Home Flea & Tick Prevention Tips

Home Flea & Tick Prevention Tips

Fleas and ticks are pesky little pests that suck the life out of your pets and family (literally)! These parasites can cause your dogs, cats, children, or other family members a lot of discomfort and even pose serious health risks.

Flea Prevention

Fleas can be found in almost any environment but are more active in warm, humid climates. Once your house is infested, though, fleas can thrive even after temperatures drop. And they can cause severe allergic reactions in pets, a condition called flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), which can make pets extremely uncomfortable, causing itching, inflammation, excessive scratching, and even subsequent skin infections if left untreated. Older pets are even more at risk as a flea infestation can leave them weak and make treatment and recovery more difficult.

A flea infestation usually isn’t hard to spot. Your pet will most likely be scratching or grooming themselves excessively. When checked, you may even see adult fleas on their body or in their hair. Routinely use a flea comb on your pet to check for and remove fleas.

The best way to prevent fleas is to treat your pets with flea control products consistently, usually applied directly to your pet’s skin or given orally. Some products may even help to prevent dog heartworm, which can develop from mosquito bites. Look for products that treat both adult fleas and other stages of the flea life cycle.

If you have a flea infestation in your home, getting rid of them can be difficult and time-consuming. It’s best to contact a pest control company to establish a treatment schedule for both inside and outside the home. Your pet will need to be removed from the house during flea treatments and for a specified length of time afterwards. You can also help to get rid of fleas and prevent a future infestation by vacuuming regularly and removing old pet bedding, blankets, toys, and any other items regularly used by your pet.

Tick Prevention

Ticks can be a real concern to people and pets, especially during Spring and Fall months. Their bites are painful and cause skin irritations in some cases, but they also transmit several diseases including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can cause serious illness or even death. The brown dog tick, commonly found on pets, can even infest your home.

Check your pets regularly for ticks. Larger ticks can usually be seen while smaller ones may not be so obvious. If you find a tick, safely remove it using a tick removal tool or with tweezers, only applying a small amount of pressure until the tick lets go. Any other method can be painful for your pet or cause skin irritations.

Prevent ticks by treating your pet with a tick control product, commonly included in topical flea treatments. Keep pets out of wooded areas or overgrown vegetation. Cut your grass regularly, keep plants and shrubs trimmed, and clear out leaves and other yard debris.

Home Flea & Tick Prevention Tips

Home Flea & Tick Prevention Tips

Fleas and ticks are pesky little pests that suck the life out of your pets and family (literally)! These parasites can cause your dogs, cats, children, or other family members a lot of discomfort and even pose serious health risks.

Flea Prevention

Fleas can be found in almost any environment but are more active in warm, humid climates. Once your house is infested, though, fleas can thrive even after temperatures drop. And they can cause severe allergic reactions in pets, a condition called flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), which can make pets extremely uncomfortable, causing itching, inflammation, excessive scratching, and even subsequent skin infections if left untreated. Older pets are even more at risk as a flea infestation can leave them weak and make treatment and recovery more difficult.
A flea infestation usually isn’t hard to spot. Your pet will most likely be scratching or grooming themselves excessively. When checked, you may even see adult fleas on their body or in their hair. Routinely use a flea comb on your pet to check for and remove fleas.
The best way to prevent fleas is to treat your pets with flea control products consistently, usually applied directly to your pet’s skin or given orally. Some products may even help to prevent dog heartworm, which can develop from mosquito bites. Look for products that treat both adult fleas and other stages of the flea life cycle.
If you have a flea infestation in your home, getting rid of them can be difficult and time-consuming. It’s best to contact a pest control company to establish a treatment schedule for both inside and outside the home. Your pet will need to be removed from the house during flea treatments and for a specified length of time afterwards. You can also help to get rid of fleas and prevent a future infestation by vacuuming regularly and removing old pet bedding, blankets, toys, and any other items regularly used by your pet.

Tick Prevention

Ticks can be a real concern to people and pets, especially during Spring and Fall months. Their bites are painful and cause skin irritations in some cases, but they also transmit several diseases including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can cause serious illness or even death. The brown dog tick, commonly found on pets, can even infest your home.
Check your pets regularly for ticks. Larger ticks can usually be seen while smaller ones may not be so obvious. If you find a tick, safely remove it using a tick removal tool or with tweezers, only applying a small amount of pressure until the tick lets go. Any other method can be painful for your pet or cause skin irritations.
Prevent ticks by treating your pet with a tick control product, commonly included in topical flea treatments. Keep pets out of wooded areas or overgrown vegetation. Cut your grass regularly, keep plants and shrubs trimmed, and clear out leaves and other yard debris.

Getting Rid of Fleas: Tips & Treatment Methods

Getting Rid of Fleas: Tips & Treatment Methods

Warm, humid summer weather is the perfect breeding environment for fleas. Fleas are parasites that feed on the blood of pets and humans, and although they prefer nonhuman hosts, they will bite people in heavily infested cases. Flea bites are characterized by small, red, itchy spots on the skin that may bleed if scratched or irritated. Sometimes flea bites can go unnoticed if no reaction occurs.

About Fleas

Flea infestations can develop quickly inside your home but often go unnoticed until the problem is severe. Because fleas are most active when they’re hungry, an infestation is more apparent when you’ve been away from your home, like on a summer vacation. And controlling fleas can be challenging since each stage of fleas in their life cycle has to be controlled – eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult fleas. Flea eggs are usually laid in large numbers on a host, such as your dog or cat, and then fall off onto pet beds, upholstered furniture, and carpeted floors. Within a few days or weeks, these eggs develop into flea larvae. Larvae is often hard to find, hiding deep down in carpeted surfaces and furniture, making it a challenge to control the flea infestation. The flea larvae then develops into pupae, and then into adult fleas within a couple of weeks. So if you’re seeing adult fleas (the easiest and most common flea stage to spot) on your pet or in your home, it’s an indication of a bigger issue: a full-blown flea problem.

Tips for Getting Rid of Fleas

So, what should you do if you’re seeing fleas? Start with your pets. They should be bathed and treated with flea medication to kill any adult fleas that may be on them. Then you’ll want to thoroughly clean your home – dust and sweep hard surfaces, vacuum carpet and upholstered furniture – paying close attention to the areas frequented by your pet. Be sure to wash pet beds, blankets, and toys in a hot water cycle too. Throw out anything that’s not machine-washable.

Flea Treatments

Once you’ve cleaned your home, it’s time for flea treatments. We recommend using liquid pest products specially formulated to control fleas throughout the house, again focusing more on the areas your pet plays, sits, walks, and sleeps on. You’ll want to remove pets from your home before doing this and allow the products to completely dry before they return. Insect growth regulators (IGR) are popular treatment options for fleas since they are made to prevent flea larvae from developing into the pupae stage. If your pets spend a lot of time in any particular area outside of your home, you’ll want to consider treating these spots for fleas with a flea insecticide for yards.

You’ll need to repeat this process of cleaning and flea treatments (according to the products’ directions) until the flea infestation is eradicated.

Our best tip for getting rid of fleas: prevent a flea infestation before one starts. Keep your pets on routine flea medication and bathed regularly. Also consider a preventative home pest control program from a professional exterminator. These programs usually consist of interior and/or exterior treatments done quarterly for common household pests. And if you still end up with a flea problem, your pest control provider can give you effective flea control recommendations that work fast, usually as a low-cost, add-on service.

Getting Rid of Fleas: Tips & Treatment Methods

Getting Rid of Fleas: Tips & Treatment Methods

Warm, humid summer weather is the perfect breeding environment for fleas. Fleas are parasites that feed on the blood of pets and humans, and although they prefer nonhuman hosts, they will bite people in heavily infested cases. Flea bites are characterized by small, red, itchy spots on the skin that may bleed if scratched or irritated. Sometimes flea bites can go unnoticed if no reaction occurs.

About Fleas

Flea infestations can develop quickly inside your home but often go unnoticed until the problem is severe. Because fleas are most active when they’re hungry, an infestation is more apparent when you’ve been away from your home, like on a summer vacation. And controlling fleas can be challenging since each stage of fleas in their life cycle has to be controlled – eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult fleas. Flea eggs are usually laid in large numbers on a host, such as your dog or cat, and then fall off onto pet beds, upholstered furniture, and carpeted floors. Within a few days or weeks, these eggs develop into flea larvae. Larvae is often hard to find, hiding deep down in carpeted surfaces and furniture, making it a challenge to control the flea infestation. The flea larvae then develops into pupae, and then into adult fleas within a couple of weeks. So if you’re seeing adult fleas (the easiest and most common flea stage to spot) on your pet or in your home, it’s an indication of a bigger issue: a full-blown flea problem.

Tips for Getting Rid of Fleas

So, what should you do if you’re seeing fleas? Start with your pets. They should be bathed and treated with flea medication to kill any adult fleas that may be on them. Then you’ll want to thoroughly clean your home – dust and sweep hard surfaces, vacuum carpet and upholstered furniture – paying close attention to the areas frequented by your pet. Be sure to wash pet beds, blankets, and toys in a hot water cycle too. Throw out anything that’s not machine-washable.

Flea Treatments

Once you’ve cleaned your home, it’s time for flea treatments. We recommend using liquid pest products specially formulated to control fleas throughout the house, again focusing more on the areas your pet plays, sits, walks, and sleeps on. You’ll want to remove pets from your home before doing this and allow the products to completely dry before they return. Insect growth regulators (IGR) are popular treatment options for fleas since they are made to prevent flea larvae from developing into the pupae stage. If your pets spend a lot of time in any particular area outside of your home, you’ll want to consider treating these spots for fleas with a flea insecticide for yards.
You’ll need to repeat this process of cleaning and flea treatments (according to the products’ directions) until the flea infestation is eradicated.
Our best tip for getting rid of fleas: prevent a flea infestation before one starts. Keep your pets on routine flea medication and bathed regularly. Also consider a preventative home pest control program from a professional exterminator. These programs usually consist of interior and/or exterior treatments done quarterly for common household pests. And if you still end up with a flea problem, your pest control provider can give you effective flea control recommendations that work fast, usually as a low-cost, add-on service.

Pin It on Pinterest

Call Now Button