How to Treat Fleas for Dogs and Pets

Fleas are actually quite amazing in terms of the heights they can reach while jumping, being around 8 inches vertically and 14 inches horizontally. That's about 150-200 times their own body length! Incredible, you would need a big pair of legs to pull a maneuver like that off, and that's exactly what fleas have. Fleas have extremely long hind legs, granting them unmatched agility and jumping prowess.

Now, while a flea's jumping ability is astonishing to think about, they have the unfortunate characteristic about them that nobody enjoys, and that is causing us and our pets to itch! Our dogs bite and they scratch, we itch and we smash, we do whatever is required to alleviate that tingling feeling.

Scratching can only get us so far, however. See, the body of the flea is actually very hard, making them super tenacious against our futile itch-relieving efforts. Not only that, but did you know by the time we reach to scratch the area that is causing irritation, the flea has likely already finished biting us? That's right, we feel the itch after they are done eating, it's their saliva that results in making the itch manifest, most of the time anyways. There are some people more in tune with their bodies that can feel the fleas crawling and leaping around; how annoying that must be!

The point is, fleas make us itch, and that is bothersome. They can be dangerous to your pet because of the diseases they can carry, and fleas make our homes less... comfortable. It's an upsetting situation for humans and pets alike, so figuring out a way to do away with these pests is important, and it involves a whole lot of cleaning. Before getting to the cleaning part, we need to know what to clean. Where do the fleas like to hang out at?

Beds, couches and chairs are ideal hiding spots for hungry fleas. Often times, a female flea will lay her eggs on the host, and as the host sits or lies down, the eggs roll off and contaminate the furniture. This goes for carpet too. Think then, what's involved when you sleep? You lay your head on a pillow, cover up with blankets, you likely have bed sheets covering the mattress... see where I'm going with this? All of those things are probably infested with fleas and eggs, meaning you need to wash them. Having a washer handy will make the cleaning a lot easier. You'll be using it a lot to wash away any fleas that may be contaminating your things.

So start looking around and identifying what needs cleaning. Rugs, pillows, bed sheets, blankets, dog beds, curtains, maybe your clothes, are all possibilities. It's a lot of work, but you need to be thorough if you truly want to eradicate the fleas from your home.

Think about the flooring. Do you have carpet, tile, or wood? For carpets, fleas absolutely love this stuff because they can bury themselves deep inside. What you'll be needing is a vacuum cleaner to uproot and clean them out. Vacuum everywhere possible, and it'll kill the majority of the fleas and their developing eggs in no time. For hard flooring, fleas are not as prevalent on hard flooring as they are in carpet, however the floor should still be cleaned. Use something like a Swiffer Wet Jet or the equivalent to help you with that.

Cleaning everything in your house for fleas is the hardest part. The next part is way easier: Help your dogs or cats in handle the flea threat. Washing your dog or cat is not enough, it'd be only temporary relief. Pets are like flea sponges; the only way to deal with fleas on your dog or cat is to use a flea medication. I'm against flea medications that are taken orally because I believe them to be more dangerous than the alternatives. The ones I recommend are also backed by veterinarians, and it's called Advantage. I use it on my teacup Maltipoo puppies once they reach a certain age, and it works just dandy. All you do is apply the proper dosage to the skin between the shoulder blades, and the fleas start to die shortly after. My Maltipoo puppies live a flea free life, do the same for your precious pet!

As for freeing yourself from fleas? Well... take a shower! And that's all there is to it.