Fleas aren’t just pests. They could be a serious health risk to members of your family, including the four-legged ones. Here’s how to spot fleas and keep them away from you, your pets, and your home.
How Do Fleas Get Into Your Home?
Fleas like shade and humidity. They’ll hide under piles of leaves and debris, around trees, bushes, shrubs, and in high grass. Fleas will then literally hitch a ride onto your unsuspecting dog or cat as they walk by. (They can jump up to 2 feet high!) Fleas will usually attach themselves to the base of your pet’s tail, their belly, neck, back, or ears.
Trash left outside may also attract wild or stray animals. They can carry fleas that can end up on your pet and in your home.
Where Fleas Can Hide in Your Home
Once inside, fleas may jump off your pet and hide. They like soft or textured areas, so they’ll hide in carpets, bedding, clothing, and furniture – anywhere they can stay warm. They’ll also hide in the cracks of hardwood floors. A key area to pay attention to: your pet’s bed. It’s a prime spot where fleas like to reproduce. A flea’s life span can be anywhere from 13 days up to as long as a year, and one can produce millions of offspring. Fleas lay eggs that can fall off your pet and land on carpet, upholstery, bedding, and furniture.
Signs Your Dog or Cat Might Have Fleas
There are some tip-offs your pet may have fleas, including:
- Small dark specks that look like black grains of sand in your pets’ fur (sometimes called “flea droppings” or “flea dirt”)
- Flea eggs, which look like tiny white grains
- Your pet licks, bites, or scratches their skin a lot
- Scabs on your pet’s skin
- Hair loss
- Tapeworms
Can Fleas Get on and Bite People?
Most fleas commonly found in the U.S. prefer dogs or cats. And even though fleas do bite people, they don’t normally live on people. Why? Animals have more hair than humans, and their fur is easier to hide in.
What Attracts Fleas?
Animals get a flea’s attention with:
- Body heat
- Breathing
- Movement
- Vibrations
Flea Bite Symptoms
Fleas feed on blood (yours or your pets’). They may be tiny, but they can consume 15 times their body weight in blood. Flea bites could be very serious for a puppy or kitten because they can be left without enough red blood cells. If the fleas keep feeding off their blood long enough, it could be life-threatening.
If you’re bitten, it will most likely be on your feet, legs, calves, or ankles. Bites may appear in a straight line pattern or in a cluster.
Most symptoms are mild. They can include:
- Itchy, irritated skin
- A discolored ring around the bite
Fleas can also pass on diseases they may be carrying, including:
- Tapeworms or other parasites. These can be spread if you or your pet accidentally swallows an infected flea. Children are at a higher risk since they’re more likely to spend time closer to the carpet where fleas may be hiding. And they put things in their mouths a lot.
- Plague. Fleas on squirrels and other rodents can spread the plague bacteria to people or pets.
- Cat scratch disease. This is a bacterial infection cats get from flea bites that can be passed to humans by a scratch.
- Flea-borne typhus. Most cases are reported from Texas, California, and Hawaii.
Some of the symptoms of these infections you should watch out for are:
- An allergic reaction, which can involve a rash, hives, shortness of breath, and swelling
- Fever
- Headache
- Body ache
- Nausea
- Abdominal pain
- Weight loss
- Dizziness
- Weakness
How to Keep Fleas From Getting Into Your House
Rather than having to deal with a flea infestation, you can take steps to stop one in the first place. Outside, you can:
- Mow your lawn often.
- Treat dog runs with pet-friendly insecticides to keep fleas away.
- Keep lids on trash or compost cans closed tightly.
- Don’t overwater your grass since fleas thrive in moist areas.
- Rake your yard regularly so you don’t give fleas the chance to hide under debris.
- Keep stray animals away from your pets.
- Seal any holes in your home to keep out rodents that could bring fleas inside.
Inside your home, you should:
- Bathe your pet thoroughly.
- Use flea prevention products such as chews, topicals, or a collar.
- Wash your pet’s bedding once a week.
- If your pet sleeps in your bed, wash that often, too.
- Use a flea comb on your pet.
- Sweep and vacuum your floors often. Don’t forget to vacuum furniture upholstery and underneath furniture.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: Westend61/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Cleveland Clinic: “Flea Bites.”
ASPCA: “Fleas and Ticks.”
CDC: “Preventing Flea Bites,” “Fleaborne Diseases of the United States,” “Bartonella henselae or cat scratch disease (CSD) FAQs,” “Preventing Fleas in the Yard,” “Preventing Fleas in the Home.”
