Fleas have featured heavily in human history — and almost never in a good way. A well-known old proverb compares vices to these bitey bugs, familiarly stating, “When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.” Itchy skin and lots of scratching are only the most minor issues that you’ll have to face when dealing with fleas. Responsible for spreading the bubonic plague throughout the Middle Ages and even today, these itty-bitty insects have spread disease and discomfort from time immemorial.
How can you tell if you need flea control or other professional services? What are the signs of a flea infestation? Will your property ever feel like home again? We can answer a definite “yes!” to that last one. Smithereen has the answers and the treatments you need to get life back to normal again.
How to Identify Flea Infestations
Before you book your flea removal service, you first should reasonably determine that you’re actually dealing with fleas. In order to do so, you can take the following steps:
- Observe your pets’ behavior. If your pets exhibit excessive scratching, have loose hair, or have skin that appears red, they may be suffering from fleas. Look for tiny dots of black excrement on the skin or visible insects crawling among the hairs. Note that fleas tend to focus on felines’ head and neck area, while they more often attack the hindquarters of canines.
- Examine your surroundings. Fleas may leave distinctive marks around your home or office. Look for the aforementioned black scat, which you can easily mistake for flakes of dirt. Combing through your carpet may turn up small oval-shaped white eggs. Donning a pair of long socks and walking around the premises may
- Pay attention to any bites on your body. Itchy welts and bright red bites should be enough for you to know you have a bug problem. However, understanding what kind of insect has caused them matters. Flea bites usually make their presence known almost immediately, tend to appear on the lower body, and often show up in clustered groups.
Flea Pest Control & Treatments
While some over-the-counter treatments enjoy limited success against fleas, they rarely manage to eliminate them across their life cycle (i.e., their egg, larval, pupae, and adult forms). For that kind of flea extermination, you’ll need to rely on commercial pest control. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t steps a Smithereen technician may ask you to take.
Because fleas are a danger to pets and often live on them, your first task should involve caring for your furry, four-legged friends. Next, your technician will ask you to dry all of your bedding in the dryer on the hottest setting. Finally, make sure to vacuum regularly, which will help eliminate any eggs and/or pupae.
Once Smithereen technicians arrive, they will apply various long-acting liquids and sprays. These treatments will eliminate fleas at every maturity level.
Get Rid of Fleas Immediately
If you’re dealing with fleas, you know they’re more than a health hazard. They’re also a very real nuisance. But were you aware that fleas won’t just go away if you ignore them? It’s true! A single flea can lay thousands of eggs during its lifetime, and the power of exponential reproduction can soon leave a home or office overwhelmed.
Don’t let that happen! Contact Smithereen Pest Management today. We promise prompt service so that you can keep fleas from gaining a foothold. Our integrated pest management approach eliminates all sorts of pests without hurting you, your pets, or the environment.