How to Get Rid of Fleas
If you’ve been a pet owner for very long, you’ve either encountered a flea issue or the fear of fleas attacking your pets has crossed your mind. These blood-sucking parasites can live on your loved ones up to 30 days, causing distress for both you and your furry loved ones. Not only are fleas extremely annoying, but they are also disgusting and create plenty of health issues your pet would rather avoid.
Here at Nutri-Green, customers frequently ask, “how do I get rid of fleas” or “what can I do to protect my pets from fleas?” Fleas are more common during summer temperatures and increased rain activity, so it’s important to take a look at best practices in order to prevent fleas from infesting your home and latching on to your pets.
Facts About Fleas
A better understanding of the flea’s life cycle will help you to get rid of these disgusting creatures. Check out these repulsive yet, in some ways, interesting facts about fleas.
- There are over 2,000 types of fleas around the world. One of the most common types is the cat flea.
- They are smaller than the average ant. Adult cat fleas are usually no more than 1/8 of an inch long.
- They have incredible jumping abilities, generally up to 7 inches vertically and 12 inches outwardly.
- Adult fleas are ravenous blood-feeders and consume up to 15 times their body weight in blood per day.
- Fleas lay 30-50 eggs per day, and a single flea lays an average of 1,085 eggs in her life.
- Larvae feed on bloody excrement aka “flea dust” from adult fleas.
- Flea eggs hatch after 2-5 days and pupate into adults between 1-2 weeks.
- Life cycle takes about 18-30 days under average room temperatures.
- Fleas cause skin irritation, transmit tapeworms, and bacterial infections in pets.
- Flea allergy dermatitis is one of the most common causes of visits to veterinarians in dogs.
- Fleas transmit human diseases like cat-scratch disease, bubonic plague, murine typhus, and cat flea rickettsiosis.
How to Prevent Fleas
It’s evident that as a pet owner, you want to do everything you can to make your home flea-free! Flea prevention methods can bring peace of mind and reduce the chances of an infestation from occurring.
Here are a few measures you can take to prevent fleas:
- Apply topical solutions to pets every 30 days (follow the label)
- Use flea collars
- Treat the perimeter of your home to build a protection barrier
- Frequently wash pet beds in hot water
- Treat carpets using carpet spray (follow the label)
- Vacuum indoor pet areas often. Empty the vacuum container/bags into sealed plastic bags and place them in outdoor trash container immediately after use
- Make sure you aren’t inviting fleas by keeping the grass and trees trimmed in the yard.
- Apply regular flea treatments to the lawn starting in spring and continuing all summer.
- Call Nutri-Green at [phone-number] for professional flea control and prevention.
How to Get Rid of Fleas
Don’t blame yourself if your pets have fleas. Fleas infest even the cleanest of pets and the tidiest of homes. However, there are ways to help resist their urge to lay claim on you and your pet’s body, such as:
- Thoroughly vacuum daily to get rid of adult fleas and their eggs.
- Thoroughly wash all bedding, carpet, furniture, vehicles, and anything that came in contact with infected people or animals.
- Use anti-flea shampoos and treatments when bathing pets.
- Brush your pets twice daily using a flea comb.
- Use household flea bombs and sprays with repeat treatments.
- Apply vet-recommended flea medication to pets.
- Have your yard professionally treated.
Call the Professionals for Flea Control
Although fleas are undoubtedly aggravating, disgusting, and intrusive, they are treatable. Ultimately, the best thing you can do is be observant. By keeping a clean home and pet, administering preventative medication, and continuing regular visits to the vet, these measures will help keep those nasty creatures off your pets and out of your home.
If you need help with a flea infestation in the Tulsa area, call our pest management professionals here at Nutri-Green. We have flea and tick solutions that work all year long.
