Fleas are a parasite that depends on a host animal to survive. For fleas, household pests are among the best hosts for them to live on. Once they get onto the pet, they reproduce and spread in your home resulting in an infestation. Having a flea infestation in your home is bad, as they affect suck on human blood. This is why it is important to detect the presence of fleas on your pets early enough, to deal with it quickly. Below are five signs that your pets have fleas.
Five Signs That Your Pets Have Fleas
Dogs and cats are common house pets that are usually targeted by fleas. If you have any of these animals as pets in your home, you must lookout for the following signs. Find out more about flea infestation below.
- Abnormal Scratching: Fleas feed on blood to survive, getting onto your pets by jumping or crawling. They bite the pets to get the blood which they need for survival. To avoid easy detection, fleas hide in areas of the body that are hard to reach. These areas include armpits, groin, neck, tail, and head. Having fleas in these parts of the body will leave your pet uncomfortable, resulting in abnormal scratching. When scratching does not work, the pets might resort to other means such as licking or biting.
- Hair Loss: Your pets can also suffer hair loss as a result of flea bites. This condition that is known as alopecia is induced by the scratching, licking, and biting of bite areas. If you notice hair loss after your pet has been scratching continuously, then it is important to have them checked for fleas.
- Red Patches Of Skin: Red patches of skin is another sign that your pet might be playing host to fleas. Your cat or dog might be allergic to flea saliva, causing reactions. This allergic reaction can come in form of lesions or rashes.
- Pale Gums: Another telling sign of a flea infestation on your pet is pale gum. Pale gum is a common sign of anemia, which can come about as a result of loss of blood. Since the flea is sucking blood from your pet, the red blood cells present in its body becomes deficient. If your pet has pale gums, it is an indication that the flea infestation is quite serious.
- Flea Dirt: Flea dirt comes in the form of small black specks found on your pet’s body. It could also be found in different areas of your home. Flea dirt is flea feces, which is made up of digested blood. To confirm if what you found is flea dirt, place it on white toilet paper and wet it. If it turns a reddish-brown color, then you are small black speaks dealing with a flea infestation in your home.
Learn more here about flea infestation and the dangers to your health.