BUGS AND YOUR HEALTH

This is a guide to government web sites on cockroaches, fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks. Besides being annoying, these creatures can be harmful to your health. The resources listed below provide information on precautionary measures to take in order to avoid encountering these pests indoors and outdoors. There is also information included for your pets. Not only do these web sites provide health information, but they also give thorough background information about cockroaches, fleas, mosquitoes, and ticks.

General Resources

• Fighting Fleas and Ticks

This detailed web page from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has useful information about using flea and tick repellants on your pets. In addition, there are helpful pictures of the proper tick removal technique.
• Home Remedies for Pest Control

This Army web site has home remedy suggestions for fleas, mosquitoes, and cockroaches.
• A Consumer Guide To Safer Alternatives To Hazardous Household Products, Part 2

This booklet from the EPA has information on a wide variety of topics. Check out "Pesticides and Fertilizers" and "Pet Care Products" for information relevant to the topics of this web page.

Cockroaches

• Brownbanded Cockroach

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Brownbanded Cockroach can be found at this web page by the CDFA. The life cycle, appearance, health concerns, and control methods are the topics addressed.
• Cockroaches

The history and anatomy of the cockroach are described at this web page by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, Illinois. Details about the different types of cockroaches are also included.
• Cockroaches: asthma and allergy prevention

This is a brief web page by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciencesthat  discusses cockroaches and allergies. There are also some simple prevention tips.
• Cockroaches Cucarachas

This article from the NASD is divided into an English version and a Spanish version. Where cockroaches live and how to treat them are the main topics discussed.
• Cockroaches: Everything you always wanted to know about roaches-and more-but were afraid to ask

This Navy web site addresses health risks associated with cockroaches. There is also a myth and fact section.

Fleas

• Flea Combs

The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program (King County) describes how to use a flea comb on your pets, a good alternative to harmful pesticides. There are also tips and additional links on how to be "flea free."
• Fleas

This web site is provided by Animal Control. It describes the best way to control your cat's fleas.
• Fleas transmit plague to humans and animals when biting and feeding on blood

These flea pictures from the CDC Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases are not for those people with a weak stomach.

Mosquitoes

• Mosquitoes

This web site by the Everglades National Park lists general facts about mosquitoes, as well as details about mosquitoes in the Everglades. There are also excellent tips on how to lessen your chances of getting bit, while still enjoying the outdoors.
• Mosquitoes

This web page by the CDFA mainly provides information for residents in the California Central Valley, but there is a good checklist of mosquito hangouts in and around the home.
• Mosquitoes

This is a very detailed web page about mosquitoes by the National Park Service. Health issues, non-chemical control, and chemical control are some of the topics covered.
• Mosquitoes: How to Control Them

This web page from the Office of Pesticide Programs of the EPA describes the mosquito life cycle. There is also a helpful list of what you can do to help fight mosquitoes.
• Mosquitoes more likely to bite pregnant women

The National Women's Health Information Center provides an interesting journal article from The Lancet.
• West Nile Virus

This web site from the National Biological Information Infrastructure provides links to the latest news on the re-emergence of the West Nile Virus in the United States.
• Why Mosquitoes Can Not Transmit AIDS

This web page, provided by the Army, describes and disproves the three theories surrounding how mosquitoes could transmit AIDS from one human to another.

Ticks

• Getting Lyme Disease To Take A Hike

This USDA article is a wonderful source about Lyme Disease. Rick Lewis discusses the first signs, hot spots in the U.S., and treatments.
• How Lyme Disease Became Known

This web page from the NIAID describes how the disease was discovered, and it includes a great picture that gives you an idea of the actual size of a tick.
• How to Avoid Tick Bites

The National Park Service lists good precautionary measures to take in order to avoid tick bites at this web site.
• Protect Yourself from Ticks and Lyme Disease

The diagrams of the actual size of ticks stand out in this web page from the NASD. The tick life cycle, identifying ticks, and tick prevention are covered here.
• Summer Tick Advisory

Here is a simple fact sheet about ticks and disease by the Bernalillo County Environmental Health Department.
• Tick-borne Diseases

This web page from Dutchess County has an excellent table about tick-borne diseases that includes the classic symptoms of each disease.
• Tick Borne Disease

OSHA provides a good list of precautionary measures and how to do a good tick check at this web site.
• Ticks

Detailed information on pest management programs for ticks can be found at this web site by the National Park Service.
• Ticks

This helpful Army article includes a table of Lyme disease incidence in the U.S. by state.

Rozalynd McConnaughy
University of South Carolina
College of Library and Information Science
CLIS734-Fall 2000