It’s rare that fleas could or would even try to live their lives on people. As explained in our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, fleas prefer a host which can supply blood and provide a sheltered environment for them to hide. Dogs, cats and other hairy animals can provide both a blood meal and lots of hair; lots to eat and lots of areas for adequate housing. For this reason most fleas prefer these animals on which to live. But since people have blood, fleas will most certainly jump on us to grab a quick meal. But in virtually all cases they’ll usually forage away and off our skin where they land to feed. This is because they feel vulnerable and unprotected out in the open.

I have seen where fleas have been able to hide in patches of hair, like on the scalp or up in underarm hair. But even in these rare cases the population was quite small and had no chance of thriving long. More importantly, fleas won’t be able to survive the normal process of a good shower so for anyone showering daily that uses shampoo, soap and anti-perspirant, the odds of a flea living more than a day is pratically zero.

Here is a direct link to our flea article which goes over all the gory details of just what they want, where they like to live, how fast they can multiply and how to control local infestations:

http://www.flea.net/flea-control

If you take some time to read through our extensive FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll learn the most favorite place for fleas to stay is on the “host” animal they target. Amongst the favorite host’s for fleas will be dogs, cats, squirrels, rats and mice. In fact, pretty much any animal in the yard could have fleas during the summer or warm months. But as our online article explains, fleas don’t want to leave their host animal as this is where they get both food and shelter. In fact most fleas will live their entire life on whatever animal they first find. Additionally, this life is quite short and in most cases will be less than a week. All the while they’ll be laying eggs on the pet which will live out their life cycle right there under all the fur and pet hair.

So if your pet isn’t getting them from the yard, where then are the fleas coming from? Well, the answer is the pet itself. As explained in our article, the pet and the inside of the home are the two most likely places for fleas to be breeding. The pet is actually number one with the house being a close candidate for second place because it’s usually infested by the time anyone living there realizes what’s happening. In fact the least important area to treat is the yard so I would say to forget it for now and instead focus your attention on the pet.

What usually happens in cases like this the pet will get 1-2 fleas. Once they feed they’ll start laying eggs. Most of the eggs will at first stay on the pet. Over time if the problem is allowed to develop without treatments being done, the pet will get so filled with fleas the eggs and larvae will start dropping off them which is what leads to homes getting infested. In many cases it’s the pet causing the problem in the yard too.

So at this point it’s important that you make sure your pet is being bathed and treated weekly. Using the TRIPLE PY SHAMPOO and some PETCOR should stop the flea cycle on the pet and for now, I’m willing to bet this is the main reason why your problem is continuing to have a problem. If you actually had fleas in the yard or home, you and anyone else living or walking around there would be attacked just like the pet. But when it’s just the pet that’s getting them, it usually means the pet is the main “flea generator” and only after you take a direct approach of treating it will the problem subside.

Second, if the pet has full access to the house, you should also set out some FLEA TRAPS to make sure they aren’t established inside. If you find the traps are catching fleas, treat with our ONCE A YEAR FLEA GRANULES which is by far the safest and most effective method for long term protection. It goes on dry and lasts 6-12 months no problem. Combine this with the direct pet treatments I outlined above and I’m sure you’ll be flea free in a few weeks.

Here are direct links to the information and products listed above:

Flea Control Article:  http://www.flea.net/flea-control

Triple Py Shampoo:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page247.html

Petcor:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page2011.html

Flea Traps:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page22.html

Once a Year Flea Granules:  http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page23.html

Stinger Stopper could be used on dogs but it would be overkill, a bit messy and more costly than a true “pet” option. If you go through our FLEA CONTROL ARTICLE, you’ll find we have several options listed which are designed for this issue. Dogs, cats and many animals can develop skin rash and allergy from insect bites. Fortunately there are specific products that are designed to both heal them and make the itching more tolerable.

First, the OXY MED ITCH RELIEF is ideal for spot treating the bites. It will get the pet to stop itching which in turn will stop skin irritation. At the same time you should start using MELALUCA SHAMPOO at least once a week. This will also promote healing and take away the itch. The big key is to stop using any kind of insect killer on them during the healing time so if there are fleas, mosquitoes or some other insect problem where the pet resides, be sure and take care of it ASAP. Allowing the insects to go untreated will not help the pet in the long run so this issue must be addressed at the same time.

If you need some help identifying the insect causing the bites, give our office a call at 1.800.877.7290 and one of our tech reps will be able to offer some advice.