Blog Fleas: All you need to know, to know you don’t want them!
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Fleas: All you need to know, to know you don’t want them!
A Pulicosis (flea bite!) is an irritating troublesome thing much like the insects themselves. Despite flea’s being about 2.5 mm long, they can prove a challenge to remove from a property. With the increase in popularity of furry pets, there is a resulting increase in flea infestations but Manchester Pest Control can deal with flea problems quickly and efficiently, as well as advising on future prevention.
How dangerous is a flea?
Flea bites are very itchy and can be quite painful. A flea bite can transfer tapeworms, and commonly cause severe allergic reactions in our pets. Reports are showing these dermatitis type reactions are now occurring in people. On a much rarer note, fleas have been shown to act as a carrier of the bubonic plague, as well as bacterial diseases from infected rats to humans.
Whilst a flea bite is not the most lethal of insect bites, and there is no immediate need to seek Doctor’s advice, the itchy can become intense, and careful monitoring is required in case more serious reactions occur. Flea’s live for around 3.5 months, with each female laying around 2000 eggs in that time, so quickly become overwhelming. They have often been feeding and breeding for up to 2 months before you will become aware of their existence.
Flea’s feed on blood as their sole source of nutrition and can take up to 15 times their own body weight in blood! Their legs are like grippers and once on a host with warm fresh blood, their legs latch onto the skin and pierce through the outer layer to the blood. They inject some of their saliva into the host first, which acts as a numbing agent – this is why you rarely feel the bite itself. The saliva contains over a dozen different substances and it’s these that can set of severe reactions in pets and humans. Once a female has mated, she will breed for the rest of her lifetime and needs fresh blood at least twice a day, hence recurrent bites even from a small population.
Can I see fleas? How do I know they are there?
Fleas can be present on hosts or in the environment such as soft furnishings, at varying times. They are also very agile, and whilst they cannot fly, they are able to leap up to 8” (like a human being able to jump as high as a skyscraper!) so movement between hosts is not a problem. They are covered in tiny hairs that allow them to move easily between fur and fibres. They are so small, you rarely see them on humans, but the hard, red-brown shiny shell can be seen on pets on examination at advanced stages of infestation. Unfortunately their shells make them rather difficult to squish and kill. You will become aware of their presence by their bites – small red lumps – typically around your arms if you stroke/cuddle your pet a lot or your legs as the pet rubs against you. However, if soft furnishings, such as a throw over a bed or couch are infected, you can get bites occurring anywhere on the body. You or your pet will also be itchy significantly.
Fleas lay eggs in the safety of fur, but the eggs are small white and slippery and will slide off onto the ground. These won’t be visible to the human eye. Larvae hatch from the eggs around a week later but these are only measure 1 to 2 mm in length and white so still difficult to see. Mature larvae develop into pupa – a small silky cocoon and while stay like this for between 3 weeks to a year depending on conditions. These may appear as specks of dust along skirting boards for example. Vibrations through the floor are picked up within the cocoon, letting the adult flea know to emerge as there is likely to be a host about. They wait for you or the pet to wander past and jump on to ensure they get life-sustaining blood to keep their life cycle going. Whilst you may see the odd flea there will be hundreds that you can’t, in varying stages of life.
Good news for humans we are their least favourite type of host, and they avoid us if they can. There are different species of fleas, with cat fleas the most prolific, followed by dog and bird fleas and the rarer human fleas, so they tend to stick to the primary type of hosts where possible. Even responsible pet owners with good flea management routines can still experience fleas from time to time due to the easy spread and large numbers of them, and even non-pet owners can experience fleas by a visitor forgetting their hat when they leave, that is one of their cats favourite cuddle spots, or borrowing a chair or textiles from an infested property.
Once they are present, the only way to get rid of fleas involves the use of pesticides. Whilst some home flea treatments are available over the counter in various shops, these are often ineffective and weak in strength. If you think you have fleas, call Manchester Pest Control and we can remove these unwanted guests safely and professionally.
Ants Bedbugs Beetles Birds Cockroaches Fleas Flies Foxes Mice Mites Moles Moths Pigeons Rabbits Rats Silverfish Spiders Squirrels Wasps Woodlice
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