Charlotte Flea Exterminator Services

Fall can be an especially bad time for flea infestations. They love the temperatures that North Carolina typically experiences during that season and, as people rake their leaves into piles, this can become an ideal haven of humidity for those fleas. They can rest in shady spots, which is where cats and dogs can go to get relief from the sun. A handful of fleas can then climb onto a pet, which transfers them into your home, including in rugs, blankets, upholstered furniture and more.

Note that homes can have cat fleas, even when they don’t have cats! This type of flea, although named after the feline, can pester both cats and dogs, while the dog flea mostly focuses on canines.

Fleas can go dormant during more extreme weather temperatures but these irritating pests can otherwise be present all year long. That’s true, in part, because of the resilience of the flea. They can live for two months without nourishment—which can then make them even more eager to feast on people and pets when the opportunity arises. 

We’ve already mentioned some of these, but WebMD for pets shares even more ways that fleas can harm your animals. Because female fleas eat 15 times their body weight (in blood, remember), their presence can lead to low iron levels, even anemia, in cats and dogs. Picture a small animal with numerous fleas and it’s easy to see how this could happen.

Some fleas are infected with tapeworm larvae. As your pet licks and cleans itself, they can swallow these fleas, transferring tapeworms into their body. These parasites then attach themselves to the walls of your pet’s intestines, growing as they feed off of the animal.

Fleas can become infected with cat scratch fever through an infected cat and then pass the disease onto humans. Symptoms in people can include fever, exhaustion, headaches, lack of appetite, and more. Lymph nodes near the original bite can swell up, becoming tender, or even painful. Complications, although rare, can be quite serious.

Bubonic plague that’s passed along by fleas can start out with symptoms that are similar to cat scratch fever. But, if this disease isn’t diagnosed and treated effectively, then the bacteria involved can spread inside of the person’s body and lead to septicemic or pneumonic plague. In the first route, the bacteria will “multiply in the bloodstream,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Symptoms include high fever, exhaustion, light-headedness, and abdominal pain. Septicemic plague can quickly cause shock and organ failure.”

Pneumonic plague, meanwhile, infects the lungs and “is almost always fatal if not treated quickly.” It just makes sense, then, to keep fleas out of your Charlotte area home, away from your family and pets.

Regularly vacuum your carpets, sweep your floors, use upholstery attachments to clean your furniture, and wash bedding often. These actions can help to get rid of fleas in the house and prevent more eggs from being laid in the home.

Because fleas can ride into homes on the backs of rodents, keep rats and mice outdoors. Rodents can get into homes in spaces as tiny as a quarter, so close up openings, such as through caulking. Weatherstrip cracks around doors and windows and otherwise seal up entry points.

Outdoors, keep garbage cans tightly lidded with no food scraps available for rodents. Pick fruits and vegetables from trees and gardens before they fall down and have the chance to rot. If you feed any of your pets outside, bring in leftover food after they’re finished eating. 

Also, remove materials that rats and mice might use on your property to build outdoor nests. These can include tree limbs, woodpiles, fallen leaves, and so forth. Trim tree branches so that they’re at least 18 inches from your home and, if possible, keep shrubbery that far away, as well. Keep your yard well mown and also address standing water.

If you believe you have rats or mice in your home, Noosa can handle that for you through our rodent control services. Besides ridding your house of disease-carrying rodents, this can also significantly reduce the number of fleas coming inside.

Here are more flea prevention strategies, ones involving pet care. Regularly wash your pets’ bedding, along with any clothing items they may wear, their plush toys, and so forth. After they’ve been outside, check their coats for fleas and bathe them after they’ve played with other animals or show new signs of licking and/or scratching. Talk to your veterinarian about how to deal with any flea problems and ask about preventative strategies going forward.

Lastly, never use over-the-counter insect or flea bombs.  These are very dangerous.  The product lands and attaches to things you do not realize and can cause dermal exposure to the active ingredient.  Many of these flea bombs can be found readily at the local big box hardware store or other retail venues.  We recommend never use these products inside your home.