As a pet owner, you will only want what is best for your pet and this means walking them regularly, feeding them, and keeping them pest-free. One of the biggest issues most pet owners face is fleas and ticks. If you think your pet is suffering from these then you’ll want the exterminators to check your home and eradicate any signs of them.
You can check them out here to ensure you get a professional and reputable one.
How They Get Fleas & Ticks
Ticks are not good at jumping or even running. But, they are very good at sitting on a piece of grass for long periods of time. They will then wait until an animal brushes past and simply walk onto them. As they are good at holding on, they can move around the animal until they find a soft piece of skin and latch on. This is when they start sucking blood and can pass on some of the diseases they are carrying.
In short, if your pet goes through long grass they are likely to get a tick.
Fleas are great jumpers but they also hide in the grass for extended periods until jumping onto pets.
Dealing With Ticks & Fleas
The most important thing to remember is that ticks and fleas can be almost anywhere. That means you need to brush your pet regularly to see if it has any ticks or fleas.
Ticks are generally harder to spot as they don’t move and your pet may not even notice their presence. In contrast, fleas bite and this becomes itchy. If your animal starts to itch a lot then suspect fleas.
The best thing you can do when you discover an issue is to see your local vet. They will give you the right medication to eliminate fleas and can carefully remove any ticks.
But, you should also check your home, especially if you have fleas. They are likely to have left eggs in your carpets which will hatch shortly and cause your pet more anguish in the near future.
It’s best to vacuum the floors thoroughly, perhaps by using a little bicarbonate of soda first. This suffocates the fleas and kills their eggs, allowing you to simply vacuum them up.
If you’re removing ticks you should note that you need to use tweezers or specially designed tools. This allows you to grab the tick close to the skin and then pull it out cleanly. You don’t want to twist as you do this as you may break a little of the tick off and leave it behind. Even a small piece of a tick can cause an infection.
Humans Can Be Affected Too
Don’t forget that while fleas and ticks generally choose pets first, they can still latch onto humans. That’s why you need to deal with the issue promptly. Being bitten by a flea is not pleasant as the bites are very itchy and can even cause allergic reactions.
