Flea infestations seem to appear out of nowhere, especially during the summer! But how are these fleas getting into your home? The most common way that these pests find their way into our homes is by hitching a ride on our pets. Today, we are going to discuss the dangers of having fleas on your pets, how they may be getting onto your furry friends, and some helpful flea prevention tips.
When fleas get on our pets, these pests can cause flea allergy dermatitis, hair loss, and skin irritation. If a pet has a large number of fleas feeding on it, this can cause them to become anemic, especially if the animal is very young. Fleas can also cause tapeworm in our pets if they consume the fleas or parts of the fleas.
Not only are fleas dangerous for pets, they can be harmful to humans as well! According to the CDC, fleas are a vector for the plague, tungiasis, typhus, and spotted fever. But, even if you are not bitten by fleas that are infected with these illnesses, simply being plagued by the itchy red bites fleas leave all over your skin can be traumatizing. If a flea infestation takes root inside your home, it can grow quite rapidly as a single female flea can produce 600 offspring in just one month!
While you may notice that fleas generally aren’t a problem in the cold winter months, these pests will always come back to haunt us when the weather warms up. Part of the reason for this is that wild animals and rodents become more active and are more likely to enter into our yards during the warmer months. When they do, they can drop fleas or flea eggs in our yards where our pets can then pick them up and bring them inside. However, you can still experience problems with fleas in your home even if you don’t have pets as rodents and wildlife can bring fleas into your home when they invade.
If you are dealing with a current infestation, reach out to Thomas Pest Services! We would be more than happy to help rid your home of flea problems!