Flea Bites

What Do Flea Bites Look Like on Humans?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Flea bites result in red spots surrounded by reddened haloes. They are extremely itchy and cause great discomfort. Fleas often target the legs and feet of human victims and may infest the entire bodies of domestic house pets.  Many wildlife species carry fleas as well.  If these animals are associated around ones home, fleas may migrate to pets and humans.  Flea saliva can cause allergic reactions such as FAD in some pets and increased scratching can result in hair loss and secondary infections. In more severe cases, affected skin thickens and sores appear.

Flea Bites Treatment

You should be sure to consult a veterinarian before beginning any treatment of your pet’s flea bites. Bathing your pet with specially-formulated shampoos can prevent secondary infections. Cold water alleviates inflammation, while warm or hot water exacerbates itching. Fresh aloe vera juice can soothe skin and a diet rich in fatty acids such as flax seed may have an anti-inflammatory effect.

If these treatments fail, your veterinarian may request to see your pet to determine next steps. Steroid creams and antihistamines are available by prescription and may help to alleviate your pet’s symptoms.

If you are the victim of a flea bite, wash the bite and then use an antiseptic and apply an icepack. You should resist the urge to scratch. Calamine lotions can be used to treat the itch, or a pharmacist can be consulted for details about antihistamines which may prove effective. Should your bite wounds excrete puss, contact your doctor immediately.

How and Why Fleas Bite

flea-1Fleas are parasites that have to suck the blood of warm-blooded animals to survive. The adult female fleas also need blood to reproduce. In fact, they need food two to three times a day, but they only need to mate once in a lifetime, to be able to reproduce. So flea bites are serious business, they bite because they need to survive.

Evolution has shown that fleas have evolved to be able to store 15 times more blood than their own weight. They have a lot of short spikes on their legs, allowing them to stick very firmly to the host. Once they have penetrated the skin they inject saliva. The saliva contains more than 15 different substances that can cause severe allergic reactions. Especially dogs are at risk of developing flea allergy.

 

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Odorous House Ants

odorous_house_ant_tapinoma_sessile_800Did you ever wonder what the proper name was for those tiny black or brown ants that invade your home constantly? If ants are invading your kitchen then most likely you have an Odorous Ant Infestation. Odorous?…well that's an odd name for an ant and it's because they stink, literally!

Every morning for at least a week I heard my wife say as she approached the kitchen counter for her morning coffee, “The ants are back”.

You quickly learn that killing the ants you see on the counter has little or no affect on the odorous house ant nest and as long as there is a nest, the ants will continue to designate some of the ants to be foragers and the foragers will follow the pheromone trail laid down by the ants that came before them and so on and so on.

You know you are dealing with odorous house ants when an ant crushed between your fingers smells like rotting coconut and this is important because when dealing with ants, knowing which type of ant you have gives you clues as to how many ants there are, how many nests are involved, where the nests might be, and what they like to eat.

 Some ant facts include:

  • Your home could contain hundreds to thousands of ants.
  • The bigger the population the more nests are possible, 4 or 5 nests at one house would not be unusual.
  • Ants nest in wall voids under window sills, around and inside appliances, under rocks and splash blocks, they have even been found in a mailbox.
  • Ants can move the nest often and sometimes return to a nest site.
  • Ants prefer sweets but will eat almost anything even dead insects.

 

 

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Household Pest Infestations

pest-library-montageThere are over twenty varieties of common pests that plague home owners. Common household pests that can and frequently do infest homes include: a variety of ants, a variety of flies, various cockroaches, rodents (such a rats and mice,) termites, stinging insects, a variety of other insects and larger creatures such as squirrels, raccoons and opossums.

All year pests: roaches,silverfish,bedbugs = (ayp)

Jan & Feb – mice, rats, cluster flies, boxelder bugs, lady beetles, ayp
March & Apr – termites, ants, spiders, ayp
May & Jun – flies, millipedes, centipedes, caterpillars, ticks, fleas, wasps, hornets, bees, mosquitoes, a multitude of garden variety pests-commonly referred to as occasional pests, ayp
By June all pests are active so I will list the pests that generate most of the calls we receive.
July & August – mosquitoes, moths, bird lice, bat bugs, carpenter bees, carpenter ants, ayp
September & October -fleas, flies, millipedes, spiders, ants, bees, ayp
Nov & Dec – mice, rats, roaches, bedbugs, bats, squirrels

Some areas that you will want to pay closer attention include:

  • Bathrooms – Cockroaches and rodents use moisture-ridden pipes and drains to enter homes.
  • Kitchen – Ants often create colonies around kitchens where food is consistently available.
  • Garage – Spiders, cockroaches, and mice establish havens just outside the home but near enough to go in and out of easily.
  • Basement – Virtually any type of pest can utilize the typically dark, damp, and less-frequented environment of basements to breed infestations. Termites, mosquitoes, and ants are only the beginning.
  • Closets – Spiders take advantage of the cramped quarters to stay hidden while building enormous webs.
  • Yard – Wasps, bees, ants, and mosquitoes can build nests and colonies around grass and flowers near your home.

There are various precautions that homeowners can take to prevent pests from making their way into homes.
Keeping the home clean and free of clutter is one of the biggest steps to avoiding a pest infestation. A clean, dry home free of messiness and dust is the best way to signal to pests they aren't welcome.

Here are some other precautionary steps homeowners can take:

  • Seal up access points. Doors and windows are the most common, but cracked siding, soffits and fascia and also prime entry ways.
  • Have a professional exterminator run a yearly or bi-annual evaluation of your home's structure. Ask about preventative treatment that keeps these areas standing strong against pests.
  • Keep food sealed and away from open areas.

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