May 19th, 2022 by Sarah Miles

Fleas only affect pets and not humans, right? Wrong; they primarily affect dogs, cats, and any fur-covered animal, but they can infest your home and, if desperate, will bite humans.

How fleas enter your home

The idea that fleas only infest pets is a reasonable one, as fleas do prefer the company of dogs and cats, living on their skin where they have easy access to their food source (blood) and they can stay hidden and warm, due to the animal’s fur. However, the eggs that they lay on their host can fall off into your carpets, sofas, and beds, where they will hatch. While they can’t usually live on humans, as we don’t have fur for them to cling to, they can bite.

Flea and tick bites are unpleasant for both pets and people: they itch, create marks, can become infected, and can pass on diseases or parasites such as typhus, cat scratch fever, and tapeworms. Summer can see an escalation in flea and tick infestations as your pets are likely to be spending more time outdoors, increasing the opportunities to pick them up, and they breed in larger numbers when it’s warm.

Preventing fleas and ticks

Your absolute best line of defence against an infestation in your home is a preventative flea and tick treatment on your pet. These often come in the form of spot-on treatments or tablets, which you can get from your vet or from pet supply retailers. You should also be careful about allowing other animals in, especially feral cats who won’t have been treated. You can even bring fleas in on second-hand furniture and clothes.

Regularly vacuuming and washing carpets, and washing bedding and cushion covers will also help minimise any rogue eggs or larvae that have found their way in.

Recognising the signs that you have fleas in your home

No pests are 100% preventable so it’s good to know the signs of an infestation so you can begin to treat it before it gets out of hand. The most obvious sign is your pet scratching a lot, potentially making their skin sore, and causing their fur to fall out.  Their gums can also appear pale. You may even notice small bites on your own skin. Fleas are tiny but they are visible to the human eye if you look closely. They will appear as black or white flecks on your animal’s skin, or you may see them on your carpets.

How to get rid of them

If you do find you have a flea infestation, they can be tricky to treat as some measures will kill fleas but not eggs, which will obviously go on to hatch and re-infest. The best strategy, therefore, is to use a number of different treatments and then re-treat several times to ensure that you deal with any remaining eggs or larvae.

Treatments should, ideally, include the following:

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Flea powder
Use this dusting powder on carpets and in cracks and crevices where they may be hiding away. Fleas tend to stay out of sight as much as possible so pay close attention to areas behind furniture and around the edges of rooms

Flea spray
Protector C spray will kill fleas quickly and remain active for around 6 weeks. Spray onto carpets, furniture, pet bedding etc. It’s safe to use around children and pets.

Smoke bombs
Smoke bombs will effectively kill everything in a room and is capable of penetrating into the smallest of spaces, so there’s nowhere to hide

Flea treatment

Having flea can be a very stressful experience for pet so, as previously mentioned keeping up with regular flea treatments and grooming will also help to keep pesky fleas at bay, 

Incidentally, many these treatments will also kill other pests, such as bed bugs which can also be more active in the summer months and often present with similar signs (ie itchy bites on the skin).

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