28 Oct What a pet pest!
Fleas are out and about even more during the warmer months and could be causing your beloved pet to be itchy like you wouldn’t believe. These little pests are small parasites that live, feed and reproduce on your pet and in your home…
Fleas infest your home, your yard and maybe even you too! Eeeek! And if you think that sounds rather undesirable, the fact they can transmit diseases to your pet as well as you and your family is sure to make you want to eradicate them from your life. The good news is you can!
How do you know if you have fleas?
Your pet may be chewing, itching, scratching, moaning and groaning. Think how uncomfortable an itchy bite can be for us, it is the same for our pets and for the fur babies who have allergies, one flea bite can continue to cause their itching for 3 weeks!
You can visibly check for fleas yourself. Start by looking at their belly and spreading the fur, you may catch sight of one, however if you don’t it doesn’t mean they aren’t there. They are crafty little creatures that like to find small dark places to hide.
Other things you might see are little granules that look like dirt but when you wet them become red – this is called flea dirt. Flea dirt is actually flea faeces after they have had a nice feed on your pets blood. Lastly you may notice red sores but the best way to really confirm is to have your friendly Veterinarian from Wags Mobile Vet come for a visit.
If flea diagnosis is confirmed, we can recommend a treatment plan and discuss ways to help eradicate them from your house. It will be important to treat your pet and your home at the same time to prevent fleas in the environment (your home) from breeding and reinfesting your pet.
More about the fleas and their lifecycle…
The fleas on your pet will mate and reproduce daily. One female flea can lay up to 40 eggs per day!!! These eggs fall off in your home and yard. When the weather is nice, (warm & humid) these tiny white eggs hatch into flea larvae, then pupae and finally emerge from their cocoon as an adult flea to begin all over again. Essentially one flea from a walk to the dog park makes many more even thousands of fleas for you and your pet.