Flea Problems in Cranbrook IG1

Fleas are usually normally visible to the human eye; you’ll often see them when they jump from or to a host. If you own a dog, cat or other house pet, or maybe you’ve just moved into a property in Cranbrook that has had pets, then you are at risk from flea infestation.

There are 2 species of fleas that cause issues with homeowners and tenants, and these are the Dog Flea (known as Ctenocephalides canis –https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_flea) and the Cat flea (known as Ctenocephalides felis – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_flea).

Both flea species are between 1-3mm in length, the cat flea is more of a reddish brown in appearance, while the dog flea is a slightly darker reddish black in colour with long tapering legs, allowing them to jump significant distances and as high as 16cm.

After feeding on just a single blood meal, a female flea will lay over a hundred eggs (larva) attaching to the fur of your dog or cat.  These eggs are very small (0.5mm in length) and whitish in colour, once the larva hatch small maggots will emerge, these then fall off your pet into their carpets or bedding. The larvae build a nest where they mature and, up to two weeks after, the hungry adult fleas will emerge.

Flea droppings are best described as resembling ground black pepper, and a careful search of the property may indicate an infestation of fleas.