Let's bark about fleas. Yes, you heard me - fleas!
I really hate those little blood sucking pests.
They are so hard to get rid of once they move in. I don't ever want to live in an infested house again. Since that itchy time, I have learned a little bit more about fleas.
Fact #1 Did you know that Cat Fleas are responsible for almost all of the cat and dog flea infestations in North America? They are. Infestations from Dog Fleas are rare in North America. However, Dog Flea infestations have been reported in Europe. I never realized this before. I'd always heard about dogs having fleas, so assumed they were dog fleas. Now I know better. I think we hear more about dogs with fleas because even indoor dogs go outside to potty. Indoor pet cats stay inside, so they have less opportunity to pick up some cat fleas. I think it is funny that more dogs probably have cat fleas than cats have cat fleas. BOL!
Fact #1 Did you know that Cat Fleas are responsible for almost all of the cat and dog flea infestations in North America? They are. Infestations from Dog Fleas are rare in North America. However, Dog Flea infestations have been reported in Europe. I never realized this before. I'd always heard about dogs having fleas, so assumed they were dog fleas. Now I know better. I think we hear more about dogs with fleas because even indoor dogs go outside to potty. Indoor pet cats stay inside, so they have less opportunity to pick up some cat fleas. I think it is funny that more dogs probably have cat fleas than cats have cat fleas. BOL!
Fact #2 Female fleas don't lay eggs until after their
first blood meal. Unfortunately, once the female flea has eaten some of
our blood, she can lay thousands of eggs. All of those eggs can hatch
into more bloodsucking pests. No wonder it is so hard to get rid of
fleas once they have thoroughly infested your yard and house. It can take months of repeated treatments to finally kill all of the fleas, larvae, and eggs. You need to kill all of them to truly be flea-free.
Fact #3 Sand fleas are not really fleas, they are crustaceans. Sand fleas don't bite humans. Mom remembers digging Sand Fleas out of the sand as a kid. I'm not sure why they are called Sand Fleas. Maybe is because of their shape, or that they are smaller than other crustaceans? Mom was confused when she started hearing people talk about sand flea insect bites. When people refer to "sand flea" bites, they are actually talking about bites from a variety of insects including cat fleas, sand flies, midges, no-see-ums, etc. Mom and I still aren't sure why people call the bites sand flea bites since they are from insects, not from the crustaceans.
Fact #3 Sand fleas are not really fleas, they are crustaceans. Sand fleas don't bite humans. Mom remembers digging Sand Fleas out of the sand as a kid. I'm not sure why they are called Sand Fleas. Maybe is because of their shape, or that they are smaller than other crustaceans? Mom was confused when she started hearing people talk about sand flea insect bites. When people refer to "sand flea" bites, they are actually talking about bites from a variety of insects including cat fleas, sand flies, midges, no-see-ums, etc. Mom and I still aren't sure why people call the bites sand flea bites since they are from insects, not from the crustaceans.
I am so glad that I use Seresto from Bayer to avoid pesky cat flea infestations. I don't think I have a problem with Sand Fleas though. BOL!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Bayer / Seresto and the Pet Blogger Network. I
am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Seresto
product, but Pepper's Paws only shares information we feel is
relevant to our readers. Bayer / Seresto is not responsible for the
content of this article.
we have been really lucky and never had a problem with fleas but that doesn't stop Mom from doing everything possible to make sure we don't
ReplyDeleteThose FLEAS are nasty. I'm so glad that you are free of fleas and Seresto is helping you. Woofs to no Fleas, Pepper :-)
ReplyDelete