What are the health risks of having swallows on my residential or commercial building?
A. The primary health risks are from insects and fecal matter. Swallows easily adapt to suburban environments and bring insects and parasites with them. Parasites can be so bad that the birds that they abandon whole nesting sites and seek new ones. Unfortunately, the bugs they leave behind can live for up to 3 years in the nests. Swallow droppings, and their fouled nests, contain bacteria, fungus and parasites that can transmit serious diseases including meningitis, encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, histoplasmosis and salmonella. Infestations of commercial buildings where food is prepared or stored is particularly dangerous as whole warehouses of foodstuffs can be contaminated.
