Having the right window screens for your home can be just as practical as it is stylish. To understand just how important screens can be, it is good to know how window screens protect against the spread of illness and disease. By being able to keep out bugs and allergens, screens are incredibly helpful in the fight to remain healthy.
Flies
Flies might seem innocent, but they are anything but. While traveling through your neighborhood, flies love to land on decaying material, like garbage, rotten food, and animal waste, where pathogens are known to breed. By the time they make it to your home, they can be carrying a variety of diseases that are incredibly harmful to humans. Their love of landing on your countertops, plates, and food means they will spread germs quickly as soon as they can get into your home. Studies have shown that flies are capable of carrying Tuberculosis, Cholera, Typhoid, and more debilitating diseases that you do not want you or your loved ones to be exposed to. Keep them outside with a screen.
Ticks
If you live in a wooded area, you are familiar with ticks. Certain ticks can spread Lyme disease, a bacterial infection that can spread to your joints, heart, and nervous system if not treated early. Ticks have been known to enter homes and buildings, and while many ticks can enter incredibly tight spaces, most screens can prevent them from entering your home.
Mosquitoes
Screens have been used against mosquitoes since the 1930s. When workers on the Panama Canal were dying from malaria and yellow fever, two mosquito-borne illnesses, the introduction of screens was able to control the spread of disease by keeping mosquitoes out. Mosquitoes still carry a range of deadly and debilitating illnesses, including malaria, Zika virus, West Nile virus, and more, so being able to keep them out of your home is vitally important to your health. Unfortunately, many new homes are built without screens, either to save money or for aesthetic purposes, allowing many mosquito-borne illnesses to thrive in certain parts of the country.
Cockroaches
Although cockroaches can get in almost anywhere, having screens in place can greatly reduce the odds of cockroaches entering your home. Like flies, cockroaches can carry a wide variety of microorganisms that can cause diarrhea, dysentery, plague, and other viral diseases that can be deadly.
Bats
Although mostly harmless, some bats can carry rabies and other diseases that can make you and your loved ones very ill. If you live in an area where bats frequent, screens will do a great job keeping them out of your home, while they would be able to get in much easier without that added barrier.
Raccoons
Like bats, raccoons are one of the most common carriers of rabies in North America. They can be drawn towards human food and try to enter your home, but with a good screen, they should be discouraged.
Bees and Wasps
Although many bees are harmless, their venom can still cause damage. Anyone who is allergic to bees can be put at risk when even a single bee can make its way into your home. Wasps vary in their danger levels, but unlike bees, they can sting multiple times. With a screen in place, you will not have to worry about a potential sting from either of these insects.
Pollen
Although it may not seem as serious as the diseases and pathogens carried by insects, pollen can still be dangerous. If allowed to accumulate within your home, anyone with allergies will be suffering very quickly. Screens can filter out certain amounts of pollen and other allergens, allowing you and your loved ones to breathe easily all year round.
Dust
Like pollen, dust can build up in your home and cause respiratory issues for you and your loved ones. Screens can filter out more dust and dirt that could have otherwise made its way into your home. Depending on where you live, the dust and dirt entering your home could contain carcinogens that could harm your loved ones.
These are just a few of the ways that screens can protect you and your loved ones from illnesses, disease, and allergies. Browse our selection of screens to find the models that will be perfect for your needs. If you have any questions at all while searching or during the installation process, please feel free to email us or call to talk to a screen professional.
