Fleas are common parasite, found in almost allregions of the world. Dogs and cats mainly get infested with fleas during contact with other animals or contact with the fleas infested environment.

1. Treating Fleas on Pets
Fleas are common parasite, found in almost
allregions of the world. Dogs and cats mainly get
infested with fleas during contact with other animals
or contact with the fleas infested environment.
Fleas can be a problem for your pets throughout the
year because they survive even in cold climates by
living warm body of pets, wild animalsand even in
warm buildings. Flea populations usually grow
majorly 5 to 6 weeks after warm weather starts.
That is why it is important for pet owners to take
special care to prevent flea during spring and early
months of summer.

2. If your pet is infested with fleas, your pet may
become very nervous, irritated, lose patches of hair
or will scratch excessively.
Fleas can cause severe itching and skin diseases.
Another reason why fleas must be treated is that
they can carry and spread some serious diseaseslike
tapeworms, murine typhus, Cat scratch disease
(Bartonella) and the bubonic plague.

3. The Flea Life Cycle
An Adult female flea usually lives for quite a few
weeks on the pet. Through this time, she sucks the
animal’s blood 2 to 3 times and lays 20 to 30 eggs
each day making the egg count go up in hundreds.
Understanding flea life cycle is important as it helps
us treat both the host animal and the
environmentinside and outside your houseso that
you can fully control flea numbers.
Flea life cycle comprises of 4 stages:

4. 1.Adult female flea lays eggs on a host. The eggs
roll off fromthe host into the environment.
2.After a few daysthe egg develops into larvae
where they have landed. Larvae survive by
feeding onorganic debris, flea eggshells, flea
faces, and other flea larvae. Larvae can crawl
and move up to six inches per day.
3.After a few days when conditions are conducive,
larvae advances into pupae stage. The Pupae
have a very thick shell, is very resistant to
environmental conditions, and can survive quite
a long time.
4.Adult flea emerge from their cocoons when they
detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon
dioxide, all of which indicate that a host is
nearby, they mature into adult fleas that hop on
another host.
Tips for Treating Fleas In Your Home
Fleas thrive in warm wet and humid regions. To
prevent flea infestation from harming your pets, it is
important to know where fleas live in your home.

5. Know Where to Look For Fleas:
Though fleas are small but they are visible to human
eyes as tiny black spots. Indoors fleas typically
found in areas frequented by
your pet that includes:
 Pet Bedding
 Throw Rugs
 Along the walls
 Yard
It is also important to consider
your yard in outdoor space.
Flea larvae develop in shaded,
humid areas. Outdoors fleas
typically found in areas that
include:
 Sheds
 Under and around tree or bushes
 Areas with high grass
 Weeds
 Debris
 Places visited by other animals such as
raccoons, squirrels or deer.

6. Don’t forget to check your pet! Fleas like to up close
and personal to have their blood meal. These
parasites can find anywhere on your pet’s body. The
main pet body parts where Fleas are often found
are:
 Armpits
 Groin
 Belly
 Base of the tail
 Ears
Run a comb over your pet, ensuring the comb
reaches the skin through the coat or place a white
paper towel under your pet and brush your hands
through its fur. If black specks are on the comb or
on the towel, they might be flea dirt. If fleas are on
the comb or the paper towel, make sure you drown
them into a bowl of soapy water before fleas can get
away or jump back on your pet.

7. Steps to Terminate Fleas
Once you discover fleas, it’s time for action. Follow
these 3 steps:
1. Treat Your Pet
 Fleas at any stages can be killed by
drowning them in soapy water. Therefore,
start the treatment by bathing your pet in
soapy water. Soap loosens flea hold onto
your pet hair and they fall into the water
and sink eventually.

8.  After bath comb your pet with a flea comb
to catch any live flea and drown them in
soapy water.
 Make sure you drown the pet hairs on the
comb before combing back the pet again.
 Prefer doing this outdoors to prevent fleas
falling all over the floor. But if you have to
do inside, make sure you lay down use and
throw cloth or paper towel and later vacuum
the spot. Repeatedly comb all hair parts of
your pet till it can tolerate it.

9.  Apply veterinarian recommended anti flea
products for your pet to prevent. If you are
applying something of your own choice,
ensure it is a compliant product.
 Keep your pet indoors as much as you can
for the next 30 days to avoid re-infestation.
If a pet has to go out, keep your pet away
from sandy patches, long grasses or fallen
leaves.
2. Treat Yourself
Flea lives on warm-blooded hosts, including
humans.Following tips might help you:
 Bathe regularly.
 Wear clean clothes.
 Apply citrus or other essential oils on your
legs and feet.
 Don’t let kids crawl on floors and outdoors
without proper clothing.

10.  Spray your socks, trousers and ankles with
DEET-containing mosquito spray.
Practice this until you are sure the fleas have
been terminated.
3. Treat Your Home
 Wash all rugs, beddings (including your pet
bedding) and clothes in contact with your
pets in hot soapy water.
 Vacuum your smooth floors, upholstery,
carpets, furnishings and rugs repeatedly
until there are no signs of fleas.

11.  If your house is carpeted from one end to
the other, vacuuming might not help. Brush
your entire carpet, rug and upholstered
furniture with either borax or food grade
diatomaceous earth and don’t vacuum for a
week or so. This will kill the left over flea at
different stages. Repeat twice or thrice
depending on the level of infestation.
 Mow the grass in your lawn and flood it with
water to kill the flea repeat it for some days.
 Use flea control products (natural or
chemical) in your lawn and yard to kill the
flea at any stage.

12. Preventing future infestations of Fleas:
To ensure that the fleas don’t take over your home
again, it is important to regularly wash your pet
and both pet and human bedding, sweep floor
and vacuum carpets. Vacuuming removes up to
30% of flea larvae and up to 60% of flea eggs.
Keep your yard flea free remove debris and
weeds, and keep the lawn mowed to expose the
flea environment. Spray the grass with water
until the yard is slightly flooded. This will kill flea
eggs and larvae. Consider using a chemical or
natural flea control products to treat your yard
and prevent fleas from coming back.

13. Regularly check your pet with a flea comb, use a
flea Shampoo and talk to your veterinarian if you
find fleas on your pet. The best way to keep fleas
off your pet is to use year round flea-tick
preventative, ask your veterinarian which treatment
is best for your pet and your lifestyle.
Your veterinarian can also guide you better with a
flea control program based on the kind of pet you
own and the intensity of flea infestation. Contact
your veterinarian to know more about the treatment
options suitable for your pet.