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Fleas find hosts and those hosts are warm-blooded animals. Naturally they are usually dogs and cats, but they can also be opossums, rats, and other rodents.
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According to the ASPCA, since fleas can consume 15 times their own body weight in blood, they can cause anemia and a significant amount of blood loss over time. They can even cause tapeworm.
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A female flea can lay 2,000 eggs, and fleas can bite up to 400 times a day, so you should have a flea prevention plan in place to keep your home and pets protected.
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The most common diseases carried by fleas are Murine Typhus, Mycoplasma Haemofelis, Tapeworms, and Cat Scratch Disease. For more information on the listed diseases visit the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/fleas/index.html.
Eliminate Fleas from Your Home and Pets
The best line of defense is to keep fleas from setting up shop in your yard. Keep your grass cut low and shrubs trimmed back to ensure they have less of a place to hide. Do not allow feral pets and wildlife (opossums, raccoons, feral cats) on your property as they could be carrying fleas among many other things. Follow veterinarian recommendations and use a monthly preventative flea treatment on your pets, brush their fur prior to coming back inside from the yard, and shaving down long-haired animals in the summer. The last step is to keep your home clean by vacuuming carpeting and throw rugs at least once a week. Mosquito Joe barrier treatments can also target fleas or a professional defense against fleas and the diseases they carry.
The Life Cycle of a Flea
Fleas undergo 4 stages in their life cycle: eggs, larval, pupal and adult. They lay between four to eight eggs which fall to the ground and hatch within one to twelve days. The larval stage lasts from four to eighteen days, and then the flea will enter the pupal stage. The pupal stage can last anywhere from three days to one year. Once the flea emerges from the pupal stage they become adults, and begin searching for food. Fleas will likely become adults more rapidly when in warmer temperatures and high humidity.
Mosquito Joe can help!
Our mosquito control services also kill and prevent fleas and ticks, so let Mosquito Joe be your first line of defense against these disease-carrying pests. Contact us today or fill out a request a quote form to get in contact with Mosquito Joe of Augusta!
