accomplish his work with unconditional joy. When God frees a man to work with unconditional dedication and joy, he will do any job well, even a sales job. This demonstrates the ironic beauty of God’s grace. He injects that which was only dark and detrimental with life-renewing hope and strength.

There is hope for our capitalistic economy as long as it contains Godly checks and balances. As long as our money earning is girded by spiritual wisdom and selfless charity there’s a chance for us to find meaning in our everyday lives.

by Patrick Roberts. Find additional resources at www.BooksByPatrick.com

Patrick is an average Christ-seeker. His goal is to turn people to Jesus Christ. www.BooksByPatrick.com
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Escaping the Rat Race is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

*The freedom and ability to pursue your dreams. Our dreams included traveling around the United States more extensively and overseas; mission/charity work, supporting our missionary friends and building a retreat for hurting children; investing; owning a cabin in Montana where we could journal, hike, and read to our heart’s content. Also, the dream of owning a big old house in the country to use as a beacon for many a weary soul, with a wrap-around-front porch of course.

*Financial independence and stability. With the changeable tides of the economy, we felt we wanted to build our wealth independently without relying on a job that we falsely viewed as our security for a time.  And the independence part extends a little further to the fact that we wanted to be able to work from wherever we wanted. That way, we could take those trips and still be working on our business.

*More Time. Life passes quickly, and we didn’t want to get to retirement age and think, “I really wished we would have…” We wanted to have the time to spend with our family and friends…quality time with depth. Time is a precious commodity, one that cannot be manufactured when you run out. We have the present. Period. And we refused to give up the present because we were always looking at the future.  We wanted to be able to sleep until we felt rested and then have breakfast and quiet time together in the morning. We wanted to spend our time on things we were meant to do, things that made us come alive.

A large percentage of the people in the workforce spend most of their adult lives working on someone else’s dreams, passions, and goals. Their time off is largely spent trying to recover from the stress generated by the job they dislike, and the lack of sleep from the long work hours.  Too many people are not on the path that is leading them toward fulfilling their personal goals and dreams.  Much of the reason for this is that they simply will not dare to step out of the probable and embrace the possible. The wonderful thing about America is that it’s foundation was built by people who determined to reach for what they could see was possible and were willing to work hard until they achieved it. And that same opportunity is available to each of us today.  If you are sick and tired of the rat race, but have difficulty believing escape is possible, ask yourself, what if it isn’t?

Amy Fitzwater

If you are looking for a way to escape the rat race, one that requires hard work and determination with the end result of finding a better, freer way to achieve your cheese, take a look at our website. You may think it sounds too good to be true. Is that any reason not to look?http://www.FreedFromTheRatRace.com
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Escape the Rat Race…do We Dare Believe it Possible? is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

The most common designs for squirrel proof feeders involve wire cages to deny large animals or birds access to the inside birdseed chambers. Weight activated squirrel proof bird feeders use the critter’s own weight as the means of activating a mechanism that shuts down openings where birdseed is obtained. In each of these two popular methods, the offending squirrels will spend time on the feeders, trying gain access to the birdseed inside. As long as the squirrels are hanging and chewing on the feeders, the birds are kept away.

The main difference between the Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder and the designs of other squirrel proof bird feeders is the immediate action of the feeder. The Squirrel Boss provides an instant response to keeping squirrels off the feeder. You simply grab your remote control, aim it at the feeder and with a simple press of the button, the squirrel receives a mild, static, harmless shock. The remote control has a range of up to 200 feet. The voltage is not harmful to squirrels, in accordance with the N.F.P.A.(National Fire Protection Agency) National Electric Codes. You are simply teaching an animal to stay away from an object that contains birdseed.

The power to accomplish this stinging action is in the solar roof. The Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder incorporates new design features such as solar power with tempered glass and stainless steel feeding stations. These are all industry recommended materials for long lasting outdoor products.

Admittedly, solar products have had an inferior reputation. Many people have tried the latest solar products on the market. Solar fountains that last only one year. Solar lights for our walkways that last, at most, two years. The Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder company offers a lifetime warranty on the solar powered roof. The feeder tube also has a lifetime warranty for squirrel chewing.

If you do not have a sunny location for the solar roof to operate fully, you can still use this feeder. Every Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder comes with an A/C charger. The charge usually lasts about 10 days. A non-solar roof is provided so that you can use the feeder while the solar roof is charging.

All the latest technologies have been built into this new squirrel proof bird feeder. But, you don’t have to take my word for it. You can listen to our exclusive radio interview with the inventor of the Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder. After you hear this, you’ll want to take control of your backyard like many other homeowners already have. Win the squirrel war! Visit http://www.wildbirddepot.com for more information about the Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder.

Steve White is the owner of Wild Bird Depot, New Hampshire’s largest variety of wild bird products for over 16 years and www.wildbirddepot.com. He was on the Board of Directors for the National Bird Feeding Society. He is a guest lecturer for national conventions in St. Louis and Atlanta. Wild Bird Depot has donated over $5,000 to the local nature centers for rehabilitation. He has also donated and participated in helping local schools set up wild bird habitats for learning and research. Steve is now offering his backyard bird feeding expertise to assist others in creating wild bird sanctuaries in their backyards, one feeder at a time.
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Squirrel Boss Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder, How Does It Work? is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

Both mice and rats invade homes for food and shelter. Although there are incidences where mice live far away from human populations, colder weather often causes mice to locate their way into structures looking for shelter and food. Drought may also drive them inside to find water. Their continual gnawing causes damage to structures and property.

Should I worry about mice and rats in the house?

Rats and mice will destroy and contaminate large amounts of food or items in storage, as well as they carry a number of diseases that can be passed to humans. Their constant gnawing causes damage to structures and property. House mice consume food meant for humans or pets. They contaminate food-preparation surfaces with their feces, which can contain the bacterium that causes food poisoning (salmonellosis). Be cautious in the process of removing mice or rat droppings from any area. Rodent droppings and the dust surrounding them may contain disease organisms which are harmful to people or their pets. They are believed to cause many fires every year when they gnaw through electrical wires and cause short-circuits. They also cause untold data loss and downtime when they gnaw on telephone and other communication and network cables. Mice Rats can also damage stored products, especially clothing and other textiles, by their gnawing or their use of stored garments as material to line their nests.

Recognizing Mouse Infestations

Droppings, fresh gnawing and tracks be a sign of areas where mice are active. Their droppings contain a large number of disease causing bacteria. Additionally, mice/rat infestations can lead to problems with other pests, such as fleas.

Mouse nests, made from fine shredded paper or other fibrous material, are often found in sheltered locations. House mice have a characteristic musky odor that identifies their presence. Mice are rarely seen during daylight hours. If you discover droppings or see signs that rodents have chewed into food containers, you should take quick action. In large part, mice get water from the food they consume. Because of this, it is possible that an absence of water or food that contains enough moisture within their environment will reduce their breeding potential. Both mice and rats produce young rapidly under favorable conditions. Mice and rats prefer to move about during the dark, quiet hours. If you see a mouse or rat out in the open during the day, you probably have a large population.

When should I call a professional?

If you have a large population of mice or rats, you may not be able to control them by yourself. All Stages Pest Control professionals in New Jersey are expert in mice and rat extermination. Working with a trained professional to manage your rodent issues – from identifying the source to
removing dead pests – can provide a peace of mind, and a level of effectiveness, that do-it-yourself methods simply can’t deliver. For more information about Control Mouse go to http://www.ControlMouse.com trained professionals who can handle mice rat ants termite bee extermination and more at affordable rates. They are serving New Jersey.
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Pest Control Mouse Mice Control Mouse is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

Without the vector, the parasite life cycle would be broken and the pathogen would die. Vectors can cause harm in different ways. They may cause illness on places, and this may happen through the consumption of food contains human enteropathogens, mechanically transmitted by flies or cockroaches. Muscoid dipterous insects have always been associated with human and domestic animals due to the abundance of food resources found in stables and domestic garbage. These flies are of major concern for veterinary medicine due to their capacity to act as a vector of several pathogenic organisms such as protozoa cysts, helminth parasites, enteropathogenic bacteria, and enterovirus (1).

Stored food products may be damaged or contaminated by live or dead insects, faeces, odours, webbing or cast skins. Furthermore, vectors such as mosquitoes may be introduced, and established in areas in which they have not previously been found (2), and where vector borne diseases can spread. Closed living accommodation favour the spread of ecto-parasites from person to another. Overcrowding, bad hygiene and lack of ventilation made the place an ideal environment for infection.

Soil transmitted helminths (STH) are relatively common parasites in the slum and rural area of many countries (3,4), this high prevalence of which is closely related to poverty, poor environmental hygiene, and impoverished health services (5). The main source of transmission is defecation outside latrines by heavily infected persons (6). While contaminated water, carrier, and food handlers might be the major transmission mode, indirect transmission by non biting flies can not be excluded (7, 8). Many authors have indicated that the primary school children are an ideal target group for (STH) (9), as they frequently defecate indiscriminately around their houses, particularly in the courtyards, sitting room, drains, even where every house hold has s latrine (10,11).

Over 50 species of synanthropic flies have been reported to be associated with unsanitary conditions and involved in dissemination of human pathogens in the environment (12).

In unsanitary communities, garbage, dead animal carcasses, and piles of faeces, are often scattered around the houses. Flies are commonly found both indoor and outdoors. They persist on excrement, dead animal bodies, and contaminated areas where faecal matter, large amounts of organic waste, and piles of garbage are left exposed an unattended (13), theoretically, flies can transmit helminths through mechanical or biological means (14). The effectiveness of faeces in enhancing the transmission of infectious agent by house flies is much greater than of any other substrate or medium. This is a result of faecal viscosity, which increases the efficiency of tarsi and bristles in tapering particles suspended in the faeces (15). Human pathogens can also be transmitted as airborne particles for short distances from fly-electrocuting traps, as electrocuting traps do not alter the infectivity of pathogens transported by flies (16). There are size limitations regarding the transmittal from the communicated sites. Bigger particles such as helminth eggs are transported by flies on their external surface, i.e., exoskeletons, while small cystic stages of human infectious intestinal protozoa can be ingested as well as transported on the exoskeleton.

When infected persons excrete in open areas, there is an increased risk of contact between flies and pathogen-positive faecal matter (17). Several studies have shown that eggs of Ascaris lumbericoides, Trichuris trichiura, hook worm, Entrobious vermicularis, Taenis sp., Hymenolips nana, Toxocara canis, hook worm larvae, and Strongyloides larvae are carried by many species of house flies (17, 18).

Cockroaches are among the most notorious pests of premises, they frequently feed on human faeces, and therefore they can disseminate cysts of enteric protozoans in the environment if such faeces are contaminated (19). They not only contaminate food by leaving droppings and bacteria that can cause food poisoning (20) but also they transmit bacteria, fungi, and other pathogenic microorganisms in infected areas (21, 22). Cockroaches feed indiscriminately on garbage and sewage and so have copious opportunity to disseminate human pathogen (23, 24). Also their nocturnal and filthy habits make them ideal carriers of various pathogenic microorganisms (25). Some parasites have been found in external surface or internal parts of body of cockroaches and some study have shown that exposure to cockroach antigens may play an important role in asthma-related health problems (26,27).

The study was carried out in an unsanitary community where parasitic infections and soil contamination with helminth ova were high and where flies were abundant in defecation area and house hold environment.

The ethics committee for this study protocol has approval from the governorate.

Material and method

Study area:

The study area was Khalidyia village. It is located north of the Fayoum city.  The village complain severe lack of services, although it occupies a unique tourist site that is far less than half a kilometer from Qarun lake.

This area was chosen because when we conducted a study of parasite infections in affected area, many piles of faecal matter were observed in the nearby swamp of the study.

Numerous flies were feeding on the extract and many were resting on plants near the extraction near the swamp that was an area for making dried cuttle-fish. During the process, a lot of flies fed and rested on the cuttle-fish. A community of poorly constructed domiciles resided near the swamp, crowded together in an unhygienic environment, with dirty houses, floors, scattered garbage and damp soil around the houses. Flies were seen everywhere in the area on food during meals, around children eating confectionery, sleeping children, dropped food, baby toys, and garbage. The abundant of flies around the house hold was attributable to the stock of rotten fish, and by product of the cuttle-fish harvest.

Flies collecting:

Flies were collected from the swamp and the nearby community, since many flies were seen on every pile of faecal matter in the swamp. The best method for collecting them was by stool bait trap.

FIELD-EXPEDIENT BOTTLE TRAPS

Fly traps can be fashioned from disposable plastic water bottles.  The simplest of these is constructed by cutting off the top and inverting it to form a cone leading into the body of the bottle, where bait is placed.  Flies attracted to the bait are trapped inside the bottle and disposed of when the bottle becomes too full to be effective (Figure 1).  Baits may consist of spoiling fruit or meat, food residue, and similar fragrant items.  Once flies are attracted into the bottle, their natural pheromones increase attractiveness of the trap to other flies.  These traps can be hung (no higher than 2.5-3 m) or placed on the ground out of traffic areas.

Under adverse environmental conditions, such as constant high wind, rain, or dust storms that prevent fly baits from being fully effective, it may become necessary to employ alternatives for dispensing baits. One such is to add poison bait to the trap illustrated above, or fashion a trap that is filled to a depth of 5 cm with poison fly bait and in which four 6 mm holes are cut near the top of the bottle to allow the flies access (Figure 2). The trap should be hung between 1 and 3 m above the ground.  These traps work well indoors.  The contents must be shaken periodically so that dead flies do not accumulate on the surface of the bait, inhibiting contact between newly attracted flies and the poison. Another technique is to place the bait in a box to keep it from blowing away or becoming soaked or dust-coated. Simply put granular fly bait in a flat box constructed from scrap wood, clearly labeled with the appropriate warning, and place the box on the ground where flies can access it. Such boxes should be checked periodically to dump dead flies and recharge them with bait. Dead flies should be disposed of with waste material, ideally with medical waste when possible. An added advantage to this method is that it prevents troops from collecting and misusing the bait. These bait stations work well when placed near latrines, showers, and waste disposal sites (burn locations, dump sites, etc.).

A stool sample with a mass of flies on its surface was chosen as the bait this was placed in a flytrap left in the area and left for 1 hour. To attract the attention of the flies, other piles of faecal matter were covered with sand, soil, leaves, or a wood during fly collection. Due to the strong sunlight and high temperatures during the day time in summer (July), most flies become somnolent and were easily collected in the collecting chamber and transferred to collecting tubes. In the community, rotten fish was used to lure and trap the flies.

Fly examination:

The flies were divided into 2 groups, as follow:

Flies from swamp, represented a homogeneous contamination of the fly population since they were exposed to the same source of infection. Helminths ova on the body surfaces, examined using manual shaking technique. Ten flies were pooled and stored in a test tube with formalin detergent solution (FDS), 200 flies were processed per test. Specimens were brought to the laboratory for processing.

Laboratory processing:

The collected flies were washing by manual shaking for 1 min. Detergent free helminth object from the body surface of the flies as it does faecal debris. The flies were removed by clean forceps and kept for identification.

The remaining preparation was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 2 min. All sediments were examined under a light microscope for parasites.

Cockroaches collecting:

One hundred and seventy-eight cockroaches were collected, over a period of one year, 133 from different wards of houses of the village as the test group and 45 from residential areas, situated within 2 km premises from the study areas as the control group. The test group of insects captured (mostly at night time or early morning) from the floor of wards and kitchens, basements or bathrooms of residential areas.

Each cockroach was collected in a sterile test tube transported to the laboratory and anaesthetised by outing at 0oC for 5 min. examined under the dissecting microscope and identified using standard taxonomic keys.

For comparing control and test group, chi–square test was applied.

Isolation and identification of parasite from external surface:

After identification, 2 ml of sterile normal saline (0.9%) was added to the test tube and the cockroaches were thoroughly shaken for 2 min. Isolation of parasitic cyst was carried out by using 1 ml of washing which was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 5 min. The deposit examined after staining with 1% lugols iodine under light microscopy and identified (28).

Isolation and identification of parasites from internal surfaces:

After external washing, cockroaches were placed in flasks rinsed with 70% alcohol for 5 min. (to decontaminate external surfaces as 70% alcohol is bactericidal). Transferred to other flasks and allowed to dry at room temperature. Cockroaches were then washed with normal saline for 2-3 min to remove traces of alcohol. Only cockroaches captured whole and live were utilised for the study. After being immobilised at 0oC, the gut of the cockroach was dissected out and macerated in 2 ml of normal saline. The resulting macerate was then processed in a similar way as described previously and the results recorded. For parasites ova / cysts, about 1 ml of washing was centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 5 min. and the deposit examined after staining with 10% lugol iodine under light microscope and identified (28).

Results:

Flies with helminthic objects on the body surface:

A total of 576 house flies (195 male & 381 female) were studied, all were identified as Musca domestica, and Chrysomya megacephala. 108 flies from the swamp area and 68 house flies in the community were studied. The results are shown in Table (1). Among 28 flies from the swamp area, 17 Hook worm eggs, 17 T. trichura & 1 Ascaris were detected (25.9%). The average egg count per positive fly was 1:3. Most flies carried only one egg on the body surface, while 17.9% and 7.1 % had 2 & 3 eggs respectively. In the community 8 house flies (11.8%) were contaminated with Hook worm & T. trichura eggs, the average egg count per positive fly was 1.0.

Faecal dots attached to the inner surface of the collection chamber were washed with FD solution and examined for helminths, this contamination occurred when the flies were trapped in the chamber. In the laboratory, the washing was processed by sedimentation method.

0.5 ml of sediment was obtained containing 27 T. trichura & 27 hook worms; the total number of eggs carried by the 508 flies in the swamp was derived from the pooled eggs from the sediment, egg in the two trials. The average number of eggs on the body surface of a fly was 0.4. Mites, the ectoparasite of the flies were also isolated from the body surfaces of the house flies, the number of mites per fly ranged 1-40.

Table 1: Transmission rate of flies in study area (July 2009)

Helminths eggs and Larvae

+ve flies

No. examined

Area

H. nana

Ascaris

T.trichura

H. worm

4

1

1

0

17

3

17

5

28 (25.9%)

8 (11.8%)

108

68

Swamp

Community

Table 2: Number of parasite eggs on the body surfaces of flies in the swamp area.

No. of eggs found

No. of flies

Trails

Total

H. nana

Ascaris

T. trichura

H. worm

121

0

34

86

400

Manual

35

0

1

17

17

108

Contaminat. rate

54

0

0

27

27

-

Washed sed.

210

0

2

78

130

508

Total

This study revealed that cockroaches trapped from different sites (toilets, parlours, kitchens and bedrooms) in the houses with pit latrines and water system shared the same parasites. The parasites included: cysts of Entamoeba histolytica, oocysts of C. parvum, C. cayetenensis and Isospora belli, cysts of Balantidium coli, ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Anchylostoma deodunale, Enterobius vermicularis, ova of Trichuris trichura and larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis.

Medically important parasites were isolated from external and internal surface of 98% of test cockroaches and 8.9 % of control cockroaches.

Human parasites were isolated from test group of cockroaches showed adult E. vermicularis and 8 Ascaris eggs in two cockroaches but observation of control group did not show any parasite.

Table 3: Distribution of medical important parasites by sites and toilet facilities

No. of cockroaches studied

Source

Water system

Pit toilet

23

35

Toilets

22

27

Kitchens

11

17

Living-rooms

9

15

Bed-rooms

Parasites identified—Cysts of E. histolytica, oocysts of C. parvum, C. cayetenensis, Isospora belli, cysts of Balantidium coli, ova of Ascaris lumbricoides, Anchylostoma deodunalae, Enterobius vermicularis, ova of Trichuris trichura and larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis.

Table 4: Mean parasite count of cockroaches by site and toilet facilities

Water system

Pit toilet

Source

Mean parasitic count

Mean parasitic count

31

98 parasite/ml

Toilets

19

50

Kitchens

11

47

Living-rooms

11

38

Bed-rooms

Discussion

In the village, people did not consider parasites infection a serious problem, most did not submit stool for examination. Some infected cases refused to take anti- parasitic drugs. House flies, bush flies, and blow flies were common around the house holds, in garbage and in human and animal excreta. (29, 30, 31, 32). House flies is a proven mechanical transmitter of pathogens to human food (33). Ten intestinal helminth eggs and larvae has been isolated from flies collected around house hold, in an urban slum area, on an open defecation area, garbage heap, a small open air market, and meat butchers near human dwellings (29,30,31,34). Because the swamp was the p defecated area for the villagers, piles of faecal matter attracted flies. After feeding and resting, the flies travelled into the community, about 100 meters from the feeding site. Flies that had direct contact with parasite positive faeces were efficient carriers, because at least 25.9 % were contaminated with pathogens. In the defecation area every 2-3 flies carried at least 1 parasite on the body surface. After feeding, they rested in the area and contaminated the environment with the pathogens on their footpads, hairs, bristles, and external mouth parts.

An almost invisible dot of faeces in the environment might contain eggs or larvae that develop further and then transmit to humans. In this community 11.8% of flies had eggs on their body surface and could transmit them to human food, and household surroundings. 25.9% of infected flies had 2-3 eggs adhering to their body surface. The study found that 508 flies could leave 0.5 ml of faecal sediment in the collection chamber. This was considered to be the amount of pathogenic faecal matter distributed into the environment by 508 flies, thus, a fly carried 0.001 g faecal mass on the body surface after feeding on human waste.

We did not investigate the presence of parasites in flies’ guts. Nevertheless, many researchers have reported higher parasite detection rates in the gastrointestinal lumen than on body surface (29, 32, 35). Sulaiman et al. (31) found Hook worm eggs and larvae in the gut of flies, but found more on external surfaces. From this investigation it may be concluded that only one person with a light soil transmitted infection can contaminate both defecation areas and disease vectors. Over 25.9% of the fly population was contaminated. After resting and contaminating the environment with infective matter carried on the body surface, they transmitted the infection to the community, at the rate of 11.8%. The discovery of Ascaris lumbercoides eggs on the flies supported the supposition that house fly was a potential STH transmitter, which could carry and spread pathogens to other places, since they are able to travel up to 20 miles to unsanitary sites (36).

The current study showed that the housefly is a potential mechanical vector for parasite infection, and therefore its role in disease transmission should be not being under rated. In high risk areas, health education targeting the elderly should emphasize personal and environmental hygiene. In areas where open air defection is common, food must be strictly protected from houseflies, since in this study 11 flies around the house were found positive for helminth eggs. Other microorganisms causing bacterial infection have been reported (29). The control or eradication of houseflies should be attempted, to stop intestinal parasite transmission in the community, in addition to drug administration.

The results of the present study revealed contamination of almost all cockroaches collected from homes with different parasites which are significantly higher in comparison to control group. This shows the importance of cockroaches as carrier of parasitic worm, cysts, or eggs. There are some reports of the presence of parasitic forms on or in cockroaches (37). The finding of the present study showed the parasitic contamination in high numbers. The presence of E. vermicularis infestation indicates that the cockroaches had opportunity to get touch with infested patients or contaminated clothes which emphasises their vectorial potential for parasitic diseases (38).

Conclusions

Synanthropic insects such as flies and cockroaches can significantly contribute to the spread of food – borne parasites diseases in both developing and developed countries.

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The Role of Cockroaches and Flies in Mechanical Transmission of Medical Important Parasites in Khaldyia Village, El –Fayoum, Governorate, Egypt is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control

Carpenter bees: Carpenter bees are the pests you have to worry about destroying your home.  This type of bee is ½ to 1″ in length that had a black body with yellow hair, two wings and six legs.  Carpenter bees are attractive to moist wood.  Carpenter bees will drill out wood, not eating it, and nest there.  You will see saw dust where there is activity and if not treated, there can be a lot of damage to a home.

Yellowjackets: Yellowjackets are the type of wasp that stings the most.  Yellowjackets are 3/8 to 5/8″ in length.  They have two wings, six legs, and a black and yellow stripped body.  Most yellowjacket nests are located under the ground, but occasionally they will build their nest on the side of homes or trees.  When a human disturb the nests, yellowjackets feel threatened and will sting.  The sting can be very painful.  This wasp can sting many times, so one you get stung try to leave the area or move indoors.  The wasps feed on larvae and then in the summer switch to fruits and garbage.

Whitefaced hornets: Closely related to yellowjackets, whitefaced hornets are black and white in color. They are usually 5/8 to 1″ in length with two wings and six legs.  Like yellowjackets, these hornets can sting multiple times so if you get stung, move away from the area.  Their nests are usually located in elevated areas, like bushes or trees.  They are attracted to human food.

Paper wasps: Paper wasps look very similar to yellowjackets; yellow and black stripped body with two wings and six legs.  They need a branch or twig to start their nests, so there will usually live in bushes or trees.  Like the whitefaced hornets, the nests are usually disturbed while people are doing yard work around the yard.  People can be allergic to either bees or wasps, so in you get stung and have an allergic reaction, get medical help immediately.

Bees and wasps are a nuisance to humans.  They can harm people if disturbed and cause damage to homes.   JP McHale Pest Management is a Westchester pest control company that serves in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area. We are a family business that has run over 30 years. We offer home solutions that are safe and effective in the prevention of pests in and around homes. Our services cover bee and wasp extermination, so please contact us with any questions or to get an estimate for your home.

JP McHale Pest Management is a Westchester pest control company that serves in the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut area. We are a family business that has run over 30 years. We offer home solutions that are safe and effective in the prevention of pests in and around homes. Please contact us with any questions or to get an estiate for your home.
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Common types of Bees and Wasps in the Northeast is a post from: Lancashire, Cheshire, Trafford & Manchester Pest Control