Flea Problems in Forest Gate E7

Fleas are usually plainly visible to humans; you will often see them when they jump to or from a host. Should you own a house pet, or maybe you’ve recently moved into a property in Forest Gate that has had pets, then you are at risk from flea bites and fleas.

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

Both species of flea are between 1mm and 3mm in length, the cat flea is more of a reddish brown in appearance, whilst 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 pet.  These eggs are very small (0.5mm in length) and whitish in colour, once the larva hatch small maggots will emerge, these will then fall off your pet into their bedding or carpets. The larvae build a nest in which 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.