Kingsbrook Animal Hospital's Blog: Flea Facts

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Flea Facts

These pesky bugs are something every pet owner dreads. They cause continual itching and scratching for our pets and can make their lives miserable. For some dogs and cats a single flea bite can cause an allergic reaction known as flea allergy dermatitis. This allergic reaction can cause hair loss and skin lesions as well as the miserable itching and scratching. Here are some other interesting facts about fleas:
* Fleas can transmit tapeworms to your pet.
* Fleas can cause a pet to become severely anemic in large numbers.
* A Flea can jump 150 times it's own length - a human equivilent would be able to jump 1,000 feet!
* The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.
* If all 53 million dogs in the US hosted 60 fleas, we'd have more then 6 trillion flea eggs surrounding our pets. Laid end to end, those eggs would stretch around the world more than 76 times!
* The female flea consumes 15 times it's body weight in blood daily
* If you happen to see 1 flea, there may be more that 100 offspring or adults looming in furniture, corners, cracks, carpeting, or on your pet.
* Fleas cannot tolerate cold temperature - hence spring and summer are the most active months for fleas.
* Our houses are kept warm and cozy during the fall and winter months so fleas can survive on your pet year round!!!

Frontline Topspot is a flea prevention that can be used year round to keep fleas off your loved one. It even takes care of ticks!

Call our office today if you have any questions or would like to pick up some prevention today to keep your pet FLEA FREE!!!