Published by: Emilia Krymskaya in Healthcare of Crimea 12:05 09/15/2021
Fleas on dogs and cats . These small insects cause significant discomfort, causing itching, eczema, and carrying various infectious diseases in their carrier. The parasite multiplies at an incredible speed, but prefers to do this not on the animal’s body, but in secluded places in the external environment. On carpets, in cracks behind baseboards or in fallen leaves. Once every few days, the female lays a large number of eggs, from which larvae hatch, outwardly resembling small caterpillars covered with a dense protective shell. They feed on organic waste and, after several molting cycles, transform into a sexually mature individual awaiting a new victim.
- Common fleas How do fleas appear on a domestic dog?
Common fleas
To most people, they are tiny amber-colored creatures capable of setting world records for high jumps and driving pets and their owners crazy. In fact, these are real bloodsuckers and carriers of serious infections.
Scientists believe that fleas originated from flying insects about ten million years ago. Those individuals that, while living on the body of their “master”, lost their wings turned out to be more tenacious. Therefore, the winglessness of fleas today is explained by their parasitic lifestyle. The body structure of fleas is adapted to movement in the fur of the “host” animal - it is strongly compressed from the sides and is so strong that it can withstand the claws of animals. You need to have great skill to crack its “shell.” The transition from one host to another is easily accomplished by active crawling when meeting host animals or by jumping in their permanent habitat, since the hind legs of fleas are jumping. In order to jump on a passing dog or cat, a flea must move with an acceleration 140 times greater than the acceleration of Earth's gravity (9.8 m/s). (For reference: a person’s bones begin to break even at twenty times acceleration.) Such jumping ability is ensured by the content of resilin in their body, a special protein substance.
Fleas on dogs. A specialist can determine at first glance who the potential victim of a particular individual is. Fleas can exist and reproduce normally on animals suitable for them.
Fleas pose a great danger as carriers of human and animal diseases, such as plague, which affects rodents, camels and other animal species, as well as typhus, tularemia, and rickettsiosis; fleas are intermediate hosts of the causative agent of dipylidia in dogs, cats and humans.
Humans are parasitized by the human flea (Pulex irritans), which can also live on dogs, cats and even horses, that is, animals that have constant contact with humans. Nowadays, if a person complains of flea bites, then most likely the troublemaker is a cat flea (Ctenocephalus telis), which, in addition to cats, can live on dogs and hedgehogs. The cat flea is quite happy with modern conditions, and even in our relatively hygienic homes it feels just fine.
Fleas on dogs. Dogs are parasitized by the dog flea (Ctenocephalus canis). Parasites are transmitted to puppies from their mothers. Fleas on dogs are more common under unsatisfactory conditions and poor nutrition. Fleas, being hematophagous, pierce the skin when sucking blood and inject saliva, which has toxic properties. Flea bites cause itching. Scratching leads to the development of dermatitis. Young dogs are affected more intensely and have a harder time enduring the infection. Fleas are easy to detect when examining the outer coverings of dogs.
Until now, entomological scientists are racking their brains over the question of how to get rid of fleas that plague domestic animals and humans. Any apartment in which an animal is born is a haven for fleas. In order to get rid of them, you need to understand their life cycle.
How do fleas appear on a domestic dog?
Fleas can even live on a clean, well-groomed pet dog. Insects jump beautifully. From the starting point to the destination can be more than 30 cm in length and height. For this reason, a pet can become infected in a variety of situations. Most often, the appearance of parasites is observed after:
- forest walks. Many fleas live in rodent burrows;
- visits to places of mass walking. Infected pets often shake off their eggs into the grass, foliage, or asphalt, from where the larvae easily stick to their fur;
- contact with other animals. The main carriers are dogs, cats, rats. Even with simple sniffing and close proximity, relocation of pests can occur. In the case of joint games, the risk is several times higher;
- contact with a person. Fleas love to move on people's clothes. In addition, eggs often stick to pants and shoes;
- visit to an infected house. If a flea gets into the house on an animal or person, it will successfully reproduce in furniture and fleecy carpets. From there, the bloodsuckers will certainly jump on all the guests in search of food.
Folk remedies
You can fight fleas using certain folk remedies. The main advantages of this method: safety, accessibility and low price.
Herbal infusions
Fleas cannot tolerate the aroma and taste of wormwood.
For a long time, fleas on dogs were eliminated with the help of wormwood. Parasites cannot tolerate the aroma and taste of this herb. The animal is bathed in a wormwood solution (2 tablespoons of dry herb infused in 1 liter of boiling water).
Tansy and eucalyptus have a similar effect. This way you can effectively remove parasites from the fur of even very small dogs.
Garlic
2 cloves of garlic are crushed or finely chopped, add 250 ml of water and leave for 8 hours. The resulting solution is used to treat areas of the pet’s body that he cannot reach on his own (head, neck).
Onion
Has an effect similar to garlic. A piece of laundry soap is mixed with water (250 ml). Chop the onion and add it to the solution. The resulting mixture is treated with the dog’s fur and washed off after 10 minutes. If there are a lot of parasites, the application of the onion solution can be repeated after some time.
Essential oil
Lavender, eucalyptus, and citrus oils are suitable for fighting fleas. Pour a few drops of oil into 1 liter of water and apply the solution to the dog’s fur.
Vinegar
Vinegar is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and applied to the dog’s coat. After an hour, the fur is combed out to remove dead fleas, their eggs and pupae.
The life cycle of a flea is divided into four stages
The life cycle of a flea is divided into four stages:
1. To mate and lay eggs, an adult female flea needs blood, and she attacks the most suitable host - your animal. After a 23-day feeding period, the adult female flea begins to lay eggs. Fleas are extremely prolific, with an adult female laying up to 50 eggs a day! To the naked eye, flea eggs look like grains of salt. A fertilized female throws out eggs with force, usually in portions of several pieces so that they do not remain on the animal’s fur, but fall to the ground or a place that it constantly visits.
2. The eggs hatch into legless larvae. Using a special “egg tooth”, they seem to cut the shell of the egg in order to get out. The larvae feed on waste products (semi-digested blood) of adult fleas and various decaying organic debris for 4-8 days.
3. The larva spins a thick cocoon, which provides ideal protection from environmental factors and insecticides.
4. The pupa, while in the cocoon, will develop into an adult insect, which will not come out until it senses the proximity of the “master”. Thus, the duration of the pupal stage is several days or months, depending on environmental conditions. The adult is born in response to carbon dioxide, heat and vibrations created by animals and people. Having emerged from the cocoon, she is ready to begin the life cycle again and go through it in three weeks.
Cat flea and dog fleas
Fleas are external parasites that live on the skin of their prey. Flea bites from cats and dogs are a widespread problem. But did you know that cats and dogs are most often affected by cat fleas? Fleas create problems for both animals and their owners. Cat and dog fleas affect not only cats, dogs and people, but also many other animals. Humans are predominantly affected by cat fleas.
Cat and dog fleas are similar in appearance and body structure. Cat and dog fleas can live on both cats and dogs equally. The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and the dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis) are the most common types of fleas found in and around homes. Summer is the favorite time of fleas.
The difference between a cat flea and a dog flea is minimal. The female of both species is about 2.5 mm long. The male is slightly smaller than the female. The head of a female cat flea is almost twice as long as its height, and the head of a female dog flea is half as long as its height.
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Cat and dog flea larvae are almost twice as long as adults. Particles of dried blood, excrement and various organic particles that accumulate on the affected areas provide enough nutrition for the rapidly growing larvae. With a very severe infestation, a large number of gray larvae and white eggs become so noticeable that there is no doubt about the infestation.
You can remove adult fleas from cats and dogs, but the eggs will remain. The larvae emerge from the eggs in about 14 days, depending on humidity. A flea lives for less than two months, but a female flea usually lays more than 2,000 eggs.
Fleas on dogs. There is another interesting fact. Fleas can jump up to 100 times their body height. They can jump up to 15 cm in height and attach to skin or clothing.
Flea infestation often causes secondary infections. If a dog or cat is infected with fleas, the help of a veterinarian is required, who will suggest effective control measures.
Animals are predisposed to allergies to flea saliva, which often results in flea allergy dermatitis. Symptoms of dermatitis: swelling, unbearable itching, red, tiny bumps on the skin, thickening of the skin, redness of the skin, hair loss, bald patches. Cat and dog fleas can bite people too.
Why do they remove parasites?
These jumping insects, 2-4 millimeters in size, black or brown in color, without wings, have the amazing ability to live without food for about a year under favorable conditions. They get under the animal's skin and drink its blood in large quantities, despite their small size. In the digestive tract of insects there are two stomachs that can stretch.
The parasites reproduce at an incredible rate - females are capable of laying 400 larvae per day. Since the eggs are not attached to the fur in any way, they fall off the cat and are spread throughout the apartment. After 1.5-2 weeks, the larvae in the eggs mature, but hatch when a representative of the cat family is nearby. Having been born, the insect finds a way to get into the cat's fur, settles in it, then parasitizes and reproduces. A week after infection, hundreds of pests can be present on an animal at the same time.
These insects are carriers of diseases. Through bite wounds, infection can easily enter the body of a domestic animal. Too many parasites cause anemia in kittens and weakened cats. Due to decreased immunity, pets may lose weight from fleas. Constant scratching of bite sites leads to dermatitis and hair loss.
Infection in street cats occurs during a walk or when interacting with sick animals. Pets are also at risk of the disease. Parasites enter the apartment through dirty shoes, bicycles, and other objects.
How to remove fleas from a dog
Fleas on dogs are incredibly inventive insects. They flourished on our planet long before humans appeared on it, and it is very difficult to defeat them.
To kill fleas on dogs, today a large number of insecticides are produced in the form of dusts, solutions, emulsions, and aerosols. Collars and flea tablets are also available for sale. A veterinarian can help the owner of an animal understand such a wide range of drugs. When choosing a drug, it is necessary to take into account the duration of its action, activity against mature and immature fleas, toxicity to the animal’s body, and cost. The effect of an insecticide depends not only on its form and quality, but also on application to the skin of the animal.
For the purpose of prevention, healthy dogs are not allowed to come into contact with infected ones, the rules for caring for and maintaining animals are followed, and the dogs’ skin is examined monthly. When fleas are detected, not only the dogs themselves are treated with insecticides, but also the premises and objects that the infested animals came into contact with.
Cat lice: dangerous for the animal, but not contagious for humans
Lice are small, wingless insects with a flattened body. They are host specific. Unlike other external parasites, cat lice cannot live or move around in the environment. They spend their entire life cycle on a host animal. There are several types of lice. The most common parasite in cats is Felicola subrostratus.
The presence of lice is dangerous for your pet. When severely infected they cause:
- Itching
The itching is irrepressible, incessant, preventing your cat from living peacefully. By parasitizing the pet's fur, lice thin it, make it disheveled, sloppy, and cause the cat a lot of anxiety.
- Feline eczema
A severe infestation of lice can lead to miliary dermatitis, or feline eczema. It causes numerous blisters and bumps to form on the cat’s skin, with inflamed skin underneath. The affected areas of the skin are very itchy, the cat scratches them, and the wounds become infected. This only worsens the course of the disease.
Lice are also carriers of helminth eggs. As a result of this, helminthiasis and general exhaustion are added to the skin lesions of the infected animal. Lice spend most of their time attached with their paws to the base of an infested cat's hair. They feed on the epidermis, secretions of the sebaceous glands and blood.
Female lice lay eggs called nits. During her life, the female parasite lays 20-60 eggs and fixes them to the root part of the hair. After 7-12 days, the eggs hatch into larvae that look similar to adults, which after three molts turn into mature insects.
In large quantities, cat lice accumulate on the head, neck and at the base of the tail. These parasites infect pets of all breeds, except hairless cats. They are most often found in animals with long and thick hair.
Could your cat have lice, where do they come from? Symptoms of infection
The problem of lice infestation is especially acute for cats that occasionally go outside for a walk. By communicating with its relatives, a pet can easily “catch” an unpleasant disease.
The following symptoms indicate whether your cat has lice:
- Dry, loose fur;
- Baldness of some areas of the skin;
- Itching;
- Anemia.
You can find out if a cat is infested with lice by carefully examining your pet's skin and fur. Nits and adults of these parasites are visible to the naked eye.
- Shampoos for external parasites. Special pet shampoos against ectoparasites have a detrimental effect on lice. After soaping the animal, the shampoo should be left on the pet for at least 10 minutes and only then rinsed thoroughly. Then it is recommended to comb the cat and dry it. If your pet tolerates the bathing procedure calmly, then washing with zoo shampoo will not give him any unpleasant sensations.
- Collars against fleas, lice, ticks. Collars destroy lice on the animal and protect the pet from re-infestation. However, often with constant wearing of such a collar, animals experience an allergic reaction.
Safety measures when disinfesting with aroma oils
When disinfesting a room from insects, you should follow some safety precautions:
- essential oil product is used only diluted with water;
- An overdose of an aromatic product is not allowed;
- Pets should not be treated with this solution;
- before using the product in an apartment, you should make sure that the selected substance does not cause an allergic reaction in people and pets;
- If children or pregnant women live in the house, you will have to stop using essential oil.
How to remove lice from a cat. Treatment methods
To solve the problem of lice infestation in cats, special insectoacaricidal preparations are used. When using them, it is important to strictly follow the instructions for use. Be sure to read all contraindications to avoid side effects.
To treat lice in cats use:
- Drops on the withers. Drops are applied at the base of the skull or along the spine. The procedure takes only a few minutes. The drug usually not only helps get rid of existing lice in a cat, but also helps protect the pet from new attacks by parasites.
- Sprays. The spray moisturizes the animal's fur. During such processing, maximum care must be taken to avoid harm to the animal. After applying the product, wait until it dries and make sure that the animal does not lick it off. For this purpose, it is recommended to wear a protective collar. Sprays are also used to kill parasites indoors and in animal resting places (houses, sofas, armchairs).
Methods of use
When getting rid of fleas, you should first treat their owner. You also need:
- Treat floors, carpets and baseboards - spread out plant leaves or spray with sprays.
- It is recommended to carry out processing until the result is achieved (several times).
- Animals are washed with flea shampoos.
- The pet's bedding should be sprayed.
Fresh bunches of plant leaves are laid out in all corners of the apartment! As the grass dries, it is replaced with fresh one. Fleas in eucalyptus are repelled by the smell. You can dry the leaves and sew them into animal bedding or mattresses.
Fresh bunches of plant leaves are laid out in all corners of the apartment. As the grass dries out, replace it with fresh one.
