What a nuisance it can be when your house is infested with fleas! We all know those tiny insects that commonly cling to furry pets such as dogs or cats. If you keep a dog or cat in your home, fleas are something you should expect.
The important thing is to detect the insects as early as possible on your pet’s body and take immediate action to get rid of them. The couple of fleas you see here and there may represent only a small portion of the whole population that includes eggs, larvae, pupae and adult fleas.
Normally, fleas do not use humans as hosts, but they may disturb us by giving us insanely itchy bites. You may be wondering how to keep fleas from biting you and we are going to deal with that concern in this article.
Recognize flea bites
Before trying to prevent fleas from biting you, let’s take a moment to identify what flea bites look like because they are very easily confused with bug or mosquito bites. Flea bites often appear on the lower parts of the body, such as the ankles, feet, or legs because those parts are within their jumping range. Red bumps emerge with a red halo surrounding the core. The bites usually group up or line up rather than being in a cluster like mosquito bites.
Basically, flea bites cause you to feel crazily itchy and the bites, then heal naturally after a few days. Nevertheless, some cases may get worse if the victim has sensitive skin. As soon as you get bitten by fleas, you will feel like scratching and this often leads to infection. So how to keep fleas from biting you? The answer is simply to wipe them out or repel them from approaching your living environment. Find ways to get rid of fleas and you will no longer be disturbed by them.
Treat fleas from the source
Fleas usually start off on your pet, and from there they spread all over the house. Fleas cannot fly, but they attach themselves to the host’s body and travel along with the host. You’ve got to treat fleas on your dog or cat first if you want to resolve the question “how to keep fleas from biting you”. There are many flea treatment products for pets on the market. You may try flea shampoos, flea combs or flea sprays. Natural non-toxic products are preferable to chemical ones.
Start by shampooing the pet with a dedicated flea killing product and then comb their hair to get the rest of the eggs and adult fleas off their body. This method won’t eradicate all the fleas at once so it should be repeated every few days until the pet is free of fleas. Pet bedding should be washed in hot water to remove all flea eggs or larvae that reside in the fabric. There is no point in trying to treat fleas on your pet if there are still insects in the bedding ready to cling to the host’s body again.
Outdoor cleaning up
Once you find fleas on your pet, you should expect that they could be hiding in any shady moist places both indoors and out. As a result, you may get bitten anywhere, at any time. How can you keep fleas from biting you outdoors? You’ve got to remove the favorable habitat that fleas are breeding and growing in. Fallen leaves, rotten logs or moist stacks of firewood are perfect residences for fleas.
If you hang out in the garden or approach those places, you will be at high risk of being bitten by fleas. Spend some time and effort on cleaning up the garden by collecting fallen leaves, removing weeds, mowing the lawn, leveling and covering stacks of firewood from rain. These measures will not only help to get your garden in shape but will prevent fleas or other types of destructive insects from breeding there. You will then not have to worry about being annoyed by flea bites every time you go outdoors.
Indoor tidying and vacuuming
Anywhere in the house that pets frequent could be a place for fleas to breed. Carpets, rugs, upholstery, the basement, and mattresses could be easily invaded by them. What you have to do is to wash portable items in hot water and dry them up at a temperature over 95°F. This is a good way to kill fleas and their eggs.
If you cannot wash bulky items, vacuuming well can do the job. Vacuum cleaners will suck up all the dirt and fleas, but you need to make sure that the vacuum bag is sealed and discarded as soon as the task has been done. Otherwise, flea eggs may hatch inside the bag and sneak into the house again. Washing and vacuuming need to be repeated several times a week to get rid of fleas completely.
Using flea traps
Fleas are a type of insect that are attracted by the color white and by light. If you want to trap them, simply put a tray of soapy water and a light bulb hung over the tray at night. The light from the trap will draw fleas into the tray and they will end their lives in the soapy water. This method will help to reduce the adult flea population only so it should be used together with other measures to achieve the ultimate goal of completely eliminating the insects from your home.
Growing flea repellent plants
There are plants such as lavender, mint or rosemary which give off a pleasant scent, but the scent is disliked by fleas. If you plant them in the garden or place some in pots in the house, they will be effective at repelling fleas. The insect may be less tempted to invade your living space due to the scent released from the plants. This way may repel fleas from entering the house, but those already in the house may continue biting you. There is one trick you can try; and that is to eat more garlic. Fleas may not want to get close to your body if you smell of garlic. Consequently, you will not get flea bites.
Applying flea foggers
We have just mentioned several natural ways to fight against fleas. They all work, but they do take time and effort. Should you want a quicker measure to put fleas to an end, flea foggers are an option. Foggers are chemical products that are comprised of ingredients that are poisonous to insects in general and to fleas in particular. However, caution should be taken when using them because adverse effects to humans and pets may occur if they are inhaled or if there is skin contact with the poison. It’s important to keep children and pets away from the treated areas and to protect yourself with safety gadgets such as gloves, clothes, masks or glasses.
Do some research or consult professionals for the right choice of flea fogger because there are hundreds of advertised products and you may not know which one is best for your house. Once you have selected the best flea fogger, read the instructions carefully before applying it. Usually you need to close the doors and windows and leave the room for a few hours to allow the chemicals to take effect. You can then open the doors and windows to let fresh air in and to blow out any poisonous residual. Vacuuming the house and cleaning up is necessary after fogging to ensure that no hazardous chemicals are lingering in the house as well as to remove any dead insects.
We hope this answers the question for you of how to keep fleas from biting you. We hope these methods we’ve suggested for wiping out or repelling fleas from your living environment are useful. If there are no fleas in your home, you will be safe from the worry of flea bites. Take good care of your pets and pay attention to signs of flea attacks early on to prevent the insect from infesting your house.
Thanks for reading!
