Do you have pets? Are you worried that your pets have fleas and may now be in the house? You may not notice right away when your pet has fleas but it doesn’t take long before they populate and you have a flea infestation in your home. Understanding what to look for in order to get rid of fleas in the house will help you to combat your flea infestation.
What Are Fleas
Fleas are flightless insects that live as external parasites on mammals and birds. They survive by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas are brownish to black in color with bodies that seem to be flattened from a sideways perspective. This allows them to move through the hair or feathers of their hosts. These parasites do not fly but they have hind legs that allow them to jump up to 50 times their body length. The larvae of fleas are more wormlike in appearance and feed on organic debris left on the skin of the host.
How Do I Know If My Pets Have Fleas
There are a few ways to tell if your pets have fleas. The first sign of fleas on your pet is scratching. Scratching around the ears or under the neck are common areas that pets scratch when fleas are present. You may also see them biting themselves, especially around their feet and legs.
Outside of scratching and biting you may start to notice what looks like pepper in and around their bedding or sleeping areas. These flakes are the dried blood and sheddings of flea skins. A flea infestation leaves these flakes in the main areas where your pets sleep or rest.
Another thing you may notice around their sleeping areas is what looks like sesame seeds. These ‘seeds’ are flea eggs. Fleas typically lay their eggs during the night and can lay many eggs each night. They are a creamy white to yellow color and are the same size as a sesame seed or smaller. Once these eggs are laid they can take up to a couple of weeks to hatch.
If your pet is scratching and biting and you see other signs of fleas it is a good time to call your local pest control company to get a handle on your flea infestation.
Lastly, if you are noticing small round itchy bumps around your ankles this is likely flea bites. At this point, your flea infestation has grown out of control and your home will need to be treated for fleas.
How To Get Rid Of Fleas In The House
Getting a handle on any fleas that have come into your home as soon as possible will help you to eradicate your flea problem. The longer fleas are able to infest your home the harder they are to get rid of. Since flea eggs can take weeks to hatch it’s common to deal with fleas in your home for a few months before they are completely gone. You can treat your pets with flea medication to kill the fleas that are living on them but once eggs around the home hatch they will find their way to your pets and start the process all over again.
This being said, if you notice signs of fleas we have a step by step ideas that will help you to once and for all get rid of fleas in your house.
- Take a flea brush through your pet or give them a flea bath to kill any fleas present on their body. There are most likely numerous fleas living on them so those need to be dealt with. There are many pet-safe products out there to accomplish this. Once they have been given a bath and/or a good brush you need to give them a flea treatment to prevent fleas from wanting to live on them. These items can also be found in many stores.
- Now it’s time to vacuum. If possible we suggest placing a flea collar in your canister to help kill any fleas that get sucked into the vacuum. The idea here is that you are trying to pick up any fleas that have fallen off your pet and are living on your carpet. You are also wanting to suck up any eggs that have fallen on the ground as these will eventually hatch if left there. Be sure to vacuum around the edges near your baseboards as eggs can easily fall in between those crevices.
- While you are vacuuming it’s a good idea to start laundering your pet bedding. This way you can kill any eggs on the bedding and clean it of flea debris. You do not need to launder anything that the pets do not commonly come into contact with; such as your personal bedding unless they sleep there. It is recommended that you vacuum furniture pieces like couches if the pets use them.
- After all your cleaning is accomplished you will want to repeat these steps at least once a week until you no longer see any signs of fleas. As stated before, since flea eggs can hatch up to a couple of weeks later you will want to keep an eye on your pet over the next 3-6 months in order to make sure that the fleas are gone. Any adult fleas that are left on your pet can continue to lay eggs which is why bathing and brushing them often are necessary. If you can get rid of the adult fleas you don’t have to worry as much about new eggs being laid and can focus on making sure any new hatchings are removed or killed.
How To Prevent Fleas
The best way to prevent fleas is to give your pets monthly flea treatments that kill and prevent fleas from wanting to live on them. Regularly vacuuming your home, especially after other pets visit will help to prevent fleas. As mentioned earlier in ideas to get rid of fleas in the house, it’s a great preventative method to always have a new flea collar in your vacuum canister. This will kill any unexpected guests.
If you have multiple pets, these steps will need to be exercised on a routine basis. Having your local pest control company on speed dial may also be a good idea.
Fleas can become a large problem before we know they are even in our house. If you have a flea infestation that needs attention call your local pest control company to come and help you get rid of the fleas in your home.
