Most pets love getting outside to enjoy the beautiful summer weather as much as their owners. Unfortunately, the excitement of exploring the outdoors and interacting with other animals comes with a risk. Each walk around the block, visit to the dog park, and afternoon spent in the backyard increases your pet’s potential exposure to fleas. These blood-sucking parasites can cause a variety of problems for you and your pets, and requires a targeted treatment to keep them under control.

Signs of Fleas

Excessive scratching is the most common and well-known problem caused by fleas. Not all pets will scratch, however. The scratching only occurs when a pet has an allergic reaction to the flea’s saliva. Because of this, pet owners need to keep an eye out for other signs of flea infestations and the more serious issues they can cause.

If a pet becomes unusually lethargic, has a decreased appetite, and/or has pale gums, a trip to the vet and a flea control treatment are necessary. These symptoms are due to the blood sucking nature of fleas; the blood loss can cause a host to become anemic. This can be a very dangerous condition for young, old, and sickly pets.

Also keep an eye out for segments of tapeworms in your pet’s stool, weight loss without a decrease in appetite, or an increase of appetite without any gain in weight. When a pet licks or chews at areas of its skin that have fleas, it may accidentally swallow a few. This can lead to your pet developing a tapeworm, as fleas often carry tapeworm eggs. Tapeworms cause their host to be deprived of nutrients, and can easily spread from pets to people.

Treatment

Unfortunately, if you discover that your pet has fleas, it is extremely likely that there are more throughout your home.

The first and most important step in getting the infestation under control is to get the pet itself treated. Batzner Operations Manager Skie Gierach stresses the importance of getting the pet on a treatment from your veterinarian, “Before any treatment to the house, the pet must receive a treatment with a veterinarian recommended flea control product. Not only will this help prevent future problems, but it speeds up the process of ridding the home of the infestation, as the fleas are no longer able to feed on the animal.”

For your home, there are many treatment choices, including do-it-yourself options. While none are as thorough and effective as having a professional treatment, you can have success if you are willing to put in the time and effort required to rid your home of fleas. Conversely, hiring a professional service provides for more guaranteed results, but also requires maintenance on the part of the homeowner such as daily vacuuming.

At Batzner, fleas are handled with a specific, targeted Flea Treatment. This involves a treatment of the entire carpeting, wood floors, baseboards, bottoms of furniture, underside of cushions, and underneath beds. Extra attention is paid to the areas where the pet spends most of its time, both inside and outside of the house. Additionally, the client is given a comprehensive education on what they can do to speed up the treatment process and to minimize their likelihood of future infestations.

If you find any evidence of fleas in your house or on your pets, don’t hesitate to give us a call at 866-591-3519 or contact us online. Our Flea Treatment will allow you and your pets to enjoy the beautiful summer weather without worrying about pesky parasites!