All fleas are classified as parasites that may feed on the blood found in any warm-blooded creature. Cats and dogs are most frequently used as hosts, but these pests also feed on foxes, opossums, rats and people. Considered a significant pest problem because their bites can transfer serious illnesses, cat fleas are counted among the most common domestic fleas
Cat flea control is complicated. This is because flea eggs and larvae are cryptic, meaning that the immature stages of this pest are well-hidden. Thus, it is possible to kill the adults that are easier to see, but the problem re-emerges once the young have matured.
Accordingly, property owners may feel like they are on an endless cycle of cat flea infestation. Each time they believe they have dealt with the problem, it returns, and the cycle begins again.
Wise property owners call a professional pest management company as soon as they suspect that a cat flea infestation is underway. Exterminators are trained to treat not only the adult cat fleas that are more readily noticed but also their eggs and larvae. With both adults and young destroyed, the cycle is severed. The result is that people can return to living and working in pest-free surroundings.
Best of all, the exterminator will identify various vulnerabilities on the premises that make it more susceptible to pest infestation. Working together, the pest control professional and the property owner can make the land and structures less attractive to pests of all descriptions, including stubborn and potentially dangerous ones like the cat flea.
WHAT DO CAT FLEAS LOOK LIKE?
When fully grown, the cat flea is a mere one-quarter of an inch long. This is why it can be difficult to identify members of this species. Typically, coloration is black or brown. The body is hard and may have a compressed appearance when it is viewed from the side. Like other fleas, the cat flea cannot fly because it does not possess wings. Nonetheless, it does have strong rear legs that can be used for jumping. With specially designed mouthparts, the cat flea is adapted to pierce a host's skin and suck out their blood. Adult cat fleas also have minuscule spines on and in close proximity to the head.
WHERE DO CAT FLEAS LIVE?
It is difficult to escape the omnipresent cat flea since it is distributed across North America and around the world. Accordingly, it can be deduced that this pest is exceptionally well-adapted to survive and thrive regardless of the environmental conditions.
Adult cat fleas live on a host, and the female must have blood meals before she can produce a batch of eggs. The eggs eventually fall off of the host into places such as rugs and carpets, pet beds, people's beds, grooves or cracks in floors, beneath furniture or in any places where wild animals or pets may be found.
WHAT DO CAT FLEAS EAT?
Although the larvae of the cat flea do not eat blood meals, they will consume nearly any organic matter that is in their proximity. Dried fecal matter from the adult cat flea serves as a main source of nutrition to the larvae. This so-called "flea dirt" is composed of dry, undigested blood that is shed by the host on the places where the larvae are present.
Adult cat fleas are blood-eating parasites that may use skunks, raccoons, opossums, foxes, dogs and cats as hosts. People are rarely chosen as hosts, but this can occur.
WHERE DO CAT FLEAS LIVE?
It is difficult to escape the omnipresent cat flea since it is distributed across North America and around the world. Accordingly, it can be deduced that this pest is exceptionally well-adapted to survive and thrive regardless of the environmental conditions.
Adult cat fleas live on a host, and the female must have blood meals before she can produce a batch of eggs. The eggs eventually fall off of the host into places such as rugs and carpets, pet beds, people's beds, grooves or cracks in floors, beneath furniture or in any places where wild animals or pets may be found.
DAMAGE CAUSED BY CAT FLEAS
Cat fleas do not cause direct property damage. Nonetheless, they can represent a significant economic loss to people, especially those who are pet owners. This is because the cat flea is a recognized intermediate host for an intestinal parasite called the dog tapeworm. The pet accidentally ingests a cat flea that is carrying a tapeworm cyst. Before long, the pet may exhibit symptoms such as lethargy, a dull coat, diarrhea, weight loss despite an apparently normal appetite and a distended abdomen.
Pets further may develop a common problem known as flea allergy dermatitis, or FAD. Red skin, missing patches or fur, obsessive scratching or biting and infected sores are some of the symptoms of this condition.
Each year in the United States, pet owners spend billions of dollars on flea- and tapeworm-related treatments.
It similarly is worth noting that having fleas in the home or office can make people extremely uneasy. Professional cat flea control is a guaranteed means of providing peace of mind.
ARE CAT FLEAS AGGRESSIVE?
Cat fleas may be considered an aggressive pest from a couple of different perspectives. Namely, the cat flea is a prolific feeder once it finds a host, and its reproductive cycle is alarmingly swift.
When a cat flea finds an appropriate host, it is likely to remain on the host until it is forcibly removed. With each blood meal she takes, the adult female is preparing to produce another batch of eggs. She does so in short order, and her mature young will appear in just a week or so to begin the cycle anew. This makes cat flea infestations notoriously difficult to control without professional assistance.
DO CAT FLEAS CARRY DISEASE?
Members of the species may be vectors of the plague and a bacterial disease known as murine typhus. Transmission to people is rare, but it can occur. Symptoms may include general weakness, chills, headache, fever and lymph nodes that are painful and swollen.
Cases of murine typhus are characterized by chills, fever, general body aches, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, cough and rash.
Additionally, there is a risk that small children will become infected with tapeworms in buildings where cat fleas and their young are present. Young children are likely to spend time at or close to floor level, where they may accidentally ingest tapeworm-infected fleas and larvae.
If a person or pet accidentally swallows an infected flea, then they may develop a tapeworm. Small children are most susceptible to this issue because they spend so much more time on the floor. Fortunately, treatments are readily available for tapeworm in people and pets.
HOW TO DETECT CAT FLEAS
Signs of a flea infestation include:
• Flea dirt on animal skin • Severely itchy pets • Bare skin patches on pets • Red, swollen and itchy bites on people
HOW TO PREVENT FLEAS
To help protect against flea issues the following precautions should be taken:
• Frequently checking pets for signs of fleas • Scheduling regular veterinary visits for pets • Applying flea treatments to pets • Routinely vacuuming floors, including hard floors and carpets • Regularly laundering curtains and drapes • Frequently washing pet bedding • Sticking to a schedule of regularly washing bedding for all beds in the house
HOW TO TREAT FOR FLEAS
Moderate to severe flea infestations can prove difficult to eradicate. As such, having the home or business professionally treated may be the best way to remove fleas. Typically a pest control provider will apply both an interior and exterior treatment, utilizing products designed for immediate eradication as well as residual protection against reinfestation.
