It may seem like a simple question, but there are many insects that can bite you this time of year and the bites are hard to identify. Here are some things to look for when determining if you have fleas or not.

Fleas are insects that pierce and then suck blood out of the animal. There is a flea for almost every type of animal in our country. Yes, in fact, there are 300 different species of fleas. The good news is our country is not one where the fleas feed on humans. However, bringing them back in luggage from Latin America, Africa or another country does happen.

If fleas have a specific animal, also known as a host, then why do they bite me? Again, a great question. When a flea that infested your pets senses your temperature, vibrations, and more amazingly your scent and the carbon dioxide you give off, the flea jumps on to take a taste.

“I don’t have pets, so why am I getting bit?” A few reasons may be visiting wildlife in the yard that a flea jumped up on you and traveled into the house. You may have sat outside where wildlife travels and as we said earlier, the fleas thought you were their host and jumped on. You could’ve even had a friend or family member that brought their pet over for a visit and left a few unwanted guests before they left. If you live in a multi-unit building, your neighbors’ pets that roam the elevator or common areas can “drop off” these fleas too. Not all the time a pet scratches means it has fleas. But if it does, the scratching is to try to knock it off.

Trying to explain what a flea bite looks like is very difficult, and before you run to a dermatologist, try googling for images of insect bites to skin and see if that will help. A flea bite is red, raised, and very itchy, but so are mosquito and spider bites. With fleas, there are usually multiple bites in the same area and usually in the lower regions like our ankles and legs, as this is the first spot they jump up from the ground. There are other factors to look for to identify if you are dealing with bed bugs, see some of our past blogs for help.

Stopping the fleas is the real question and every situation as mentioned above is unique. Living in a building with neighbors with fleas will be the toughest. Talk to your neighbor or association for help with this one. We can treat your unit, but you will continue to have new arrivals from the outside if something isn’t done on the outside. If you have pets, check them for fleas with a visit to the vet. There are also products, that if applied properly, will rid your pet of the fleas. But you must treat your home. By treating just your pets, the fleas will attack you even more because you just made the blood they want, taste bad.

We offer complete services for flea control, and even if you are in a unique circumstance, we can help. Store foggers do not penetrate cracks and other areas where flea larvae hide. They also do nothing to kill the eggs fleas lay in your home. Call Guardian Pest Control at 877-924-7878(PEST) today for a consultation and estimate. We’ll help you enjoy a bite-free Summer – at least from fleas. But, we also can stop spider and bed bug bites too!