Do Fleas Live on People?

Flea bites can be quite easy, and when you spot them on your pet, you may be worried about all of the work that you will need to do to get rid of the fleas. You may be worried about needing to clean and treat your pets and your home. The most common flea to affect your pets is the cat flea. If you have any flea bites, you may also be wondering if you need to treat yourself or your family for fleas.

While cat fleas do feed on humans, they do not live on them. After feeding they will jump off of you to look for a new victim. This means you do not need to worry about treating yourself or family members when you begin dealing with a flea infestation. Clearing up the infestation on your pets and in your home will solve the flea problem.

Treating Your Pets

The first step is treat your pets for fleas. You can give them a bath in flea shampoo and then use a flea comb to remove the rest of the fleas from their fur. This treatment will kill any adult fleas that are on your pets. In order to prevent future flea infestations or from them picking up any fleas that are currently eggs or larvae, you should start using a flea preventative, which can be a flea collar, oral medication or drops you apply to the back your pet. Your vet can help you choose the best treatment.

Treating Your Home

The next step in clearing up the flea infestation is treating your home. It is important to wash bedding and clothes where fleas like to hide. You need to vacuum carefully both the floor and the upholstery. Even with the careful cleaning, it may be difficult to get rid of fleas without a treatment. There are a number of treatments you can purchase at a store, but they can be messy and time consuming. The best option is to contact a professional who understands the life cycles of fleas, and can effectively eliminate the adult fleas and prevent them from reproducing.

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4 Ways to Protect Your Children from Mosquitoes

[caption id="attachment_3084" align="alignright" width="300"] Image courtesy of John Tann via Flickr CC by 2.0[/caption]

Mosquitoes carry a number of serious illnesses that can affect your children including West Nile virus, and St. Louis encephalitis. Mosquito bites can also make your children itchy and uncomfortable. One of the best ways to avoid the complications that come with mosquito bites is to help your children to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes completely.
Dress Your Children to Protect Them
Mosquitoes are attracted to dark colors, so you should dress your children in light colored clothes. Loose fitting clothing with long sleeves and pants can reduce the number of mosquito bites that your children receive. There is the option to treat the clothing with an insect repellent or to buy clothing that is already treated. This option is good if you know you are going into an area that is heavily populated with mosquitoes like on a camping trip, but it m…

A Guide to Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes have been plaguing people throughout all known time. Not only do they cause itchy bites that can be annoying, there are responsible for spreading a number of serious illnesses. The threat is so serious and ongoing that most communities and countries have extensive mosquito control programs which help to combat the outbreaks. There are still outbreaks each year in countries across the world of illnesses like Yellow fever and dengue fever. In order to combat mosquitoes, it is important to understand mosquitoes.

The Life Cycle of Mosquitoes
Mosquitoes lay their eggs in water. After the eggs hatch, the mosquitoes are larvae and they spend time in the water until they become pupae and then hatch from that stage. At this point, the mosquitoes are adults and will begin flying around. The male mosquitoes feed on nectar, while the female mosquitoes need a blood meal so that they lay their eggs. Mosquitoes can lay up to two hundred eggs at a time.

Prevent Mosquitoes
Once you underst…

Commonly Asked Mosquito Questions

Mosquito season is just around the corner. The spring and summer months are the times when mosquitoes are most active. While mosquito bites can be annoying, the real issue is that mosquitoes can spread a number of serious illnesses. Here are some commonly asked questions about mosquitoes.

Is It Safe for My Baby to Wear Mosquito Repellent?
Babies as young as two months old can safely wear mosquito repellent. You will want to check with your physician to learn the kind that is best for your baby, and what concentration of DEET that is safe to use on someone that size. You may want to avoid taking your baby outside during peak mosquito times. You can also use mosquito netting around your baby as an extra protection.

What Types of Illnesses Can Mosquitoes Spread?
There are a number of different illnesses that mosquitoes can spread. In the United States some of the most common illnesses include the West Nile virus and St. Louise encephalitis. Around the world there are more serious illness…

Mosquito Tek

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