Each year during flea and tick season, we get asked a lot of questions about the best ways to prevent fleas. Fleas are a common problem to encounter if you have dogs or cats — and unfortunately, once these pests make your furry friends their hosts, a flea infestation usually isn’t far off. While it’s possible to still encounter a flea infestation if you don’t have pets, such outbreaks are much less common. There are a few options pet owners can consider to help prevent fleas from entering the home. Some of these options involve treating your pet, while others require mechanical changes to the environment. By using multiple options, you can help ensure fleas do not enter your home and bother your family.

By eliminating the habitats in your yard where fleas are most likely to occur, you will take the first proactive step for prevention. Fleas tend to like it where it is moist, warm, shady, and where there is organic debris. They will also tend to be where pets spend more of their outdoor time, including patios, dog houses, etc. Rake away leaves and grass clippings to reduce the number of places fleas can live.

Understanding the Flea Life Cycle

The life cycle of a flea consists of four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. It begins when an adult female flea, after feeding on a host’s blood, lays tiny white oval eggs. These eggs, often deposited on a host animal, can easily fall off into the surrounding environment, where they lay dormant until it’s time for them to hatch.

Within 2-12 days, depending on environmental conditions, the eggs hatch into larvae. These worm-like creatures feed on organic debris and flea feces in their environment, avoiding light and seeking humid areas. After about 5-11 days of feeding on blood and molting through three larval stages, the larvae spin silk cocoons and enter the pupal stage.

The pupa can remain dormant for weeks or even months, waiting for the right conditions to emerge. When stimulated by vibration, heat, or carbon dioxide from a potential host, the adult flea emerges from the cocoon, ready to find a host and begin the cycle anew.

This entire process can take as little as two weeks under ideal conditions but may extend to several months, allowing fleas to survive adverse periods and rapidly infest an area when conditions improve. Adult fleas consume blood as they feed, leaving behind droppings with blood remnants. These droppings dry out quickly and are left behind for flea larvae to develop. 

Signs of Flea Infestations

Typically, the signs of a flea infestation will initially manifest on your pets, unlike a bed bug infestation. If you are concerned about a flea infestation, there may be additional signs, especially in the case of a more severe outbreak. Common signs of fleas include:

  • Excessive scratching, biting, or licking by pets, especially around the neck, tail base, and hindquarters
  • Visible tiny, dark brown insects jumping or moving quickly on your pet’s skin or in your home
  • “Flea dirt” (flea feces) that looks like tiny black specks or pepper-like debris in your pet’s fur or bedding
  • Red, irritated skin or small red bumps on your pet’s skin, particularly in areas with less fur
  • Hair loss or bald patches on your pet due to excessive scratching
  • Pale gums in pets, which may indicate anemia from severe flea infestations
  • Restlessness or agitation in pets
  • Flea bites on humans, often appearing as small, red, itchy dots on ankles, legs, or feet
  • Tiny white oval flea eggs in pet bedding, carpet, or furniture

Helping Your Pets

For your pet, there are a few options for ongoing coverage. Have your pet get shampooed with a flea-control product or purchase a product that you can apply to your pet on a regular basis. The problem with these options is that many fleas have become resistant in varying degrees to the pesticides contained in these products. Although these products will have some other value for other parasites, such as ticks and mites, their level of control for fleas can be hit or miss at times. Flea & Tick Collars can be effective but must be applied properly. To get the right degree of snugness, you should just be able to get two fingers between the collar and your pet’s neck. Some collars lose effectiveness when they get wet, so make sure you verify how long they will last in the environment by reading the label.

Keep in mind your pets are not the only animals that travel in your yard and deliver fleas on your property. Stray dogs and cats, as well as naturally occurring wildlife, can be a source of fleas. Try to discourage these animals from entering your yard by keeping your trash inaccessible, eliminating potential harborages for these animals, and don’t leave food out for them. 

Other Methods of Flea Prevention

Even if you do not have any pets, fleas can be carried into your home by your family as well. Adult fleas respond to movement, vibrations, and carbon dioxide. By simply walking around and breathing, you are attracting fleas to you. 

On the inside of your home, you can vacuum your home on a regular basis to help pick up fleas. Vacuuming will suck up many flea eggs and disrupt their reproductive cycle. This will also remove dirt and debris that flea larvae may use to create a cocoon.

Ways to Get Rid of Fleas

If you’ve experienced a flea outbreak, you will typically need to deploy a 2-pronged approach for resolution. In order to fully address an infestation, you will need to fill fleas in their entirety at every life stage.

First, you’ll need to treat your pets. Flea combs are often overlooked for removing fleas. A flea comb is specially designed to catch these pests in their teeth — you won’t be able to use an everyday comb to achieve the same results. Comb your pet and then place the fleas in soapy water to kill them. Combing a pet is very time-consuming, but it will provide some immediate relief for your pet. Once you’ve done an initial pass at treating your pets, you will need to visit your vet and have a pesticide treatment given to your pet. This may be a shampoo, a topical application, or an oral dose given to the pet. While over-the-counter options are available, a veterinarian will be able to determine what the best option is for your pet.

Step number two involves treating the environment. A pesticide treatment is usually necessary to resolve a flea issue and they are not usually resolved in one treatment. Multiple applications are usually required. A product that will kill any adult fleas and also stop the development of eggs and larvae is preferred. Many over-the-counter treatments like foggers or flea spray use active ingredients that fleas have developed resistance to. Plus, these over-the-counter options may kill adult fleas but leave eggs undisturbed, only to hatch and reproduce in weeks.

Contact Dodson Pest Control Today

We recommend that a pest management professional perform the treatment since most homeowners do not have the education to know where to look for flea harborages. Plus, a pest management professional will have access to more effective flea treatments. If you’re concerned about a potential flea infestation in your home, reach out to Dodson Pest Control today.

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