Fleas are very small and can jump disproportionally high in comparison to their size. It would be like humans leaping over incredibly tall buildings in a single bound. Of course, in reality, this equates to a couple of feet for the flea, that’s why the majority of flea bites are found on the lower part of your legs. However, they can occur higher if the fleas are on your couch or in your bed.
As well as being itchy, fleas can carry disease, that’s why you need to know how to treat and prevent flea bites.
Treatment Options
Once you’ve been bitten the main concern will be how itchy the area is. You’ll want to use one of the following to reduce the itchiness and limit the amount of inflammation:
- Antihistamine medicine
- Over-the-counter anti-itch cream
- Aloe vera
- Baking soda and water paste
- Cold compress
It’s also a good idea to avoid hot showers as this will increase blood flow and make the itching worse.
If you do have a flea problem you will want to find out more about your local pest control company and get them to eliminate the issue for you. It should be noted that the professionals can take care of this quickly, using DIY solutions can often be an extended endeavor as you need to keep treating to get the flea eggs.
Preventing Flea Bites
The easiest way to prevent flea bites is to keep fleas out of your home. In most cases fleas enter attached to your pet. They are most likely to attach themselves to your pet when they are walking through long grass, this gives fleas and ticks the perfect hiding spot and easy access to your animal.
- Maintain Flea Treatment
Pets are susceptible to fleas and have little control over them climbing onto them. That’s why they are dependent on you keeping their flea and worming treatments up to date. By ensuring these stay up to date you will find it much less likely that any fleas will enter your home. If they are not in your home they are unlikely to bite you.
Even if you are administering regular treatment it’s a good idea to inspect your pets regularly. Simply bush them while they are standing over a white sheet. If dark flecks appear on the white sheet you are likely to be looking at fleas.
- Vacuum Regularly
To help ensure you are not the victim of a flea attack it’s a good idea to vacuum your floor regularly. A vacuum will suck the fleas up and effectively kill them as they are sent up the tube. However, the vacuum often doesn’t suck up the eggs which are hidden in the depths of your carpet. This means you can still have a flea issue when the eggs hatch.
To prevent this use a carpet flea treatment and sprinkle it across the floor. You can then wait the allotted amount of time before vacuuming and hopefully removing the stubborn eggs.
