How to protect your pets and prevent a flea infestation

Fleas might be small, but their bites can cause mighty big problems for you and your pets.

WHAT ARE FLEAS?
Fleas are tiny wingless parasites* that survive by feeding on the blood of animals like dogs, cats and humans. They’re found all over the world and can spread diseases from one host* to another.

TYPES OF FLEAS
There are three main species of fleas that commonly bother humans in Australia:

– Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)

– Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis)

– Human flea (Pulex irritans)

SYMPTOMS OF A FLEA BITE
Flea bites usually cause severe itching and form red, swollen bumps within about 30 minutes of the bite. These bumps can turn into blisters or small wounds over time. Fleas often go for the legs and feet when they bite – and while their bites make you very itchy, experts warn you should try to avoid scratching, as it could lead to an infection*.

LIFE CYCLE
The flea’s life cycle is made up of four stages: egg, larvae*, pupa* and adult.

Eggs: Fleas lay four to eight eggs after a meal, and more than a hundred eggs over a lifetime – that’s a lot of eggs! They hatch within one to 12 days, but cold environments can cause the egg to die before hatching.

Larvae: After hatching from the egg, the larvae, which look a bit like tiny maggots, feed on faeces*, dead skin, insects and feathers. Whether or not they survive depends on temperature and humidity*, and they prefer sheltered spots like carpets and furniture. They stay in this form for four to 18 days.

Pupa: A bit like caterpillars, larvae spin cocoons, transforming into adults within a few days to months, influenced by temperature and humidity. The pupal stage* can last up to a year.

Adults: Emerging from pupae*, adult fleas feed on their host’s blood and are very good at jumping from one creature to another.

WHAT DO ADULT FLEAS LOOK LIKE?
Fleas are wingless and oval-shaped, and are about 2-8mm long. They are light to deep brown in colour and have a small head compared to their body.

They have six legs, including very strong hind legs that help them jump high and far into the air from one host to another.

HOW FLEAS FEED
Fleas can survive for months without a meal. They use their mouth parts to cut through the skin and feed on blood. Their saliva has special chemicals that stop the blood from clotting*. Female fleas lay eggs after feeding, and these eggs turn into larvae before growing into adult fleas.

FLEAS AND HOUSEHOLD PETS
“Fleas are happy to jump onto any animal or people, but they have certain animal types they like to live on,” said lecturer and head of Emergency and Critical Care at the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Sydney, Dr Samantha Livingstone.

Pets, such as dogs and cats, are two animals that commonly carry fleas. Check around their ears and rump for signs of fleas or look for flea poo (tiny dark specks on the skin). Flea poo turns red on a damp tissue, which can make it easier to identify.

Dr Livingstone said the best way to protect dogs and cats from fleas was to give them a special medication that repels* the pests.

“If fleas do jump onto your pets, (the repellent) also will make them die and fall off,” she said. “This is a medication that your mum or dad can buy from a vet or a pet shop.”

TREATMENT FOR FLEA BITES
If fleas bite you, it’s recommended to avoid scratching the bites and to clean them with antiseptic* soap to prevent infections. You can use ice or calamine lotion to soothe the swelling and itching. Your pharmacist or doctor may also recommend antihistamines*. If symptoms get worse or if you notice signs of infection you should go and see your doctor.

HEALTH RISKS
Fleas can be very irritating for both pets and humans. And while being covered in red, itchy bites is bad enough, the tiny little hoppers may also spread hidden nasties from one host to another.

“Fleas can carry worms* and other things like bacteria,” Dr Livingstone said. “Some animals are also allergic to fleas and this can also cause very itchy and irritated skin.”

TREATING PETS AND YOUR HOME
If you have an outbreak of fleas, it’s important to deal with it quick smart. This involves several steps.

Start by treating your pets with vet-recommended flea-killing products and clean their bedding and surroundings very carefully. Vacuum carpets and use sprays designed for fleas indoors.

“This helps to get rid of any eggs that are in the environment around the pet and prevents those eggs from hatching and growing into adult fleas,” Dr Livingstone said.

Treat outdoor areas your pet spends time in with insecticides*. Regular cleaning and treatment are crucial to remove lingering flea eggs. If you can’t get rid of the fleas by following these steps, it might be worth calling in a pest control expert to finish the job.

Information on fleas for this article was sourced from the Victorian Better Health Channel.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• parasites: a creature that lives off another creature, its host, and survives by taking nutrients at its expense
• host: the poor creature who has a parasite living off it
• infection: when germs get into a wound and start to grow in the body causing a health risk
• Larvae: the immature form of an insect
• Pupa/ pupae: the inactive immature form of an insect, in between larvae and its adult form, when it doesn’t move and is protected by a cocoon
• faeces: poo
• humidity: moisture in the air
• pupal stage: the stage when the insect is cocooned as pupa
• clotting: blood usually forms a gel and clots in order to stop us bleeding after we have become cut or our skin has been punctured. It’s our body’s way of forming a natural bandaid – a scab – to prevent blood loss and infection
• repels: keeps fleas away
• antiseptic: germ-killing
• antihistamines: medicine used to calm down the body’s allergic response, sometimes given in the case of itchy, red rashes
• worms: parasitic worms, like tapeworm, which affect the digestive system
• insecticides: chemicals that kill insect pests

EXTRA READING
Aussie bloodsucker series: ticks
Meet the minibeasts crawling all over Earth
Plague of ‘zombie’ pee champions

QUICK QUIZ
1. What are the main types of fleas found in Australia?
2. What are the symptoms of a flea bite?
3. What is the best way to protect pets from fleas?
4. Why should you avoid scratching flea bites?
5. What can fleas spread from one person to another?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Flea invasion
In small groups of 3-4 students, act out a skit about a flea outbreak at school or in a home and how students respond (cleaning, vet, prevention tips).

Rehearse your skit using information you’ve learned from the Kids News article and perform for the class.

Time: allow 25 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, The Arts, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
List the similarities and differences between fleas and ticks from yesterday’s Kids News article.

Time: allow 10 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Creative vocabulary
Find a bland sentence from the article to up-level. Can you add more detail and description? Can you replace any ‘said’ words with more specific synonyms?

Have you outdone yourself and used some really great vocabulary throughout your writing? Firstly, well done. Secondly, let’s ensure everyone can understand it by adding a glossary of terms. Pick three of your wow words and create a glossary for each word to explain what it means.