Flea Bites on Humans With Pictures

The red points and irritation which is accompanied with a red aureole is a result of flea bites on people.

(To identify the infection you can find detailed flea bites on humans pictures in the internet.) Their bites produce discomfort because of the intense itch. Mostly the flea bites can be found on the bottom of your legs, on your ankles and on your feet. These insects and parasites frequently get into the houses and breed there because of the pets, which bring them on their hair from the outside. After the fleas got into the positive environment of habitation (your house), they start to breed at once and find the source of food which is the pets and the humans. The flea’s saliva can provoke the allergic reactionsas it contains some ferments and anticoagulants, and it could cause the scab, hair loss or strong tumor to the pets and humans. In the more difficult cases the injured persons suffer from skin swelling and open wounds.

Before you started any actions on elimination the fleas on your pet, you should consult the veterinarian for getting the qualified help in choosing the shampoo for pets, spray or any other insecticidal mean. The cold water removes the inflammation, while the warm or hot water intensifies the itching effect. Fresh aloe juice can assuage the skin, and the products rich in fatty acids, such as linseed, have an anti-inflammatory action.

If these purposeful actions don’t give you a desirable result, it would be rational to take your pet to the veterinary clinic for the proper examination and detection of further ways of curing. To remove a tumor and an itch on your pet you can use steroid cream or hydrocortisone, which you can get under the doctor’s prescription.

It’s very important to realize that flea bites on people can be a very frequent phenomenon. Usually they appear on human’s body in the shape of red points, which later can form the crust on the skin. Besides, you should remember that the fleas are strong enough to bite through the thick skin layer and to get to the blood cells, that’s why the sting area can also start to bleed. In later stage the red marks can itch hard and become more visible. All these signs are considered to be the most usual symptoms of flea stings on humans, and it is very important for you to start curing from them as soon as possible. Since the fleas bite as a rule in the certain area more than one time, you have all chances to notice several bites in that area. The fleas tend to bite in some places at once when they are moving across the body.

If you were bitten by the fleas, there some ways how to cure the big bites by yourself: wash the bitten area with some cleaning means or antiseptic soap, then make a compress with the ice and try not to scratch the infected area. To reduce scratching you can use some calamine lotion or antihistamines, which can be very effective. In case the wounds produce some pus, you should immediately visit a doctor.

The curing of big bites is just a little component of other infection symptoms. The main thing you should pay your attention to is the reason but not the consequences. The extermination methods should be planed and taken in the complex with curing and treating the whole infected area. If you found the fleas in your house the best way to get rid of them is to address in the special company which fights with the fleas, where you can be consulted and in case of emergency you can order extermination measures.

As the fleas refer to parasites which are fed with blood, they can transfer various kinds of the diseases connected with blood. Such kinds of diseases can cause long-term consequences, including skin irritation, tumor or the itching in the whole body. These signs concern animals as well as people. In some cases this condition can’t be even cured

Treatment of Flea Bites on Humans

Flea bites as most of us are aware, are caused by a category of tiny, wingless, bug like insects which are parasitic by their very origin and feeds on the blood of warm blooded animals. Though their occurrence is mostly diagnosed in the body of their hosts, yet they can also be found in the damp and unclean corners of the house, since these insects are known to survive for days without foods continuing to hibernate in their cocoons mostly in the pupae stage.

Modes of Flea Infestations

The spread of fleas is a very unique mechanism since irrespective of their tiny body size and absence of wings; these beasts are capable of jumping long distances and great heights and thus very conveniently land themselves in the body of new targets from the body of their existing hosts. Further, flea infestations are most commonly caused as a result of irregular cleanliness habits with respect to pet animals such as not offering them a shower after their regular stroll or playtime with the neighbor’s pets, however in very irregular circumstances can also be caused from unkempt lawns, dirty carpets or even on moving into new places.

Thus although animals are the most common targets of flea bites; human beings by reasons of their close association with them are not left far behind from being exposed to flea bites and suffering from the consequences thereof.

How to identify Flea Bites on Humans?

Flea bites like most other insect bites are characterized by red bumps or swell over the infected body parts mostly the lower legs, arms and the mid section of the body, however unlike other bites they always appear in clusters and are hot to touch and extremely painful. Besides scratching them can cause serious outspread of the lumps and even allergic reactions accompanied by nausea, dizziness, mild fever etc.

Treatment of Flea Bites on Humans

The treatment of flea bites on humans is manifold.

The most common treatment includes treating the infected area with ice or cold water to soothe the burning sensation and to avoid scratching the area at all costs. The rationale being that flea bites are normally surrounded by their bacterial excretion, thus scratching would only cause a bacterial interference in an already nasty allergic reaction scenario. The ice water treatment not only mitigates the itch, but also relaxes the tissues around, thus causing slow melting down of the bumps by washing away the flea saliva that might be the main reason behind the infection.
Another usual error free method can include treating the infected area with anti-bacterial, antihistamines and anti-septic lotions which can be easily obtained from the local chemist. These lotions will soothe the burning and itchy sensation and would consequently flat out the boils.
A more relaxing method could be treating oneself to an oatmeal bath which would help soothening the bites. The same effect can also be achieved by gently scrubbing the affected area with vinegar, calamine lotion or tea-tree oil. However be very careful as to not irritate the infected area further.

Although the above-mentioned are tested and risk free methods of dealing with flea bites on humans, any bites that is characterized with an allergic outbreak or more detailed symptoms involving swelling of random body parts or vomiting tendencies must be immediately diagnosed and treated.

The natural approach to flea control

Fleas! Everyone hates these blood-sucking parasites. Our war against fleas is epic and ongoing, but each of us must fight our own individual battles. At Only Natural Pet Store, we want to give you the best weapons: only what works, and only what is safe for you, your pets, and the environment.

“There are three fronts in every battle against fleas: the pet(s), the home, and the outdoor environment. But before we sound the battle cry, we need to know our enemy. “

1. Why the Flea is Such a Fierce Enemy

Fleas have a number of strategic advantages in this war:

1. Masters of Maneuvers – Fleas are tiny, hard-shelled insects with incredible muscle power in their hind legs; they can jump 4-5 feet horizontally (or nearly a foot straight up). They’re fast. They’re adaptable. And they’re hard to kill.
2. Stormtrooper Mentality – Fleas come with three basic marching orders, or biological imperatives: to survive, to eat, and to reproduce. They are entirely devoted to these orders. And they are very, very good at all of them. They are especially good at reproducing; an adult female lays about 20 eggs at a time. In her lifetime (depending on conditions, up to 1-1/2 years), she may produce hundreds, even thousands of eggs.
3. Effective Recruitment – The female flea typically lays her tiny white eggs in dark, damp places. If she lays any eggs on your pet, they will fall off…but they could travel all around the house or yard first. Within their hiding places, the eggs will hatch in about a week (although they can delay hatching until conditions are ideal) into larvae. The larvae then pupate by spinning cocoons, in which they can finish their development in a week, but they can survive in their cocoons for up to 6 months.
4. Subterfuge Specialists – For every single adult flea you see, there are about 10 cocoons, 35 larvae and 50 eggs hiding in carpets, pet beds, cracks, corners, and furniture.
5. Weapons of Mass Annoyance – Flea bites are itchy because, when fleas bite to feed, they inject blood thinning compounds to prevent clotting during dinner. Not only do these anti-clotting proteins cause itching, but they can also cause the immune system to mount an allergic reaction. Flea-allergic dermatitis is one of the most common skin complaints in pets. For an allergic animal, just one flea bite can cause a massive and prolonged reaction. Fleas can also transmit diseases such as bubonic plague, typhus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as tapeworms.
6. Efficient Defenses – Most chemicals, including bombs and sprays, kill only adult fleas or adults and larvae. That leaves thousands of tough little eggs and cocoons just waiting for the proper conditions, when they’ll renew their assault once more. Fleas are also well defended against famine conditions—one blood meal can keep an adult flea alive up to two months.

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“Fleas come with three basic marching orders, or biological imperatives: to survive, to eat, and to reproduce.”

2. Natural Defensive Strategies for Pets

Inner Defenses

Like other parasites, fleas target less healthy hosts, as well as puppies and kittens with undeveloped immune systems. Therefore, the first defense for our pets is to optimize their health and immunity.

If you’ve read any of the other articles on our site, you’ve heard this before: Diet is the foundation of health. After years of experience and research, we have come to believe that the best diet for most dogs and cats is a biologically appropriate raw food (“BARF”) diet. However, not everyone is comfortable with or can manage to feed a raw diet; but it is important to feed the very best diet you can. This means top quality commercial pet foods that contain NO by-products, unnamed meat meals or bone meal, chemical preservatives, or other artificial additives. Meat should be the primary protein. Dogs can be fed a mix of canned and dry foods, but cats need moisture in their diets, and should be fed mostly or only canned foods, or reconstituted dehydrated or freeze-dried foods. Avoid carbohydrates, especially corn and wheat, as much as possible for cats.

Garlic and B-vitamins seem to make blood less attractive to fleas, so many guardians supplement with garlic and brewers yeast during flea season. Sensitive animals can develop an allergy to brewer’s yeast, so monitor your pet to guard against worsening itchiness (pruritis).

“The first defense for our pets is to optimize their health and immunity. Experience and research shows that the best diet for most dogs and cats is a biologically appropriate raw food (“BARF”) diet.”

Outer Defenses

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The ultimate weapon in the battle with fleas is the Flea Comb. It is the best method to discover whether fleas are present. Comb through your pet’s fur and gather a bit of hair and dirt. Then put this between two damp white paper towels and press them together – if the “dirt” creates rusty reddish spots on the paper towel, then a flea has been there (the dirt is actually flea feces). If you keep combing (especially around the tummy and tail), you will likely trap some of them in the comb. Drown them in SOAPY water – fleas have been known to jump out of plain water. Daily flea combing may sound tedious, but it is very helpful while you are working on your companion’s health and taking environmental action.

Many topical sprays and shampoos claim to repel or kill fleas. However, many of them contain chemicals and pesticides with serious toxic potential. Cats are particularly susceptible to such products, because they are constantly grooming themselves and ingesting whatever is on their fur. Even sprays or chemicals from the dog can transfer to furniture or rugs, and from there to the cat. So, be extremely cautious with chemicals.

“Many topical sprays and shampoos claim to repel or kill fleas. However, many of them contain chemicals and pesticides with serious toxic potential.”

Safe flea-repellents for dogs

We recommend essential oil-based, non-chemical products to help keep fleas away from your dog. Spray and shampoo which contain essential oils not only help repel fleas, they can also help soothe and heal irritated skin. Herbal Defense Oil Blend is another good repellent for use on dogs. You can put a drop on the collar, and dilute it into a spray to mist your dog. Combining a little essential oil repellent spray with your flea combing is a great way to both spread the essential oils throughout the coat and give you extra help with catching the fleas. Pay particular attention to the base of the tail, and under the legs and belly on dogs. When using any strong-smelling product, keep in mind that your dog or cat has a much stronger sense of smell than you do, so don’t overdo it.

Geraniol is an extremely effective flea repellant derived from geranium flowers. Geraniums have long been planted around homes and in window boxes to keep pests like fleas and mosquitoes away. Going forward with this idea, scientists were able to extract geraniol, an oil that is 400% more effective than citronella at repelling fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Squeeze-On is an effective, safe and long lasting option for your dog.

Safe flea repellent for cats

Neem products are also good for cats; comb in especially around the neck, chest, and belly. Or, spray a small amount of Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Spray onto a cloth and wipe it on lightly. Follow all directions carefully for best results. Never use full-strength essential oils directly on cats (spray products are already diluted to safe levels). Geraniol is one of the few oils that is safe for use with cats. Geraniol’s repelling power is proven to be effective for fleas, ticks and mosquitoes and unlike other herbal spot-ons, it feartures a sweet, enjoyable smell. Only Natural Pet Herbal Defense Squeeze-On for Cats is a great, long lasting flea repellant option for your cat.

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For killing fleas once they are on your pet,

we recommend natural flea powders. Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy is a powder made from calcium carbonate, geraniol and peppermint oil that is safe for use on dogs and cats as well as around the home. It kills fleas in all life stages by dehydrating them, a method that is not only non-toxic to pets, humans and the environment, also a method that fleas cannot develop an immunity to, as they do with all other pesticides over time. It is a very fine powder and a little goes a long way. Suggested use is approximately 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs. of body weight. Work it in well with your fingers, or use a flea comb to distribute it. It needs to be on the skin for it to affect the fleas.

Why not use flea collars?

Most flea collars are treated with chemical pesticides that you do NOT want your pet wearing around their neck all the time! There are some natural flea collars, like Only Natural Pet EasyDefense Flea & Tick Tag, available that will help in environments where fleas are not severe, or perhaps on an indoor cat, but you generally don’t want to rely on them as your sole line of defense if you live an area with a large flea population.

Flea Tags – Definitely worth a try!

There are some amazing new products that use tags that hang from your pet’s collar and that repel fleas based on energy fields. It sounds very “out there”, but they work really well for many animals and are far and away the easiest way to keep fleas off your pet. It is definitely worth trying a flea tag, because they work for most pets, and some for as long as two years!

What about “spot-on” flea products?

Chemical spot-on flea products contain powerful and potentially dangerous pesticides, and should be considered a last resort for animals with severe flea allergies. An excellent review of these products was featured in the Whole Dog Journal, “Are ‘Spot-On’ Flea Killers Safe?” in the February 2002 issue; despite its age, the article remains relevant. “All pesticides pose some degree of health risk to humans and animals. Despite advertising claims to the contrary, both over-the-counter and veterinarian-prescribed flea-killing topical treatments are pesticides that enter our companions’ internal organs (livers, kidneys), move into their intestinal tracts, and are eventually eliminated in their feces and urine.”

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“The chemicals used in chemical spot-on flea products will readily transfer to human skin when the animal is handled. This can be particularly dangerous to children.”

Chemical spot-ons can induce severe adverse reactions, including excessive salivation, skin rashes, tremors, hyperactivity, stiffened limbs, seizures, and death. Consider that to be deemed safe for use on our companions, these products only need be tested for 3-, 13- or 52-week intervals. Higher doses are used to compensate for the shorter testing periods. NO STUDIES have been done on the LONG TERM effects of applying these pesticides to animals repeatedly over long periods. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received so many adverse event reports (more than 44,000 in 2008 alone) that they have opened an investigation into the safety of all registered spot-on products. Illness and death in dogs and cats were reported for every one of them. The EPA is currently reviewing labels and other data and will be issuing restrictions and requirements shortly.

3. Defending the Home Environment

Remember that most of the flea population lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet. Treating the environment is essential if you want to win this war. However, flea “bombs” and other products do not kill all life stages of the flea, and are generally made with chemical pesticides, which are NOT something you want to spread over every nook and cranny of your house.

“Remember that most of the flea population lives and develops in your house and yard, not on your pet.”

Carpets, Flooring, Bedding, and Furniture

Vacuuming and washing hard-surfaced floors often – daily during the height of flea season – is the least toxic way to control fleas. This will remove most of the adults, and some eggs and larvae. Keep in mind the larvae don’t like light, so vacuum under furniture and around baseboards, anywhere near your pet’s favorite places to hang out. Remember to either vacuum some Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy or an herbal flea powder into the vacuum bag to kill any fleas in the bag, or immediately remove the bag and discard it in a sealed plastic bag after use. Otherwise, they will just jump out of the bag and back into your home.

Vacuuming alone can’t control severe infestations, and not everyone has the time to clean all the floors daily. That’s when we recommend using one or more of the natural “powders” available for ridding your home of fleas. The least toxic products are diatomaceous earth and boric acid products, which both work by dessicating (drying out) the fleas, larvae, pupae, and eggs, which kills them.

Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy can be used on carpeting, on pet bedding, on furniture and on hard floors (and on your pets – see above). It is a very fine powder, so it gets into cracks and crevices on hardwood, tile, and linoleum floors easily. You can work it in with a broom or carpet rake so it creates less dust when walked on. It acts more quickly than boric acid products, and a difference in the flea population can be noticeable in 24–48 hours. Calcium carbonate, however, does not last as long as the boric acid products. Monthly applications are recommended in areas with heavy flea populations, especially during the height of flea season.

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Boric acid products, such as Fleabusters and Fleago, work in a similar fashion. When applied correctly, they offer protection for up to a year or more, as they remain deep in the carpet and furniture fibers. Fleabusters may also be used on hard floors, as the powder is fine enough to reach into cracks and crevices well. All visible powder must be worked into the carpet, floor or furniture well with a broom or carpet rake, and any remaining visible powder should be vacuumed up. Boric acid kills flea larvae, but is not as effective at killing the adults, so visible results may take 2-6 weeks, as the adult population dies off. During the initial weeks after application, it is helpful to vacuum frequently to remove adult fleas. Boric acid products are more toxic than diatomaceous earth products as well, so you should not use them directly on dogs or cats, or in areas where small children play.

With all flea powder products, follow package directions carefully. Natural flea control powders are drying agents, and their dust can irritate nasal passages and lungs if inhaled directly. Avoid overzealous shaking of the container while spreading the powder onto the floor so you don’t create clouds of dust. If you have any questions about the application process with any of our products, please call or email and we will be happy to help.

Bedding

Pet beds are a favorite flea hang-out. Wash your pet’s bedding in hot, soapy water at least weekly. You can even add some flea repellent essential oils to the water for extra flea-zapping power. Sprinkle a little Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy onto DRY bedding and work it in to help kill the little pests while your companion sleeps

4. Securing the Perimeter (Your Yard)

Last, but certainly not least, treat the yard, the major source of fleas. Larvae avoid light – so rake up leaves and thatch, and keep the grass cut. A majority of fleas and larvae will be within 50 feet of your companion’s favorite resting spots, so focus on those areas, especially shady areas under trees, bushes, and decks. Only Natural Pet All-in-One Flea Remedy or diatomaceous earth can safely be applied to grass.

Beneficial nematodes (worms) are another way to control fleas in the yard, especially during wet weather. Beneficial nematodes are a flea parasite. They are tiny little critters that prey on both adult fleas and larvae. They can be applied with a hose sprayer or, on a smaller yard, with a watering can. Some garden centers and nurseries carry them (or can order them for you), as well as some of the “natural” pet stores. An Internet search will provide many sources as well.

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The Pre-emptive Strike

If you live in a high-flea area, don’t wait until you see fleas on your companion to treat your environment! If you live in an area with a predictable flea season, begin the treatment a month before they appear. If you live where flea season is every season, start now and treat your home regularly. Using natural methods takes more effort than dropping a blob of pesticide on your cat’s or dog’s back, but in the long run your pets, your family, and your environment will be healthier!

The flea was easily get rid of fleas in the house

Don’t skip any of the following steps or your flea problem will be back, most likely stronger than before.

Fleas are very resilient and can hide easily in your home. If you don’t start home flea removal as soon as you realize that fleas are in your home, you will end up with a flea infestation problem!

You may have been told that fleas don’t survive in the winter, this is not true! Fleas can live through all seasons. During colder months a flea can live very happily in your home where it’s heated. So if you think your home has fleas and it’s cold outside, you’re probably right. Continue reading on for home flea removal!

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Step 1: Get Rid Of Fleas On Your Pets

You need to treat your pets for fleas first and foremost. If you don’t have pets but still have fleas, start with step 2, treating your carpets for fleas.

I have step by step instructions to get rid of fleas on your dog, puppy, cat or kitten. After you have treated your pet for fleas, follow the steps below to complete your home flea removal.

To get rid of fleas on your pets naturally: There are many ways that you can get rid of the fleas on your pets without harsh chemicals and with home remedies. If you have a kitten or puppy, I would recommend not using any chemicals directly on their skin. There is a wonderful product out there called wondercide, this product is safe for all pets and they have a complete line of products you can use on your pets of all ages and in your home. It is a bit pricey but well worth it.

Step 2: Treating Your Carpets For Fleas:

Your carpets will need to be treated with a carpet spray that specifically targets fleas. Thoroughly spray your carpets with the spray being sure not to avoid any areas. Fleas love warm, moist, dark places, so be sure to move any furniture on your carpets and spray under them.

A Natural Alternative To Chemicals For Carpets Is: table salt. If you would prefer a natural inexpensive alternative, you can use table salt. You can read about killing fleas with table salt, this is a very effective home flea removal treatment that will only take your time and about $10, depending on the amount of carpets in your home. You can find step by step instructions to use table salt on carpets at:

kill fleas naturally

Step 3: Treating Your Furniture For Fleas

All of your furniture will need to be treated with a flea furniture spray. Fleas can and will hide in the furniture stuffing, so be sure to saturate this as well. If you’re furniture could be ruined or stained from the spray, using a steam cleaner will be just as effective. The steam will kill the fleas, in all of their life stages. this is a very effective home flea removal treatment!

Step 4: Using A Flea Fogger To Kill Fleas:

You will need a flea fogger to reach the tiniest spots in your home that you can’t see. Remember flea eggs are the size of a grain of salt. There are many places that the flea egg could be hiding that you wouldn’t even think about. The fogger will reach all of those spots that are blind to the human eye.

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Step 5: Washing Everything For Home Flea Removal:

You’ll need to wash all bedding that your pet goes on. Toys that your pet plays with, will also need to be washed, if they’re made of a cotton like material. If the toy is rubber or plastic, just rinse in hot soapy water. If it’s not possible to wash your pets toy, just throw it out! If this step is skipped during your home flea removal, you will find the fleas again within a week. Your pets will continue sleeping on their beds and playing with their toys ultimately scattering the flea eggs again throughout your home!

Wash all the bedding in hot soapy water. I use flea shampoo to wash my animals things, I know it’s safe and it kills fleas. Dry everything you can on high heat, in your dryer. This is an extra effective process in killing all the flea stages. If you can’t wash something that your pet uses, like a pet bed, just throw it out and buy a new one or steam clean it.

Step 6: Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum!

Vacuum all of your carpets extremely thoroughly. Be sure to get all the nooks and crannies with your vacuum, remember fleas like dark places, so be sure to move furniture and vacuum under it.

When your done vacuuming throw the canister bag out or empty the bag-less vacuum canister. Put the garbage bag with the vacuum debris outside of your home. The fleas can stay alive in the vacuum bag or canister! Do this everyday until you are no longer seeing any fleas, this usually takes 4-6 weeks, before you can say you are completely flea free.

Going over your carpet a few times is a very good idea, as the larvae stage of the flea has a sticky outer coating, that makes it easy for it to stay deep in your carpet fibers.

Watch this video about the importance of vacuuming for flea removal

Step 7: Mopping All Of Your Floors To Get Rid Of Fleas

You will need to thoroughly mop all your hardwood floors and any tile flooring as well. Make sure you reach all the cracks and crevices of your floor, fleas like the littlest spots!

You can use whatever cleaner you normally would for cleaning your floors. Fleas don’t like wood and tile because they’re cooler surfaces. However, the egg stage and larvae stage can fall from you or your pet when travelling through your home.

If you have a floor steam cleaner this is very effective as well. The steam cleaner will kill the flea stages on contact because it is so hot, while the pad will pull them off the floor.

Get Rid Of Fleas In My House Completed!

You did it!!! Your home is well on it’s way to being flea free. Now to keep your home flea free be sure to keep your pet protected with a monthly flea treatment or an alternative natural flea treatment.

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You should also repeat the previous steps weekly, except the vacuuming, this should be done daily. It is highly possible to have a few fleas still survive but if you stay one step ahead of them you will keep your flea free environment for you and your family!

If you live in a warm area, where fleas can live year round outside, you should also treat the outside of your home. Fleas can live very well outside but there are preventative measures you can take. Make the outside of your home flea free, and protect your home from re infestation

You may enjoy some more information in the following articles:

– How to get rid of Fleas from your home , a methodical guide.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to share it below I will get back to you within 24 hours!

how to get rid of fleas in the house

Fleas are the bane of my life. I’m suffering from sleep deprivation, paranoia and have to fight an overwhelming urge to tear at my skin, remember what Edward Scissorhands did to that bush? I’m currently sporting around 40 bites and they go through waves of intense itchiness, usually in the dead of night. Flea bites torture and torment me relentlessly. If you have to entertain fleas on a regular basis you will understand what it means to want to spoon out your own flesh with kitchen cutlery. Because of my circumstances I know I will never be able to exterminate all my f*&%ing enemies for good, I can only hope be able to manage the flea infestation.

My situation is unique in that I don’t have any pets or carpets. So all the advice about cleaning their bedding and dosing the animals monthly doesn’t apply. I am trying to defend myself against a two-pronged attack. There are some wild cats on the street and they use my garden (which I don’t use any more) to dump colonies of fleas. The other source of fleas, the one that gives me nightmares, is the ten sheep living on my road. They belong to my partner’s father and we used to eat lunch in their house every day. You know the drill – they jump unto him, he brings them home and then we all carry them back to our house for a feast of my blood .

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Fog them and spray them into oblivion!

All You Can Eat

Spray Toxic Chemicals Into Their Respiratory Systems!

So how to I manage my flea infestation? We regularly spray the sheep house with bug poison using a knapsack pest control sprayer and in our house we use an aerosol insecticide. Remember to check the ingredients; your weapon of choice should contain insect growth regulator (IGR) because this will kill some of the stages of the flea life cycle (the pupa stage is the hardest to put manners on).

Both options do work, but only for a limited period of time. Either we aren’t successful killing all the fleas because the sheep house is so big, or because they bring back new fleas from the field where they graze during the day. The problem I have with the house spray is that it smells really badly and we have to leave home for hours to do it. And I am not too keen on using harsh chemicals in my house too often. Because the fleas come from so many different sources the reprieve from the attack never lasts beyond two weeks. It’s more usual for me to be bitten every two to three days. So that is why this hub is more about managing a flea infestation rather than promising to help you remove all fleas for good.

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Sweep the beds

Electrocute Them! To Their Deaths!

At home I use an electrified racket for killing flies. It’s quite good. When I have the sensation of a visitor in my trousers, I go to the bathroom, stand on a white mat, remove the pants, turn them inside out and use the racket as a wand over the material. I’m not a sick person who enjoys inflicting pain or death, but I have to admit, I have a great sense of victory when they jump through the racket to meet their maker.

I have caught numerous fleas this way, but it’s not always successful. They jump so fast, it’s hard to know where they go sometimes. And watch out, the racket gives a powerful electric shock. It will also zap when a bit of fluff gets stuck in it.

How Long Does Evil Live?

A flea’s life consists of 4 stages:

Egg
Larva
Pupa
Adult

Females need a meal to reproduce. They can lay up to 500 eggs in their lifetime. The eggs hatch after about 12 days and larvae emerge.

After crawling off to some darkened corner of the room and hiding out for a week or two (fitting behaviour for such a disgusting parasite), the larvae begin to camouflage themselves with bits of dirt and skin cells. They live off their parents’ faeces at this stage.

Later they spin a cocoon around themselves and if they feel vibrations of a passing dinner date or body heat, they will hatch in a week. They can remain in cocoon land for up to a year if food is scarce.

How To Manage a Flea Infestation

Suck Up All Those Babies!

Wash all your bed sheets and clothes. They won’t survive the cycle as long as you use washing powder. Vacuum as much as possible and suck up all those eggs. It’s a pain in gluteus maximus, but always remember that you are preventing new generations from breeding on you and your family. Try to get in to the dark corners and the cracks, they are lurking there and biding their time. Suck them up! I usually spray the vacuum after and tie a bag on the end to capture any strays.

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Glue Them or Drown Them!

Recently I got a Victor’s Ultimate Fly Trap. This contraption contains a light and a circle of sticky adhesive; it is non-toxic too. The fleas are lured by the light and approach the container. In they hop, unable to escape the cemetery of glue. I have tried this and it does actually work.

However, if you don’t have enough money to buy this, you could always make your own. Simply, get a basin or a tray that is low to the ground, add water and washing-up liquid (this changes the viscosity of the water) and stick a torch over it so that it shines unto the basin of death. The fleas will hop in and drown.

Look What These Teeny Tiny Parasites Can Do

Such small little buggers can do so much harm. They are responsible for:

Infection – The skin reacts to the saliva from the fleas’ suckers. You scratch yourself to get rid of the insane itch and if there is dirt in your fingernails you can become infected. Fleas defecate while they are eating, real classy eh? And if you scratch the miniature turds into the bite you could get Murine Typhus, hurray! The symptoms include nausea, fever, rash, back and abdominal pains.

Tapeworms – Flea larvae, my skin crawls when I imagine them, eat tapeworm eggs. The tapeworm eggs hatch and are overjoyed to find themselves in the guts of a host where they continue to grow. If an animal swallows this particular flea, it will get the tapeworm too. Imagine your kids kissing their pet Fluffy the cat and accidentally swallowing a tiny flea egg. Bam! Now your kid has a tapeworm.

Our old friend, The Bubonic Plague – Fleas, rodent fleas in particular, carry bacteria which cause the bubonic plague. If they bite a human they contaminate them with the bacteria. There have been three major pandemics so far: Justinian’s Plague claimed around 100 million lives, The Black Death around 50 million and The Third Pandemic killed 12 million people. Who would have thought fleas experimenting with other foods could have such devastating consequences?

If I Didn’t Hate Them So Much, I Would Admire Them

If you’ve been bitten recently, read This article to get some immediate relief for your bites. Most of the remedies can be found around your house.

Recommended websites :

https://www.shared.com/fleas-bite-humans/