Although pet owners are primarily at risk for flea infestations, these biting pests can also be brought into yards via wild animals like raccoons or skunks and then make their way into homes. Unlike tick or mosquito bites , they remain small and usually appear in groups of three or four, or in a straight line. On humans, bites are commonly found around the ankles or legs, as well as the waist, groin, armpits, and in the skin folds of the elbows and knees.
When it comes to pets, fleas can cause serious allergy dermatitis and are capable of transferring tapeworms and inducing anemia. As for humans, flea bites can be quite itchy and painful while excessive scratching can damage the skin further and invite secondary bacterial infection. Although rare, fleas can also transmit the bubonic plague and spread the bacterial disease murine typhus to humans.
Flea bites will usually subside on their own without any treatment. You could also consider using calamine lotion or anaesthetic creams to treat flea bites. At first glance they look like small shiny black dots, they multiply very quickly and in large numbers a female flea can lay 20 to 30 eggs a day [2].
If we live with cats, we will always have to include anti-parasite care and include either flea repellents or treatments for them from time to time, especially if they have permission to go outside your house, if they have a garden where they spend a lot of time, or if we take them out regularly. We also should not forget that fleas can also hitch a hike on our clothes, and end up in your house and on your pet.
Along with all the irritation they cause our pets, can they also affect us? Sadly yes, these disagreeable pests can also harm us. The cat flea Ctenocephalides felis. These parasites are very small, less than 4 millimeters when they reach the adult stage. Their bodies include two very long and strong hind legs that they use to jump times their length [6] and four frontal ones that are somewhat shorter, they have a very small head with a mouth designed to pierce skin and suck blood [1], and a big abdomen where they store the blood they suck.
Eggs are laid by the female on various animals that serve as a host: dogs and cats especially, but also rodents, rabbits, ruminants and humans, although in the latter they do not usually complete their life cycle. The Cat flea Ctenocephalides felis is one of the most common flea species after dog fleas.
These fleas can bite humans, just as they bite cats. However, unlike cats, these fleas do not stay to live on our bodies, that is, they can bite us, attempt to feed on our blood and leave [4], they do not live and breed on us [3]. They are adapted to live on furry hosts, not hairless ones like humans, they have a hard time attaching to humans and are often seen and killed before feeding [5]. The truth is that the symptoms are the same for both cats and humans and they include the following:.
So it makes perfect sense to help your pet and yourself prevent these infestations and to get rid of them as soon as you detect them. As mentioned before, fleas are insects and have a specific life cycle that repeats with small variations in all species within this, the largest arthropod phylum 6 to 10 million insect species [7]. Egg, larva, pupae, adult and the cycle repeats. They start reproducing within 24 hours.
Eggs hatch in one to 12 days depending on the temperature [9], warmer temperatures, faster hatching [8].
White worm-like flea larvae come out of the eggs and within 7 to 14 days it will spin a tiny cocoon and pupates. After a week, more or less, an adult emerges from the pupae and starts its search for food and the cycle repeats [9].
Generally, people who care for cats or have cats at home, also suffer flea bites, so basic prevention includes keeping your pet and the place where it lives clean. Their skin can become swollen, itchy and irritated or display red bumps, hives or a rash. Risk of tapeworm infection Fleas can carry the tapeworm parasite and pose a serious health risk to your pet and your household.
If a flea carrying the Dipylidium caninum tapeworm is ingested by your pet, such as during grooming, it can develop into a tapeworm infestation inside your pet.
Very rarely, if you are petting your pet and accidently ingest an infected flea you could also contract tapeworm. How do I get rid of fleas…?
On myself or my family? Never use pet flea medicine on humans! Medicine for your pets should only be used on your pets as it can make humans very sick. Soothe the itch. The biggest complaint about flea bites is itchiness. To get relief, speak to a health care professional. Avoid scratching.
As hard as it might be, try to avoid scratching the bite. This can open up the scab and take longer for it to heal.
It also increases your risk of infection. On my pets? Prevention is always better than cure — Treating your pet regularly with a flea preventative treatment is one of the most effective ways to prevent a flea infestation. Can People Get Fleas from Cats? Do Home Flea Treatments Work? Flea Diseases. Fleas in Carpets and Rugs. How to Detect Signs of a Flea Infestation. Connect with Us Our customer care team is available for you 24 hours a day. Find a Branch Our local technicians are the pest experts in your area.
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