Pet owners in the Greater Philadelphia area well aware that beloved dogs and cats may become infested with fleas. Fewer people realize that fleas also bite people. Species such as the cat flea, dog flea and human flea can become pests in residences and commercial buildings as well as yards and landscaping.
How do flea problems start? More importantly, how can flea infestations be stopped once they are underway? Unfortunately, the beginning of flea problems happens quickly and with little fanfare. Ending them can turn into a nightmare until the property owner contacts a licensed pest management company.
Fleas bite hosts like pets or people in search of a meal of blood. These bites can itch with surprising intensity, but that is not the end of the bad news. Fleas are capable of incredibly rapid reproduction, and it is not unusual for infestations to have broad populations of adults, eggs, larvae and pupae. If flea infestations are caught early, they are easier to control. Long-standing infestations will require repeated and determined measures to control.
Just how quickly do fleas reproduce? Fleas begin feeding immediately upon locating a host. Within hours, the fleas are mating and laying dozens of eggs. A female is capable of producing as many as 50 eggs in one day. The eggs fall off of the host animal and onto a surface like upholstered furniture, rugs, carpets and curtains.
Controlling fleas involves treatments to infested animals as well as the property on which they live. Indoor and outdoor treatments may be required, and the expertise of an exterminator is indispensable to curing the problem.
WHAT DO FLEAS LOOK LIKE?
Fleas are tiny, wingless parasites that are well-adapted to hide in the thick fur on a dog or cat. Able to move with startling speed, most of them appear to be brown or reddish brown. Like other insects, they have six legs.
Because fleas move so quickly, they can be difficult to find on a pet. One of the best ways to determine whether or not a dog or cat has fleas is to look for flea dirt. This is actually the fleas' feces, and it looks a lot like flecks of dirt or grains of pepper. Light-colored fur on dogs and cats makes the flea dirt easier to see, but animals with darker coats may hide the problem.
Despite their name, cat fleas are an extraordinarily common pest that may be found on both cats and dogs. This flea will even use people as its hosts. Similarly, dog fleas are known to affect humans, cats, dogs and many other animals. There is even a human flea that prefers to feed on people, though it will use cats and dogs as hosts.
Cat fleas are reddish-brown to black and measure approximately one to three millimeters. Their hind legs are especially powerful to allow for jumping and running. Dog fleas generally are between two and three millimeters long, are equipped with oversized black eyes and labial palps that are divided into five segments. Human fleas tend to be just slightly larger than the other species and have a smaller head when compared to the thorax and abdomen.
WHAT DO FLEAS EAT?
Blood is the fleas' only nutritional requirement, and they typically consume this substance from a variety of warm-blooded mammals. Common hosts in addition to dogs, cats and people include wildlife such as rats, mice, rabbits, opossums, raccoons and skunks. Some fleas will eat 15 times their body weight in blood every day.
WHERE DO FLEAS LIVE?
While it is common for flea eggs to be laid directly on a host animal, the eggs soon fall off onto a carpet, rug or upholstered furniture. If the dog has a bed or sleeps on the owner's bed, then the flea eggs may be left in these places as well.
When the eggs develop into larvae, they seek darkness and conditions in which it is easy to hide. A dusty corner or crevice is perfect at this stage, and reaching the pupae stage will find the fleas either on the floor or within the fibers of a carpet or rug. Only adult fleas bite, and this means that they generally live on a host animal.
Outdoors, adult fleas seek habitat such as high grasses, sandy soil or piles of yard debris. These areas provide the flea with the shade and humidity that it needs. Fleas are likely to be found in grass, especially in a patch of lawn that is kept shady by an overgrown shrub or bush. When a pet or wild animal lies on the grass in the shade, the flea easily can attach itself to an unwitting host.
DAMAGE CAUSED BY FLEAS
There is no reason to fear that fleas will cause property damage, but they do make pets and people highly uncomfortable. Pets may develop flea bite dermatitis, which is an allergy to flea saliva. This allergy makes pets intensely itchy, and too much scratching can cause the animal to go bald in patches or to develop an infection.
It additionally is possible that a pet will accidentally ingest a flea, which may give it a tapeworm. Pets that have tapeworms may lose excessive weight.
ARE FLEAS AGGRESSIVE?
In the midst of an infestation with countless itchy bites, fleas certainly are aggressive. They will remain on a host until there are removed, and they reproduce swiftly so that the problem multiplies and continues.
DO FLEAS CARRY DISEASE?
Fleas carry several diseases, and many of these affect people. As an example, the plague is spread by infected fleas.
A more common disease is murine typhus. Fleas pick up the bacteria from an infected animal, and then transmit it to a human. Symptoms may include stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, chills, fever, muscle pain and loss of appetite.
Infected cats may spread cat scratch disease to people. Fairly common, cat scratch disease causes the lymph nodes to become enlarged and tender. Victims also may suffer pustules at the scratch site and a high fever.
Like dogs and cats, people also may acquire tapeworms through ingesting an infected flea. This is less of a concern for teens and adults, but small children are much more vulnerable because they spend so much time on or close to the floor.
HOW TO DETECT FLEAS
Signs of a flea infestation include:
• Many itchy bites on people and pets
• Pets scratching incessantly
• Bite marks, especially around the feet, ankles and legs
HOW TO PREVENT FLEAS
To help prevent flea issues the following steps should be taken:
• Removing yard debris from landscaping
• Keeping lawns mowed short
• Ensuring that pets get regular baths
• Using flea control treatments on pets
• Regularly washing all bedding, including pet bedding, in hot, soapy water
• Using a steam cleaner on carpets
• Establishing a regular vacuuming routine
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.
