Fleas Your Pet and You!Dogs and Cats, as we all know, can become infested with fleas. These irritating little creatures have a fascinating life cycle, which can mean an infestation on your pet, turns into a huge problem in your home.There are many different species of flea but the most common are the Dog flea and the Cat flea. Cat fleas are the most common and will infest both cats AND dogs. Each female flea will mate after taking a blood meal from your pet and within 24-48 hours will start to lay eggs, which can number around 200! These eggs do not stay in the pet’s hair, but fall straight off into your home. The eggs hatch into larvae, and these will burrow deep into carpets, soft furniture and beds. 7-18 days later these Larvae pupate – this means that they spin a protective cocoon around themselves, inside which they will develop into adult fleas. This development takes around 5-14 days BUT pupae can remain in the home for up to 9 months before they hatch out!! Once hatched the adult flea detects movement of a red bloodied animal nearby and leaps onto it, thus starting the cycle all over again! Some animals are not overly bothered by biting fleas, but this is not to say they don’t need to be treated! As you can see with each flea laying so many eggs – a couple of fleas on your pet can equal a big problem in your house! Fleas can and do bite humans, although they tend not to live aboard us, as we are not usually hairy enough! Some animals can develop a serious allergy to flea saliva, called FAD (or Flea Allergic Dermatitis). These pets will lick and scratch themselves so much in response to even one flea bite – so as to cause hair loss, sores and even bleeding. ALL pets need protection against fleas, and your Vet is the best person to advise you on which products and protocols are the ones most suited to your individual animal. The ideal flea treatment works by protecting your pet from nasty bites, whilst ALSO preventing him from becoming the host for a flea population explosion in your home!! |
