Flea Problems in Loughton IG10

Fleas are usually plainly visible to humans; you’ll often see them as they jump to or from a host. Should you own a house pet, or maybe you have just moved into a home in Loughton that has had pets, then you could be at risk from flea infestation.

There are 2 main 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 flea species 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 huge distances and as high as 16cm.

After feeding on just a single blood meal, a female flea can lay over a hundred eggs (larva) attaching to the fur of your pet.  The 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 your animals carpets or bedding. The larvae build a nest where they mature and, up to 2 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.