Fleas and Your Pet

Fleas are small, brown, wingless insects that feed on animal blood, but occasionally feed on people. Fleas are widespread all around us and can cause major health problems in animals. Fleas infest the animals and live in the coat. They have strong jaws built for penetrating the skin and then sucking the blood of their host. The body of the flea is flattened which makes it easier for them to move through their host’s fur. Flea bites cause reactions such as irritation, rashes, redness, loss of hair, and allergic dermatitis on pets and their owners. Serious changes can occur on the skin if the animal is allergic to flea saliva. Severe infestations of fleas, especially in young animals, can lead to anemia. Fleas can transmit dog and cat tapeworm and some serious infectious diseases.

Fleas have their hind legs adapted for jumping and their legs have claws which help them to hold tight to the host. The body of the fleas is firm so it can survive when the animal is scratching. After the flea sucks blood, they lay eggs on the animal.  When the animal moves and scratches, the eggs of the flea spread around the environment. In a short time, an adult flea can produce 20,000 eggs. Eggs take up to two weeks to hatch into larvae and larvae quickly spin into a cocoon. They can remain in cocoon stage for a very long time, up to a year, until adequate conditions are created to transform into an adult flea. When an adult flea emerges from the cocoon it immediately searches for food. Without a host to provide blood, a flea can survive only a few days.

The first sign of fleas is typically on the base of the tail, stomach, and groin regions. Sometimes, instead of adult fleas, your first sign will be black spots on your animal in those regions; these are flea feces. When you brush this substance onto white paper, you will see a reddish-brown color from the fleas feeding on your pet’s blood.

Because the flea life cycle is complex, there is no single method or insecticide that can solve a flea problem. To eradicate fleas, the owner must follow the instructions and the procedure to treat the adults and the eggs/larva separately. This may need to be repeated multiple times at different intervals. What further complicates this flea situation is that the fleas have an exceptional ability to adapt to insecticides so that treatment and control are even more difficult. Sometimes the fight against fleas requires help from a professional exterminator for house and yard treatment.