Sometimes, good things come in small packages. For example, the box containing a diamond solitaire may only be small, but the ring inside is priceless to its recipient. You may open an envelope and be surprised by an unexpected refund check from a class-action lawsuit. However, the flipside may also be true; bad things sometimes come in small packages. One example of a troublesome thing in a small container is fleas.
If you have fleas in your house, you understand how these tiny insects can cause frustration and concern. You can't relax in your easy chair because you always feel itchy. You have trouble sleeping at night because of fleas biting you while you lay in bed. When fleas invade your home, you need pest control in Charlotte from Go-Forth Pest Control.
Go-Forth Pest Control has removed pests from North Carolina homes since 1959. Our commitment to quality service, training, and family values has earned us numerous awards and consistent five-star Google ratings. The first and second-generation owners are in the North Carolina Pest Management Association Hall of Fame. Our technicians have won the NC Statewide Technician of the Year numerous times since 2009. Our sixty years of pest control experience have given us the tools, experience, and knowledge to tackle flea problems.
We will provide the information you need to end the flea invasion in your home so you don't have to be kept awake at night by fleas jumping on your body and feasting at your expense. So, please keep reading to learn more.
What Are Fleas?
Because bed bugs, ticks, and various forms of lice are bugs that look like fleas, we need to define these insidious creatures. Fleas are insects with 1/12 to 1/6-inch dark brown or reddish-brown flat-shaped bodies. Like all insects, fleas have six legs, but unlike most insects, their back hind legs are longer, which enables them to jump almost eight inches vertically. Furthermore, a flea's body has backward-facing bristles, which allow it to travel quickly through fur, hair, and feathers. Although some insects have stingers and wings, fleas have neither.
Many insects feed on nectar, juices, rotting plants, and organic matter, but fleas are ectoparasitic insects that feed exclusively on warm-blooded animals and humans. (Unlike parasites inside the body, fleas live on the outside, thus the term ectoparasites.)
A flea jumps when it senses body heat, vibrations, movement, or carbon dioxide (CO2). If it lands on an animal or human, it anchors itself with powerful claws on the ends of its six legs. Once it locks on to its target, the flea uses two mouthpart stylets to pierce the skin while a third stylet pierces a capillary to draw blood. The flea injects an anticoagulant in its saliva to facilitate blood flow. Male fleas feed for about 11 minutes; female fleas consume blood for 25 minutes.
After each blood meal, fertilized female fleas produce up to 50 eggs daily. Over the next 100 days, about the lifetime of an adult flea, a single fertilized flea with access to a host delivers about 2,000 offspring. After two days to two weeks, the eggs hatch, and the emerging legless, white larvae live off flea excrement ("flee dirt"), a combination of dried blood and feces. After five to twenty days, the larvae spin cocoons, where they will develop into adults. Fleas in the pupal stage can stay cocooned through colder weather or when no hosts are present for several weeks. When the cocooned flea senses a nearby host, it emerges from its cocoon and jumps onto the host for its first blood meal.
Because flea and tick season in North Carolina is year-round due to our warm weather, you need flea control from Go-Forth Pest Control. We will stop these insects from disrupting your sleep and enjoyment in your Charlotte home.
Fleas In The Home Are A Health Hazard
Because fleas in Charlotteneed blood to survive, they consume blood from any nearby warm-blooded animal. When a flea draws blood from an animal or human infected with a disease, the pathogens from the host enter the flea's body and gravitate to its saliva glands. When the flea finds a new host and mixes its diseased saliva with its blood, it introduces the disease-causing organisms into its new victim's body.
Another way fleas spread diseases is through their feces (also called "flea dirt"). Fleas consume more blood than they need, so they excrete dried blood and waste as they feast on their victim. If the flea has ingested infected blood, its fecal matter will have pathogens. When a flea bites, the victim's body registers the flea's saliva as an allergen and reacts by dispatching histamines, which cause itching. When the host scratches the wound, they expose underlying tissue to nearby flea feces and introduce pathogens into the victim's bloodstream. Another way fleas transmit disease is through airborne fecal matter or when individuals have flea dirt on their hands and rub their eyes.
Murine typhus, tularemia, and bartonellosis are bacterial diseases spread by fleas. Cat and oriental rat fleas spread murine typhus, which may or may not cause symptoms. Some people experience flu-like symptoms several days after a murine typhus infection; antibiotics are generally effective against this illness. Tularemia causes ulcers where the bacterium enters the body. Fever accompanies this disease, and the ulcers clear up with medications; however, the most dangerous symptoms occur when the pathogens enter the lungs by inhaling flea dirt and causing respiratory distress. Bartonellosis can cause swelling of the glands, fever, and infections of body organs (rare). In most cases, your body will fight off this disease, but medical intervention is occasionally necessary.
Beyond bacterial infections, fleas are vectors for dipylidium, a tapeworm of cats and dogs. Flea tapeworms enter animals when they swallow an infected flea during self-grooming. Children are more prone to ingesting an infected flea than adults. Tapeworms can cause excessive weight loss and anemia in pets. Fortunately, medications dissolve the tapeworms inside the intestines.
Flea control in Charlotte from Go-Forth Pest Control protects your family from the health hazards caused by fleas.
Proactive And Practical Flea Prevention Tips
Although fleas are around our homes, they do not have to be in our houses. Even if you have pets, you do not have to resign to thinking that you have to live with fleas in your Charlotte house.
These suggestions are ways you can provide flea control for your Charlotte home:
- Deter rodents and wildlife from your property
- Mow the grass short
- Remove vegetation overgrowth in the yard
- Seal foundation cracks with a silicone-based caulk
- Keep dogs on a leash when outside
- Bath and groom pets regularly
- Use veterinarian-approved flea treatments as directed
- Vacuum the house regularly
- Suction out corners and cracks between the baseboard, walls, and flooring
- Wash pet bedding regularly
The first item on our list needs some explanation, so let us explain.
Rats and mice forage in unsanitary flea-infested areas. When the fleas detect the warm-blooded mammals, they jump onto the rodents and use them for transportation and as hosts. Because rodents often carry disease, the fleas become infected. If your property is conducive to rodents because of debris, exposed trash, poor drainage, etc., the animals will invade your location. Eventually, due to drastic weather changes and entry points, rodents will enter your home and bring the hitchhiking fleas with them.
In summary, the best way to deter a future flea infestation after we stop the current problem is to maintain a clean, dry environment and monitor your pets. Following these tips, combined with flea prevention from Go-Forth Pest Control, will ensure you don't have to fight fleas in your Charlotte house.
Why Professional Pest Control Is Key To Total Flea Control
When fleas invade your Charlotte house, you need flea removal service from Go-Forth Pest Control. We will dispatch a trained, certified technician to your home to inspect the premises to determine if fleas are causing the bites on your body. Our experienced technician will determine entry points, sources of the infestation, and conducive environments.
Using the data we collect during our investigation, we will create a treatment plan to eradicate the flea infestation from your Charlotte home. We use the latest treatment products and methods to eliminate the current flea problem inside your house.
Although we provide a one-time treatment option, the best way to prevent a future infestation is to enroll in one of our ongoing pest control plans. The My Elite plan provides advanced pest control by creating a barrier around your house to deter fleas and other pests, including rodents. Our My Elite Plus plan offers additional flea protection by treating the lawn surrounding your home.
When you experience a flea infestation, trust your local, family-owned, award-winning company with over six decades of pest control success. Protect the health of your family members and pets by partnering with Go-Forth Pest Control. Contact us today to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Charlotte and to get a free quote.
