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Fleas and Ticks: What They Are And What To Do About Them

Understanding Dog Fleas: How Fleas Breed & Affect Your Dogs Health

Understanding Dog Fleas: How Fleas Breed & Affect Your Dog's Health
Author: Moses Wright
Fleas belong to the insect order Siphonaptera. They are common pests and may attack many mammals, including man. They can be a year round problem because they infest not only pets but also the home of the owner. Because of this, treatment of the pet alone may only temporarily solve a flea infestation.

Although many species of fleas feed primarily on one type of animal, the common cat and dog flea will readily take blood from a variety of animals, including man. Flea infestations of pets and their homes will most likely involve the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis and occasionally the dog flea, C. canis.

Fleas are small (2 to 4 mm in length), brownish to black insects which are characteristically flattened from side to side. Adults are wingless and capable of jumping relatively long distances. Adults feed exclusively on blood with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. When not actively feeding, adult fleas often hide in locations frequented by the host animal such as your dog bedding, sofas, or carpeted areas.

The common cat and dog fleas breed throughout the year. After feeding and mating, the female deposits her eggs, usually on the host. Several eggs are laid daily and up to several hundred over a lifetime. Eggs normally fall off the host into bedding material or similar areas and hatch within two weeks.

Flea eggs accumulate in areas where the host spends most of its time. In addition, adult fleas defecate small pellets of digested blood which also drop off into the environment. A flea comb will often gather this fecal matter at the base of the tines providing a good sign of flea infestation. The combination of white flea eggs and black dried blood specks may appear as a sprinkling of salt and pepper where an infested animal has slept.

Fleas undergo complete metamorphosis, that is, they pass through four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Immature fleas do not resemble adults at all.

Flea larvae are tiny, light colored, and, worm-like, without legs. They feed primarily on various debris and organic material including the droppings of the adults which contains digested blood. Flea larvae occur indoors and outdoors, wherever the eggs have fallen off the host. In houses, flea larvae live in carpeting, furniture, animal bedding and other protected areas with high humidity. Flea larvae also live outdoors in areas where animals spend time such as under porches in and around dog houses, etc.

Because flea larvae depend on the adult's fecal pellets of dried blood as a food source, they cannot live in lawns or other outdoor areas unless the pet visits those areas enough to provide this food.

Depending on the species of flea and environmental conditions the larvae will pupate in one week to several months. The pupa is contained within a loose silken cocoon which is often covered by bits of debris. Under average conditions, the life cycle of the flea normally requires between 30 and 75 days but may take much longer. Adult fleas inside the cocoon, called pre-emerged fleas, will stay in that condition for weeks to months if no external cues from a host is available.

However, when disturbed by the presence of a host such as vibrations or carbon dioxide from exhaled breath, the fleas emerge simultaneously and attack the host. This is why it is possible to return to a house or apartment that has been empty for months and find it full of fleas.

When the normal host is available, fleas may feed several times a day but they are capable of surviving extended periods of starvation. In household situations, the normal host is a cat or dog. However, if the normal host is removed, starved fleas will readily seek other sources of blood and more often than not, man is the alternate host. In severe infestations, fleas will attack humans even though the normal host is present.

Certain species of fleas have been known to transmit such diseases as bubonic plague and murine typhus. These have never been a major problem. The major problems with fleas is as a nuisance pest of pets. The irritation and itching from flea bites results in scratching and potential secondary infection. Fleas may also transmit the double-pored dog tapeworm to dogs and cats.

Finally, persistent attacks from fleas can cause severe allergic responses in some people and pets. Once sensitized, a single flea bite may produce symptoms including hair loss, usually around the base of the tail, dermatitis, and intense itching. In worse cases, puppies and young kittens can also died from serious fleas infestations.

With proper flea management knowledge, flea problems will not be a big issue and can be battle and win over easily.

Moses Chia is the webmaster of DogsObedienceTraining. He provides more helpful information on dog obedience training, dog training book reviews and dog illness symptoms interpretation that you can learn in the comfort of your home on his website.

Article Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_45629_54.html
Ridding Your House of Fleas

Ridding Your House of Fleas

By Steve Allison

Chances are if you have pets you have had to deal with the almost inevitable flea infestation. All pet owners know that once a flea infestation has gripped your living space it can be the start of a long battle.

In order to properly rid you home and pets of fleas you will treat the infestation as a whole. The fleas do not only live on your pet. Some research indicated that fleas spend less than 15% of their time on you pet. The rest of the time they are comfortably tucked away in a variety of warm places. Your carpet, your couches and even in your garden.

Summer and warmer weather will also bring out these evil little critters. This is because the warmth speeds up their life cycles. Depending on where you live you could face a flea problem all year around.

RECOGNIZING INFESTATION

Chances are you will know all about a budding flea problem. Fleas leave itchy bites on the ankles and beyond and make life for everyone in the area a misery. Fleas also leave telltale black or dark brown droppings.

One way to gauge the severity of the infestation is to comb your dogs coat over a white paper. The number of dark crumb-like bits that fall onto the paper will indicate the seriousness of your infestation.

If the fleas are leaving a lot of bites on the people in your home you will know the infestation is bad. Calamine lotion will provide some relief if the itching is bad. You can also experiment with one of the many natural repellents. Various substances rubbed on ankles or exposed skin will help keep the fleas from biting the humans; so you can concentrate on killing all the fleas.

THE DANGERS OF CHEMICALS

Many experts agree that the current chemical warfare on fleas is doing little to lesson the problem. Not only are these chemical treatments ineffective; they are also dangerous.

The dangers of these chemicals being ingested by dogs or even your children are high.

And there’s the fear that repeated, prolonged use of these chemicals is creating a new "super flea'. Eventually fleas will become completely resistant to our treatments. This evolution of fleas will create a need for stronger and stronger chemicals. Who knows what kinds of super chemicals we'll need 50 years from now.

Those in favor of natural flea remedies claim that natural treatments work better than the chemical ones. In order to treat the problem effectively you will need to adopt a holistic action plan.

Steve Allison is a third generation of professional dog breeders along with his brother Gary. It all started with his grandparents in 1970 with the Boston Terriers and has expanded to Maltese, Yorkshire Terriers, Pugs, Shih Tzu’s and Pomeranians. He is also actively involved with dog rescue and has a website that showcases the puppies they occasionally has for sale at All My Puppies Online Steve is also the co-author of two consumer guides, Carpet Secrets and Moving Secrets Guide

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Allison
http://EzineArticles.com/?Ridding-Your-House-of-Fleas&id=186211

Treating Your Pet for Fleas and Ticks

Treating Your Pet for Fleas and Ticks

Author: Help Your Pets

Before you can learn to take care of fleas and, you have to know where the pet picked them up and the lifestyle of both insects. Fleas are typically related to warm, humid, and wet climates, such as ponds, lakes, mud puddles, and grassy, wooded areas. For ticks you are going to find a warm, humid or dry climate with a lot of woods is the best place for any dog or cat to come home with a traveling friend. Ticks generally live in trees and plants, which means when a dog or cat jumps into the plant, the tick jumps ship in favor of a live host.

How can you tell if your pet is afflicted? First, a dog or cat with fleas is going to be scratching a certain area more frequently. It could be the ear, back of the neck, leg, or their back. You may not notice the presence of fleas or ticks until you yourself are bitten and develop tiny red welts that will itch. To locate ticks on your pet, an in-depth look is required. Most ticks will hide near the ears, back of the neck or back—they tend to go for soft skin areas. They will get under the fur and then bury their heads under the skin. To find these critters, you have to move aside the hair and slowly comb through. Fleas can usually be noticed while the pet is scratching, as the fleas will jump to a different area of their host.

Fleas and ticks develop rather quickly from larvae to adults. They will sprout young on a pet and therefore can be very dangerous. Ticks can actually pass on heartworms in the bloodstream that they are carrying around as well as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

If you live in an area prevalent for the insects, you should administer a medicated treatment every month. The medication is topical, meaning it is applied to the skin rather than ingested. There are also flea and tick collars that are moderately helpful in keeping the ticks and fleas away. Once a dog or cat has been infected with fleas you will need to give them a bath using a flea/tick shampoo or powder. Read the label to determine if it is intended for your animal (cat, dog, etc.) and whether there is an age limit for your pet, as some cannot be used on pets younger than 3 months. This bath should be done outside if possible to avoid contamination of the home. With ticks, you will find prevention is the best, but if a pet does have a tick, there are a few methods of removal. Alcohol, vinegar, or other acidic solutions will burn the tick and the head will come loose from the skin. At this point you can use tweezers or a similar instrument to completely remove the tick.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/treating-your-pet-for-fleas-and-ticks-769193.html

About the Author:

We at helpyourpets.com are very devoted to the care of our pets, and we hope that our articles encourage you to do the same!

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TIP FOR REMOVING TICKS:

A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.
Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's wife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

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