• Mold and fungus can cause serious health issues such as respiratory irritations, asthma attacks, headaches, and skin irritation.
• Tree limbs can easily fall down during heavy winds or storms and damage your roof and windows.
• Flood waters carry all kinds of contaminants, including sewage waste. Equip your home with sump pumps and backflow valves.
• Wild animals such as raccoons, bears, snakes, and bats can carry a variety of diseases.
You can’t always trust the outdoors—not when it comes to your home. Many hazards lurk around and even inside your house, and they can cause some real damage. Unfortunately, many environmental threats are often overlooked or ignored until it’s too late. To avoid unnecessary harm to yourself and your family, here are the natural elements you should know.
Mold and Fungus
While mold and fungus may look harmless, they can cause serious health problems such as respiratory disorders, asthma attacks, fatigue, headaches, and skin irritation. Furthermore, mold spores reproduce quickly in moist environments such as bathrooms or basements. So it’s essential to use dehumidifiers or proper ventilation systems to ensure that mold doesn’t have the opportunity to grow out of control in your home.
Tree Limbs
Many homeowners ignore the fact that tree limbs pose an ever-present danger to their property and families. During heavy winds or storms, those branches can break off and come crashing down onto your roof or even through a window. Even if there is no extreme weather, a dead branch can easily fall on its own.
Additionally, a heavy branch can also fall down your car and damage its windshield. This happens all too often. And if this happens to you, consider employing help professionals that specialize in mobile windshield repair services. They can take care of the damage to your car so that you don’t have to worry about it. They can also replace your car’s windshield with a new one that is more robust to withstand any future tree limb disasters.
But if you don’t want all of that to happen in the first place, it’s essential to regularly inspect your trees for any signs of decay or disease so that they may be quickly trimmed away before disaster strikes.
Flooding
Flood waters carry all kinds of contaminants, including sewage waste which means anyone exposed will have an increased risk for infections and illnesses such as E coli poisoning (hemorrhagic colitis), hepatitis A virus infection (infectious hepatitis), giardiasis (Giardia lamblia), dysentery (shigellosis), campylobacteriosis (Campylobacter jejuni), etc.
Therefore it’s important for homeowners living in areas prone to flooding to make sure their homes are equipped with sump pumps, backflow valves, etc. Additionally, you should also ensure that all electrical outlets are above water level so as not to expose yourself or your family members to electrocution hazards during a flood event.
Wild Animals
Wildlife presents another hazard in your household—especially if you live near a forested area or close proximity to nature reserves/parks etc. Wild animals can carry a variety of diseases, and they can also damage your property. Here are a few of the most dangerous wild animals you should watch out for:
Raccoons
These animals can carry rabies, distemper, and roundworm. They often dig through garbage cans which can contaminate the food you eat.
Bears
While these animals typically avoid humans, they can be dangerous if provoked or if their natural habitat is disrupted.
Snakes
There are many species of snakes, and all of them can bite. Rattlesnakes, in particular, are highly venomous and can cause a great deal of harm if bitten.
Bats
These creatures are known carriers of rabies and can cause a lot of damage to your home. It’s essential to keep an eye out for them and take action if you spot any on your property.
To prevent wild animals from entering your house, seal any cracks or holes around windows and doors. You can also invest in motion-sensor lights that frighten away any animals wandering on your property at night.
Awareness of the natural hazards that can threaten your home and family is vital. Mold, fungus, tree limbs, flooding, and wild animals are all potential risks that you should take precautions against.
To ensure the safety of your property and loved ones, it is important to inspect trees for decay or disease regularly, use dehumidifiers or proper ventilation systems in moist environments, install sump pumps, backflow valves, etc., seal up any cracks around windows and doors, and invest in motion-sensor lights if necessary. Taking these steps will help protect yourself from harm caused by environmental threats lurking inside and outside your house.
