What to Know About Fleas
websitebuilder • August 2, 2019
If you have pets, you probably have seen a flea or two crawling on them. Fleas are common parasites that attack mammals, especially cats and dogs. When fleas bite your pet or you, it can result in itching, but some fleas can cause more problems, such as spreading disease. If you would like to know more about fleas and how they can affect you, your pet, and your health, keep reading.
They Can Spread Disease
Fleas can spread disease, infection, and parasites to your pet and you. Your pet may suffer from tapeworms, heartworms, and other types of internal parasites due to fleabites. Some pets suffer from flea allergy dermatitis, which results in itchy skin. Pets may also develop hemotropic mycoplasmosis, which breaks down red blood cells and can lead to anemia.
If these fleas carry disease, and they get on you, they can infect you, too. You can also get tapeworms if you ingest an affected flea. Cats may also carry murine typhus from fleas, which can be passed to humans. Other diseases that humans can catch from fleas (or animals infected by fleas) include cat scratch disease.
Flea Medication Doesn't Always Work
Oral and topical flea medications (as well as collars) are sold at pet stores everywhere to help fight flea infestations. Unfortunately, some medications are less effective than others. This happens when too many people start buying the same solution. The fleas become immune. For this reason, it's better to buy the newer flea-killing products.
Even if you get a great flea medicine, however, it may not kill the fleas at every stage of their life cycle. Fleas start as eggs and go through a larva and pupa phase before becoming adult fleas. A lot of flea medicine only kills the adult fleas. As long as you keep up on the medication, however, you should be able to keep killing the adult fleas as they are produced.
They Aren't Just on Your Pet
If you always keep your pet flea-free, you probably don't have many fleas hiding in your home. However, if your pet has recently had an infestation of fleas, treating them isn't the only step. Fleas can survive in other locations. In fact, you may have fleas, eggs, or pupas hiding in your carpet or bedding.
Fleas can survive up to two weeks without eating, and they can alter their life cycle to stay in their cocoon for up to a year while they wait for good meals to start coming along again.
Fleas Jump Onto You
Even if you don't have pets, you can bring fleas into your home because they hitch a ride on you. Fleas are usually found on animals but they will eat any mammal's blood, including human. Therefore, a flea may not wait for a pet to come along; they may jump right onto you as you pass through the tall grass in your yard.
Fleas can actually jump 150 times their body length, so you may not even notice them before they jump onto you and hide in your clothes. Once inside your home, they can feed and start laying eggs, and a female flea can lay up to 50 eggs every day. If you are worried about fleas jumping on you, stay away from brush and long grass, which often hide fleas.
Fleas are a common pest, especially if you have pets. They can live a long time without eating, and they can alter their life cycle to better suit their environment. If you would like more information about fleas and other pests, or if you already have an infestation, contact us at Anteater Pest Control, Inc., today
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