Fleas Pest Control

Fleas are annoying because they'll ride into your home on your cat or dog, bite your pet, bite you (making you itch and giving you ugly rashes), and then lay eggs in your sweatshirt. Yes, there are different kinds of fleas (some only suck pet blood and some only suck people blood), but you shouldn't take any chances; they may pass disease and are incredibly hard to kill (because they're so small and so jumpy).

Where do fleas breed? Fleas are insects found on dogs and cats. They are also found on rats and mice.

Why are they unhealthy and dangerous? Bubonic plague is a disease transferred to man by fleas.

You can usually tell if there are fleas in your house if:
- Your pets continually scratch themselves. There's a difference between scratching to groom and scratching obsessively. It is when your pets scratch themselves obsessively that signals you that your pet has fleas. There's even a greater chance if you let your pet outdoors a lot.
- You notice that when you wake up in the morning, you have bug bites.
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How do you get rid of fleas? Flea shampoos are a good start, but first ask your vet for a recommendation. Flea powders can be much more effective than rinse-off shampoos. The downside: you're leaving an insecticide all over your pet's body so make sure to rinse well.

Bathe your dog often. Destroy fleas found on cats. Get rid of rats and mice. Keep the places where cats and dogs sleep clean.

Tick bites require a delicate touch. When you find one, use a pair of tweezers to grab the tick as close to the head as possible. Then use a gentle, steady motion to pull it straight out. Don't twist or bend it, because the head can break off and start an infection. (If the head does break off, apply an antibiotic ointment.) Forget about the folk remedies of a dab of petroleum jelly or applying a just-extinguished match. Those just make the tick salivate more, which can speed up the transmission of any disease it carries.