It's important to know that when your feline has fleas, you'll need to treat both your cat and your home in order to eliminate the problem. We're going to cover all of the bases in this article.
Treating your pets for fleas is not enough. You must also treat your house and prevent future attacks. Fleas are tiny creatures and can thrive in the smallest spaces. Regular cleaning and disinfection of areas can eliminate and prevent fleas.
Fleas can drop off of pets and lay their eggs in carpeting, bedding, and furniture and can develop into an infestation in your home. The trouble with fleas is they are built to be tough. Nearly impossible to squish, fleas' legs are designed to grip to things so tightly they are hard to remove.
The first step is always treating the source of the problem as soon as possible. It makes no sense to treat the entire house if your pet is going to keep bringing fleas in. Start with a flea comb, paying extra attention to the neck and tail of your pet since these are a flea's favorite areas.
Getting rid of fleas is a difficult process due to the long lifecycle of a flea. Moderate to severe infestations will take months to control and require a four-step process for complete elimination: Sanitation. Thoroughly clean areas where fleas frequently breed.
It doesn't take much fleas before it becomes a serious infestation problem. In just a couple of months, fleas can lay about 500 eggs. Between one and twelve days, many of these hatchlings are hidden. They are tiny larvae that fide in tiny floor cracks, carpets and furniture.
While fleas typically prefer to go after cats, dogs and other furred-or-feathered animals, they will bite people if the host animal is not nearby. Moreover, if family pets have a habit of hanging out on beds or furniture, they are likely to leave fleas behind.
Wash your pet's bedding as well as any cloth items that have been on the floor. Washing will significantly reduce the number of flea eggs and larvae on the bedding and cloth items and will make your insecticide more effective. The wash cycle will not kill the fleas, but it may eject some of the eggs through the drain.
Washing clothing and fabrics might not be a 100% cure for a flea infestation, but as long as you wash absolutely everything, it will take a sizable chunk out of the population.
To remove the eggs along with the dead fleas, your pet's bedding should be washed in hot water or replaced. Regular and thorough vacuuming of your carpets, floors, and soft furnishings can remove a large number of flea eggs, larvae, and pupae.
“Use adequate flea control and keep your cats indoors,” suggests Nelson. The bacteria can also enter your body through your nose, eyes or mouth, so the CDC recommends washing your hands after touching a cat. Kissing their flea dirt-filled fur probably isn't a good idea, either.
It is generally safe to pet a cat that has fleas, but it is important to take precautions to protect yourself and other animals from potential flea infestations.
Take care of bedding
As noted before, steam clean, vacuum, and wash your pet's bedding. You should wash it every couple of days for the first week to help eradicate any surviving fleas. Some people prefer to take the bedding to a dry cleaner.
Fleas generally cannot live in human hair. While most species prefer to live on the furs of animals, they can use humans as temporary vectors. In such cases, fleas can infest and bite humans. You may get infected if there is a serious case of flea infestation in your environment.
I've Got Fleas – Won't They Just Go Away? Unfortunately, no, they won't. Most fleas can live for between two and three weeks on a host organism, but some flea eggs can survive unhatched for up to an entire year. So even if the fleas you have are dying off, there will be plenty of eggs left to replace them.
Signs that Fleas Are in Your Bed
Signs of fleas in your bedding include tiny black specks that are sometimes called "flea dirt." These are flea excrement; if you sprinkle them with a little water, they'll turn a dark-reddish brown. Another sign that fleas have invaded your bed are flea bites on your body.
Even if you find a single flea on one cat, it is considered a flea infestation. For each single live flea found, there are thousands more waiting in the carpet, bedding, and lawn. Even a small number of fleas should be taken seriously.
White Sock Test
One way to detect fleas in your house is to throw on a pair of white cotton socks and walk around. Higher socks are better because you'll be less likely to get bitten. Walk around carpeted areas for around ten minutes. If fleas are present, they will jump up to hitch a ride.
As few as 20 fleas might mean your pet is infested, while the most could be between 200 to 300. Ignoring a few fleas can quickly lead to an infestation on your dog and in your home,2 because two adult fleas could lead to hundreds of eggs and pupae. Fleas start feeding on blood within minutes of landing on your pet.
Vacuuming does work, at least in terms of reducing the severity of the infestation. But fleas breed quickly, and in the case of severe flea infestations it's unlikely you'll be able to remove all of the fleas from the carpet. In addition, flea eggs are sticky and attach themselves to carpet fibers.