A flea or two on your pet can quickly become a widespread infestation in your home and leave you with flea bites all over, not to mention the task of controlling and removing all traces of this pest. Our article discusses methods to keep fleas away from your property and the benefits of contacting pest control in Austin for your flea problems.
How To Identify Different Types Of Fleas
Though there are a couple of thousand different flea species in the United States, you are only really likely to encounter a few of these types. The most popular and versatile species of flea is the cat flea, and this tiny, dark brownish insect can be found on both cats and dogs, humans, or hiding out in your home. You can identify cat fleas by the fact that they stay on their hosts after feeding, mating, and laying eggs. The movement of their host then scatters these eggs and leads to widespread infestation.
Other types of fleas include the dog flea, the human flea, rat fleas, stick-tight fleas, and the sand flea. Most fleas will look similar in appearance – small, with a dark brown or reddish-brown coloration, and highly skilled at jumping and hiding in the fur of animals or your clothing.
The Lifecycle Of The Common Flea
Fleas across species have similar lifestyles, though the most common flea you are likely to encounter is the cat flea. Adult fleas will find a host and jump on, biting and feeding on the host's blood.
The fleas will then mate and lay eggs. These eggs stay on the host and hatch into larvae, or they will fall off and hatch in the fabrics or carpeting around your home. The larvae will turn into pupae after 5 to 20 days and create a cocoon for themselves; they will stay in this cocoon until they have become adult fleas and conditions are suitable for their hatching. Then the adult fleas start feeding on the host and continue the life cycle.
Three Reasons Fleas Are So Hard To Get Rid Of
Learning how to get rid of fleas can seem simple, but this pest is often tricky to eliminate for several reasons:
- Fleas are prolific and reproduce quickly. A few fleas can get out of hand quickly and leave you with a significant problem that is hard to defeat.
- Fleas are highly skilled at hiding on the host's body and jumping out of the way of danger, making them hard to catch.
- Flea eggs can stay dormant for an extended period, meaning that re-infestation is possible unless you kill every life stage of flea in your home, which can be difficult.
To increase your chances of preventing fleas and controlling infestations of this pest, you should trust Roberts Termite & Pest Control to help you counteract these reasons.
Control, Extermination, And Prevention Of Fleas
A flea infestation can be challenging to eliminate by yourself. In addition to putting vet-approved flea repellant on your pets, the best way to get rid of fleas in your house is to contact Roberts Termite & Pest Control. Only our experts can remove fleas at every stage of the life cycle in your home and protect you from infestations of this pest in the future.