Fleas are tiny little bugs that attach themselves to animals, especially dogs, cats, squirrels, and mice. Fleas will jump on your pet while they are outside and then make themselves comfortable in your pet's fur, biting and feeding until it is content. These bites will cause your pet to itch, scratch, and be generally antsy and uncomfortable. Flea bites aren’t just uncomfortable though, they can be very dangerous to the health of your pet and you. Accidentally eating a flea or its feces can lead to tapeworms in both animals and humans. Flea bites can also transmit many different diseases like flea-borne typhus, Bartonellosis (cat scratch fever), Tungiasis (skin infections), and even the plague. The bites of a flea can become infected and require medical treatment to cure.
All About Fleas
The problem with fleas and humans happens when fleas are brought inside home environments. The life cycle of a flea contains four stages: egg, larval, pupal, and adult. After an adult female flea eats, she will lay up to four eggs which fall off of the host and end up on the floor of your house. These eggs take about 12 days to hatch into white larvae. After about 18 days the larvae will make themselves a cocoon that eventually hatch into an adult flea. The incubation period of the cocoon can take days, weeks, or even months. After emerging from the cocoon, it will only take about 2 days for the adult female flea to start laying her eggs, starting the process all over again.
Due to the long life cycle of fleas, it is important to treat your flea infestation correctly, or in a few weeks or months you will be back to where you started. Proper flea treatment starts with identifying the type of flea you are dealing with. Next, you will need to treat the affected pets in your home. For this step, it is best to contact your local veterinarian for the finest and safest flea protection for your pet. While your pet is being treated for fleas you will need to clean your pet areas and bedding. It is best to wash these areas and items frequently.
You will also have to focus on vacuuming your carpets, rugs, and floors. Since flea’s eggs do not stick on your pet they fall off into the ground and get borrowed into the fibers of your carpet. Vacuuming often can help take these eggs and larvae out of your home. It is important to empty your vacuum bag immediately after each use. Vacuuming, pet care, and even store-bought remedies will not eliminate your flea problem. You will need an experienced exterminator to help you finish the job right.