How to tell how bad a flea infestation is? Fleas are a fact of life if you own a pet. These pesky little pests can be difficult to get rid of and only tend to multiply once established in your home.
However, it is possible to keep fleas at bay. That being said, there are ways to catch them early before they turn into an infestation.
In this guide, you’ll find out what signs indicate that fleas have made themselves right at home in your home and how dirt cheap and easy it is to repel these nuisances.
How To Tell How Bad A Flea Infestation Is
To get rid of fleas in your home, you first need to determine what type of flea is causing the problem. This will help when it comes time to purchase the proper flea removal product.
Generally we recommend using products made for dogs because they are more effective than those specifically designed for humans at getting rid of fleas in your home.
1. Fleas In Bed
Fleas in bed mean you’ve got a flea infestation. If you’re finding fleas on your bed, you know it is inevitable that both you and your pets are having regular blood meals with the fleas and multiplying pretty quickly.
The denser the population of the fleas, the more frequent they go after blood meals, but that doesn’t guarantee how regularly they end up on your bed.
If only because there could be times when food might be scarce. A good way to prevent your mattress from getting nasty? Could you keep it clean?
Be sure to vacuum and dust appropriately, not encourage new flea dirt to add to it (or make what you have there worse).
Make sure your room stays tidy, too – both so you don’t risk landing in a mess later on or becoming one yourself, and to keep things simple for the exterminator when it comes time for them to get rid of those dirty little critters.
2. Flea Bite Marks On Body
The effects of a flea bite are very unpleasant. When these small pests attack your ankles, knees and legs, they may leave red bumps filled with pusses and an itching sensation that can last for a few days.
However, it is not necessary to worry if you’re bitten by one flea or several at the same time because they cannot access your veins, so they will not be able to fill their bodies with your blood.
If you can reach a water source right away, don’t hesitate to dip the affected area to relieve any itchiness.
3. Fleas shed on soft furnishings like couches and carpets
Finding tiny whitish flea shells on soft furnishings is another sign that tells you that flea infestation is terrible in your home.
These small shells, fine whitish specks, are the skin flea larvae they shed before becoming fully mature adults. Sightings of flea larvae skin also indicate flea larvae in your home who are getting their blood meals.
And they’re growing too. And those larvae wouldn’t have been there in your home had there been no flea eggs. Fleas lay their eggs in thin gaps and cracks.
The eggs are tiny, whitish, translucent, and oval-shaped. Both flea skin and flea eggs are microscopic and hard to detect with the naked eye. To check for both, you’ll need a magnifying glass.
4. The Pet Scratches Constantly
Believe it or not, in eight out of ten cases, fleas will be a problem when pets live in your house. The fleas enjoy the moisture and warmth and find cool homes under rugs and furniture for shade.
But they want to attack your pet! These parasitic bugs enjoy attaching themselves to a host (your pet!) so that they may feed on blood for nourishment and survival.
As the flea cycles from one host to another, it is hard to notice how long this has occurred without finding symptoms like their bite marks on you.
When there is prolonged interaction between you and your pet with fleas still attached, you can expect to see them as drops along with other symptoms.
The result? You will most likely start itching when you sit in areas where fleas hide, like the couch, bed or carpeted spaces.
5. Test for fleas using white socks
The white sock test for fleas is the most ingenious way to tell whether or not your home has a serious flea infestation problem.
To begin, put on a pair of white knee-high soccer socks and try to think like a flea.
Walk around the wooden floor, carpets and other hard surfaces of your home, and your bedroom and living room furniture.
Sprinkle some pieces of bread on these areas, commonly where fleas hideout (flea’s favourite food is stored blood).
Then check the inside of your socks regularly because if you’re unfortunate enough to have a functional problem, it should show up in short order.
Ways of Getting Rid Of Fleas
- Clean your bed, furniture, couch, carpet, and rugs with a vacuum.
- Diatomaceous Earth Around Flea Hideouts.
- Scattered Diatomaceous Earth should be vacuumed off the surfaces.
- Steam Clean Your Soft Furnishings And Your Bed To Eliminate Fleas.
- Hydrogen peroxide should be used for cleaning the furniture and wood floors.
Is it possible to get infested by fleas quickly?
It takes a single female flea about one day to lay 50 eggs. Flea eggs can hatch in 2-10 days after being laid. There can be up to 6,250 fleas in your home in two months if the infestation begins with only one flea!
On top of that, a flea lays close to 2,000 eggs throughout her life cycle. So, a severe infestation can occur within 45 days of the first few pesky fleas making their way into your home.
It’s clear how fast they can multiply and spread throughout your entire house – basically creating an epidemic in no time at all.
Conclusion
In this guide, you’ve learned how to effectively prevent flea infestations and safely take care of any potential flea problems that may affect your home. Also, there are later sections in this guide that you can come back to after a few weeks to help keep your home flea-free for good. If you’re reading this, the chances are good that you’ve already got a fleas problem on your hands that needs attention.
These pesky bugs sure know how to cause more than mild discomfort for your pets and other family members! If the problem persists despite your best efforts, eagerness and thoroughness will be needed next: Professional services from licensed pesticide companies who can provide invaluable advice and safe, effective pest control products.
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