Flea Problems in Seven Kings IG3

Fleas are normally visible to the human eye; you’ll often spot them as they jump to or from a host. Should you own a dog, cat or other house pet, or maybe you have recently moved into a home in Seven Kings that has had pets, then you are at risk from flea bites and fleas.

There are two species of fleas that cause problems to 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 huge distances and as high as 16cm.

After feeding on just one blood meal, a female flea is able to lay over a hundred eggs (larva) attaching to the fur of your dog or cat.  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 bedding or carpets. 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 looking like ground black pepper, and a careful search of the property may indicate the presence of fleas.