Wherever you are in the country, the urban cities or suburban settlements, and even farmland, you are suscept to getting fleas in your home. Even without pets, these nasty pests can still come in and disrupt your way of life, putting you in danger all along the way. It is crucial you learn everything about these little pests, like what fleas look like and the dangers they bring onto your property.
How To Tell If It’s Fleas
Fleas are tiny, so it can be challenging to determine if the bug you are fighting against actually is a flea. They are a dark reddish-brown color and typically the biggest ones you can find are only ⅙ inches long. The defining characteristics that will help you determine if it is a flea infestation on your property are their legs and their jumping.
When you have a pest in your home that does not seem to be flying, but you can’t look at it for very long before it goes away, it is probably a flea jumping away from you. The other way to determine if they are fleas is by finding where they’ve been. Fleas leave flea dirt, which is their feces, around your home. It looks like black pepper or coffee grounds and can be found in carpets, bedding, furniture, and rugs.
The other primary indicator of fleas is if you and your pets have been itchy and have bites. You can tell when something is bothering your pet, and if you start feeling very itchy and see small little flea bites popping up on you, you very well might have a flea infestation in your home. Homeowners can also spot flea eggs in rugs, furniture, and your pets’ fur, but these are even smaller than the fleas and are very easy to miss.
The Dangers Of Fleas In The Home
So what are the actual dangers that fleas bring? Fleas are incredibly annoying, but this is just the beginning of the problems that they bring into your home. The bites are terrible to deal with and extremely itchy, and once you start getting bit, you have to worry about everything else. Fleas carry a whole host of other diseases and parasites into your home.
One of the dangers fleas are known for most is hosting tapeworms that both humans and animals can accidentally ingest. Instead of having one pest, you have two that you desperately need to get taken care of. Fleas can also transmit diseases like:
- The plague
- Murine typhus
- Tungiasis
- Tularemia
- And bartonellosis
These dangers are why you need to keep your eyes peeled for these tiny houseguests, because if you don’t see them, then you will quickly see yourself in danger.
Why Fleas Come Into Homes
Fleas, like any other animal, need food, water, and shelter to live. Though this is the case, they less so choose your home as they end up there. They are hitchhikers and opportunists, so they can be found in the fur of almost any animal and wait their time, slowly feeding, reproducing, until they fall off and end up somewhere else.
They can easily land in your yard and soon travel into your home, with or without a pet bringing them in. From this point on they spread quickly so it is essential to take care of them quickly.
How To Get Rid Of Fleas & Keep Them Out
Some of the best things you can do to prevent fleas from coming into your home are with thorough checks on yourself and your clothes as well as on your pets’ fur when they’ve been outside. When they are in your home, though, you will need to contact professionals like American Pest Solutions.
We have the experience and knowledge about how these fleas work, where they go, what they look like, and how to get rid of them. Leave the hard work to us, and we will get you and your home back in working order. American Pest Solutions will also do recurring checkups to guarantee that your home is safely protected from these nasty fleas! Be sure to also work with your veterinarian to keep your pets on regular flea preventative medicine as well!