Fleas are difficult to manage. That is why it is important to prevent a flea infestation.
Tips against fleas
- It is impossible to handle a flea infestation. Control measures is also very necessary.
- Vacuuming regularly and carefully will help prevent infestations. Vacuum especially well in places where your pet often lies.
- Regularly knock out rugs and dog or cat baskets and wash the cover at 60 ° C or hang it in the sun.
- If the fleas have become a plague, treat while your pet and the contaminated places in the house.
Where do fleas come from?
Fleas are found on birds and mammals living in the wild. Pets also suffer from it: cats and dogs, but also rabbits and chickens. How would you know if your pet’s got fleas? By combing the animal every day for a week with a special flea comb. If you find adult fleas or flea excrements, the animal is probably infected. The poops are black-brown dots that turn red-brown on a white tissue.
Flea larvae in the basket
They usually get such a flea infestation outside, where they take flea eggs with them in their fur. Those eggs are not visible to the naked eye. They, like larvae and pupae, mainly lie in the baskets or on the rugs of pets. Dark, quiet places are a favorite with flea larvae. This is often a carpet, but a flea infestation can also develop on wooden or stone floors. It is important to know when fighting a flea infestation. When fighting flea infestations, it is therefore important to break through the life cycle of the flea, and not just to combat the fleas on the animal.
Vacuuming, beating and combing
You may not be able to prevent your pets from bringing fleas, but you can prevent them from becoming a pest:
- Give your pet (in consultation with the vet) preventative anti-flea drops, so that any fleas can no longer reproduce.
- By vacuuming and mopping the floor every day, you clean up eggs and larvae in time. If there are already fleas in the house, replace the vacuum cleaner bag regularly. Wrap the used bag in a sealed plastic bag before throwing it away.
- You also disrupt the development of eggs and larvae if you regularly knock out rugs and baskets and hang in the sun. Washing at 60 ° C will kill the flea larvae.
- Regularly comb your pets with an iron flea comb. If you encounter fleas, put them in a bowl of water with some washing-up liquid. This mixture is deadly to the pest bugs.
Looking for some help preventing and removing ticks in dogs?
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Natural control
In (pet) shops you can buy products based on essential oils and fatty acids. They don’t work. Garlic, brewer’s yeast and herbs also do not help you get rid of the pest.
Do you not have pets in the house, but do you have fleas? Then place a candle in a container of water with washing-up liquid and some salad oil at night. Fleas jump to the light and drown in the water. Make sure that the container of water is large enough that the candle goes out if it falls over. A flat white plate with soapy water and oil can also have this effect: the fleas are attracted to the white color.
Chemical control
Chemical anti-flea agents often have to be used for a long time, because flea infestations are very persistent. All the more important to prevent such a plague. There are different types of flea spray for sale. Never buy something that does not contain the ingredients, and only buy products with an authorization.
Chemicals for animals
Treating the room alone is pointless, go to the vet to also treat your pet against fleas. If you do this systematically, you usually no longer need to treat your home: the fleas will die before they have a chance to nest and reproduce in your carpet. Chemical anti-flea agents that you get from the vet and that should only be used on the animals themselves are veterinary medicines. They disrupt the reproduction of fleas. Usually these agents are in pipettes with which you apply the substance to the neck of your pet. Do not rinse away leftovers, but hand them in – just like unused pipettes – with the small chemical waste . You can dispose of empty pipettes with the residual waste.