Fleas are blood-feeding insects that can feed on the blood of your pets and on humans as well. Some fleas can transmit disease-causing germs, and their bites can be very irritating. Keeping them out of your home is important. If you think you have them, it’s time to call a Broken Arrow Pest Control company that can help get rid of them quickly.
Let’s take a look at fleas and see how they work. Fleas are extremely proficient jumpers. They can jump many times their body length, which helps them reach a host. Their powerful hind legs and spring-like structures in their bodies store and release energy very quickly, launching the flea into the air.
Once they land on a host animal, fleas are built to move through and remain in the animal’s fur. Their flattened bodies, legs, and claws help them hold onto the host while they feed. Adult fleas can remain on a suitable host for long periods, while eggs laid by female fleas readily fall from the animal into bedding, carpets, yards, and other areas where the host spends time.
Fleas can remain a problem through colder weather because different flea life stages may survive in protected environments, and adult fleas can remain on warm-blooded hosts. Inside a heated home, the flea life cycle can continue even when outdoor temperatures are cold.
Fleas can also bite humans. People are not the preferred long-term host for common cat and dog fleas, but fleas can still feed on human blood. Fleas are also capable of carrying disease-causing organisms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that fleas can spread germs associated with flea-borne typhus, plague, and cat scratch disease. Cat scratch disease is usually transmitted to people through a cat scratch contaminated with flea feces rather than simply through a flea bite, and flea-borne typhus is the correct name for the typhus associated with infected fleas.
That’s why it’s so important to get rid of them. Contacting your veterinarian can help you eliminate fleas on your pets themselves, while your Broken Arrow Pest Control company can help address fleas inside your home and, when appropriate, treat targeted exterior areas to lower flea numbers outside as well. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends combining pet flea control with cleaning and appropriate control measures around the home.
Keeping these bugs at bay is very important. Contacting a good Broken Arrow Pest Control company can help you deal with the infestation and get it under control. TermMax Pest Control can help when it comes to dealing with fleas. Give us a call today.
