People say that competition is healthy. On a sports team or in the workplace, pitting two people with similar roles against each other can help both of them perform at high levels. Fleas and ticks on our Frisco properties do the same thing. They may be very different pests, but they infiltrate our homes in similar ways and cause roughly the same amount of damage. Usually, if you’re dealing with one, you could be dealing with the other. It’s almost as if they’re competing against each other for the crown of who’s the bigger headache. However, you don’t have to sit back and watch the game: there’s plenty you can do to put fleas and ticks on the bench.
Flea And Tick Facts
Fleas and ticks are well-known for hopping on to your pets and hitchhiking their way into your house. However, they can also enter your home on mice, rats, raccoons, and more, since these rodents are generally the ones who bring fleas and ticks into your yard in the first place. However, simply controlling the rodent population in your yard or your house is not enough. Also, checking your pets for fleas and ticks each time they enter your house (as exhausting as it sounds), is still not enough. No. Unfortunately, many fleas and ticks will lay eggs on their host as soon as they climb aboard, so your beloved dog, although he or she appears to be flea and tick-free, will shake those eggs off into your house. Fleas are a lot more difficult to see than ticks. If you check for ticks, which are small, round bugs that look a bit like spiders, you’ll be able to spot them embedded into your dog or cat’s skin, under the fur or hair. You might also find them on yourself. Remember, they’re interested in your blood, so they’ll generally latch on to spots where there is a lot of blood flow (your head, armpits, and the backs of the knees to name a few).
Tiny But Dangerous
Fleas and ticks are both dangerous to the health of your pets and to you and your family. Fleas love to hop around your house from pest to carpet to curtains to furniture. As they hop, they’ll spread harmful bacteria onto any surface they touch, which can lead to serious, even fatal, diseases. Ticks are more direct in their harmful activities, transmitting dangerous diseases (like Lyme disease) into your bloodstream as they feed on you. Since their effects in your home can be concerning, spotting an infestation early is very important. Spotting fleas jumping around can be hard since they’re very small, but they’ll usually make your pets itch and scratch much more than usual. As far as ticks go, you’ll need to check your pets periodically for any small lumps that you can feel on their skin.
Preventative Measures
If you want to be proactive, you can limit your chance of flea and tick infestation with a few simple practices:
- Vacuum regularly: this will help you get rid of any eggs that may be laying around.
- Brush pets outside: getting fleas and ticks off of your pet outside the home is essential to keeping them from gaining a foothold inside your house.
- Rodent control: by keeping rodents out of your yard, you can help limit the chance of your pets picking up fleas and ticks in the yard.
While these do-it-yourself methods might be effective in the short term, the only guaranteed method of controlling fleas and ticks around your house is with the combined efforts of veterinary pet care and on-going pest prevention services. Contact All-Safe Pest & Termite for more advice or assistance from our friendly and knowledgeable experts.