Fleas, Disease, and Your Home




		What You Should Know About Fleas, Disease, and Your Home Understanding fleas, their life cycle, habitat, weaknesses and strengths can not only help protect against the annoyances of these amazing, resilient record-breaking high jumping pests, but can protect you, your family, and beloved pet from less frequent but greater potential dangers than rashes and flea bites. Read on to understand more about these potential hazards and what you can do to prevent them. Fleas have four stages in their life cycle, egg, pupa, larva, and then adult flea. Larva do not yet drink blood, but instead feed of off feces, hair, skin, and any other organic material available. It is not until they are adult fleas that they can feed on a host for blood. It is at this stage when they can become a health hazard. Adult fleas have a strange chemical saliva that breaks down the skin cells so the flea can feed on the blood of the host. It is at this stage when the diseases pass from flea to host through the blood stream. Since fleas not only inhabit dogs, cats and other pets but humans as well, it is necessary to know about the dangers of flea infestations and what it means to the safety of your family, pet and home. One potential danger of flea infestations is caused by the gram-negative bacterium Yersinia Pestis, which is capable of causing the bubonic plague. This is the same plague responsible for the Black Death (that caused over 75 million European deaths during the middle-ages). Fleas are carriers or vectors of other diseases that are zoonotic or transferable from animals to humans. Some other harmful diseases they can carry include typhus, tapeworms, protozoans, and viruses. Adult fleas are dependent on the host's blood for food for survival and in order to lay their eggs and spread the flea population. Without feeding on blood, the adult fleas are unable to lay viable eggs. One important part of a protection strategy includes using medications for the pet that kill fleas and cause their eggs to be sterile. In addition to the diseases they carry, they can also cause irritation of the skin where they feed. This is also known as Flea Allergy Dermatitis (F.A.D.) and other similar rashes. Removing the flea infestation in conjunction with the use of creams and ointments will help rid F.A.D. from the skin. Because of all of the potential hazards caused by flea bites, it is essential that you act quickly and consistently, in conjunction with your local veterinarian to eradicate flea infestations when found: prevention being the best measure. Unfortunately, fleas are hard to kill because of the different habitats and sensitivities during the 4 stages of the life cycle, and hardy nature of the bug. It can take several months to kill all the eggs, larva, pupa and adult fleas with a thorough plan that involves treating both the pet and the pet's environment with insecticides and thorough, consistent cleaning. A successful plan requires constant cycles of medication, shampoos, powders, or other insecticides as well as, ensuring to clean any part of the pet's environment that may be contaminated with the fleas such as clothes and blankets. This article is for informational purposes only, and a balanced plan should always be done in conjunction with the expert guidance of your local veterinarian. More information about fleas and general pet health, happiness and pet care can be found at http://www.animalloversforum.com, a growing pet forum that is family safe. Discussions and other professional articles from pet enthusiasts, veterinarians, and other pet lovers around the world can be found there, and site memberships are free.

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