Answering Commonly Asked Questions About Fleas In New Braunfels

Fleas are common pests, but some New Braunfels residents don't know much about them. For example, if we were to ask you what a baby flea looks like, what would you say? Would you say they look like adult fleas, only much smaller? You may think this if you have ever had a problem with fleas. Some fleas are large, and some are small. The size difference has nothing to do with age. A large flea is often so significant because it received more nutrients as it developed. It is also possible to have a species of flea in your home that is typically small. In both cases, small fleas are not baby fleas. When a flea hatches from its egg, it is a little worm-like critter. It is important to understand flea development when dealing with a flea infestation. Join us today as we tackle some commonly asked questions about fleas in New Braunfels. Our answers will help you with flea control and prevention. If you would prefer to have someone else handle your flea problem, that's no problem. Your Gold Star Exterminators can help you. Our certified technicians provide professional flea pest control in New Braunfels. We can inspect your home, determine the source of your infestation, address all stages of development, and give your home residual protection for weeks. If that sounds like a plan, jump to our contact page for assistance. If you just want to learn more about fleas, continue on. We have some great facts to share with you.

What Is Attracting Fleas To My House?

Fleas have the remarkable ability to spring through the air as high as 80 times their own height! If you were to see a human jump the distance a flea can jump, relatively speaking, it would likely blow your mind. But that jump comes at a cost. A flea isn't going to jump its way into your yard or home. So, there is nothing about your house that will attract them. You can have a hundred dogs in your home and not attract fleas. Does this mean attractants don't matter? No, we're not saying that. But you must consider what pests you're trying to keep away from your yard.

Fleas take furry or hairy animals as hosts. You need to remove the things that attract these animals if you want to reduce the number of fleas around your home. When animals drop fleas in your yard, your pets can go outside and pick them up. Some animals, like rodents, can bring fleas into your home—no pets required. 

What attracts rodents and other wild animals to your yard? There are several factors. Let's take a look at a few you have some control over.

Food: The most common reason animals enter your yard is to hunt for food. If they don't find it, they'll move through your yard to the next. Here are a few ways to keep those animals moving along.

• Put your garbage in scented bags to mask the smell of decaying food matter.
• Put your bagged trash in covered containers.
• Secure your containers so animals can't knock them over.
• Get tamper-resistant lids if you keep finding lids removed.
• Store your bird feeders. Seeds are a delectable source of food for animals, particularly rodents.
• Remove leaf litter, dead branches, scrap wood, campfire wood, and other places where animals can find bugs to eat.
• Pick up nuts underneath nut-bearing trees.
• Refrain from feeding the squirrels.
• Refrain from feeding your dog or cat outdoors.

Make it hard for animals to find a bite to eat and you'll deter those animals from creating a flea infestation in your home. 

Water: Every animal needs water, and so do fleas. Moisture helps fleas develop from larvae to adults. When you address water sources and moisture issues, you make it much harder for fleas to live on your property.

• Get organic debris out of your gutters.
• Consider getting gutter protectors.
• Remove objects from your yard that capture rainwater.
• Trim your landscape vegetation, remove weeds, remove grass, and keep your landscape dry above the soil.

These and other moisture-control methods will have a big impact on wildlife and the fleas they carry. 

Harborage: When an animal beds down, hides, or creates a place to live, fleas are given the conditions needed for survival. Flea larvae don't bite or draw a blood meal. They eat flea dirt, which is produced by adult fleas. The flea dirt contains the blood that baby fleas require. Use these ideas to prevent harborage.

• Use hardware cloth to block access to voids underneath decks, patios, porches, stairs, sheds, and other exterior structures.
• Move objects away from your exterior walls. 
• Use expanding foam to seal gaps around plumbing and wire conduits to keep rodents out of your home.

You can have a big impact on wildlife traffic and flea activity around your home by using these simple tips. While some are hard to implement, your hard work is worth the effort. 

Can Fleas Live On Humans?

We sometimes get this question. The reason for the question is usually connected to a flea infestation in a home that does not have pets. We've already touched on why a home can have a flea problem even if there are no dogs or cats to bring the fleas in. Do you remember? Yup. It has to do with rodents. Rats and mice can carry fleas in and spread them to every floor if the conditions are right.

Fleas don't take humans as hosts. Even the hairiest of humans is not an ideal habitat for fleas. If you have hairy humans in your home, you can let them know that it is safe to relax. There is little chance that fleas will take them as a host. You don't need to grab the flea comb and check them.  

Can Fleas Bite People?

You likely know the answer to this. Whether you have hair or don't have hair, flea bites on humans are common. The fleas jump on, draw a blood meal, and jump off. Most bites occur around the ankles because as impressive as the leap of a flea might be, it can't get much higher than your lower legs and ankles. You may also get flea bites on your back and side if you tend to lay on the couch. Fleas often infest living room furniture to access easy blood meals—much like bed bugs do.

When customers ask about flea bites, their next question is often about flea diseases. Can fleas make you sick? Yes, but it is rare to get sick from a flea bite. The most common flea-borne illnesses are murine typhus and cat scratch fever. For pets, tapeworms are common. The rarest of diseases is the most dangerous. Fleas can spread the plague. Yes. The plague is still a thing. While there is a cure, it is still a threat. If you find dead rodents in your yard, it is cause for concern. Dead rodents out in the open are a warning sign of plague.

In most cases, fleas leave annoyingly itchy bites on the skin. Like all bug bites, flea bites can become infected. Monitor bites on children closely to make sure they don't open up and get infected. Keep in mind continual bites from any insect can lead to anemia. Take time to research the symptoms of this condition so you may detect early signs, such as fatigue and headaches.  

How Can I Eliminate All Of The Fleas From My Home?

There are many strategies for flea control. Some work, and some don't. What doesn't work? Home remedies. We don't recommend taking advice from online influencers regarding flea control. Those videos about, "How to immediately solve your flea problems in three easy steps," just don't work. The reason most online advice fails to correct flea problems is that they're not based on science. It is much better to go with proven strategies. 

We recommend two ways to address a flea infestation. You can wash bedding, vacuum your floors, purchase flea control products from your local pet store and do the hard work yourself, or you can hire a professional. When you hire a professional, you don't have to worry about the unexpected. Your licensed technician is aware of all the ways fleas can elude treatments and will address even the most mysterious flea infestations.

Are you in New Braunfels? If so, connect with us. Your Gold Star Exterminators are licensed and certified professionals. We'll guide you toward a solution to correct your current infestation and help you to understand how you got fleas in the first place. After the fleas are gone, we can continue to keep your home flea-free. Our year-round residential pest control service plan provides essential protection around the exterior of your home to manage many pests, including fleas and the rodents that carry fleas. Want to learn more or schedule service? Jump to our contact page. We look forward to helping find the right solution for you.