Fleas bring unbearable itchiness and discomfort to your pets. They can also cause diseases that may harm you and your family. These bloodsucking parasites feed on warm blood such as household pets like cats, dogs, and even poultry animals.
Physical Characteristics of Fleas:
Length: measures from 1.5 – 4 mm.
Color: red/brown hue
Body shape: oval on the sides, flat from the top
Movement: crawling and leaping great heights
Most active: common flea infestations happen during spring and summer as fleas thrive in humid environments
Dangers of Flea to Your Pets
- Flea Allergy Dermatitis: Fleas commonly cause itchiness to beloved pets such as cats and dogs. If a pet is allergic to flea saliva, this itchiness can worsen into swelling, broken skin, and infection.
- Tapeworms: While tapeworm infestation through fleas is rare, it can still happen and cause damage to your pets’ digestive organs. Tapeworms rob your pet of the nutrients they need leading to weight loss, vomiting, and diarrhea.
- Bartonella: For pets, being infected with Bartonella can lead to conditions such as eye inflammation, seizures, and heart disease.
- Anemia: If flea infestation is not treated, pets can suffer from anemia. When a pet is suffering from anemia, lethargy is observed. What’s more, this illness is associated with loss of appetite that can lead to death.
Dangers of Flea to You and Your Family
- Flea Allergy Dermatitis: Pets are not the only ones susceptible to the itchiness brought by flea bites. A flea bite can cause allergic reactions that may affect one’s quality of life.
- Bartonella: Also identified as cat scratch fever, humans can also be infected with Bartonella. Symptoms can include encephalitis, severe muscle pain, fever, and eye infections.
Common Flea Myth:
“I have removed fleas off of my pet. I won’t need professional pest control services anymore.”
Getting rid of fleas from your pet won’t necessarily solve all your problems. You’ll still need pest control services as fleas can still thrive on your furniture and your backyard. Because of this, fleas will hop back again on your pet and wreak havoc once more.
Preventing and Controlling Fleas in Your Home
The presence of fleas may not always be easily determined and a professional like Picton Pest Control needs to step in for a comprehensive assessment of the situation. Aside from consulting your pets’ veterinarian, Picton Pest Control will conduct a thorough inspection of the interior and exterior areas of your home. From this, a course of action will be strategized to provide you with itch-free and long-lasting relief from fleas.