5 Most Common Myths About Fleas on Pets, Busted!

You can choose from dozens of cat and dog flea preventatives to fit your lifestyle and your budget, whether you prefer a topical treatment, a convenient collar, or a tasty chewable. Despite the availability of preventatives, though, fleas, flea-borne illnesses, and home infestations are still prevalent in the United States. One possible reason? Many pet parents may still believe these common misconceptions about keeping their pets safe from fleas.

Myth #1: Fleas cause harmless itching, nothing more.
Fleas bite pets and animals, leaving behind small, red, itchy bumps. On people, flea bites usually show up on feet and ankles. While they’re often harmless, they can cause severe allergic reactions in some people and pets. They can also cause secondary infections. What’s more, fleas transmit serious illnesses like plague, typhus and cat scratch disease. They can also carry tapeworm larvae. Pets and children get tapeworms when they swallow an infected flea.

Myth #2: No carpets, no problem.
While fleas love to nestle into carpets, having hardwood floors or tile does not mean your home cannot become infested. They’ll also find themselves at home on upholstered furniture, curtains, bedding, area rugs, and in cracks and crevices.

Myth #3: Fleas can fly.
If you’ve ever tried to crush a flea on your pet, you’ve probably noticed how difficult it is to catch them before they practically disappear. They can jump vertically up to seven inches, or around 13 inches horizontally in about a millisecond. But they do not have wings and they cannot fly. If you are trying to catch a flea, and it jumps, you can usually find it nearby if you’re quick.

Myth #4: You only need to protect pets in the spring and summer.
While freezing temperatures can kill fleas, they will always find a way to make a comeback, year after year. It has to be under 30 degrees for three to five days straight to kill most fleas, but that’s only if they have not found shelter from the elements.
On chilly days, fleas seek a warm, fuzzy host to latch onto while they wait out the cold. They can hang out on wildlife, including raccoons, squirrels, and opossums, and they can also hitch a ride on a cat or dog that is not on a flea preventative. Fleas can live on their host for three weeks or more while they lay 40-50 eggs per day. In just a few weeks, one flea can turn into hundreds.
Fleas thrive in 70-80 degree conditions with humidity at or over 50%, which just happens to be the exact indoor environment found in most households in the winter. So, when a flea jumps onto your pet, they can enter your home and reproduce. It’s much easier and much more affordable to simply protect your pets with flea protection year-round than it is to get rid of an existing home infestation.

Myth #5: Fleas are species-specific.
Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) and dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) are two distinct species, but they are not picky when it comes to choosing a host. In fact, the majority of fleas that attack cats and dogs in the United States are cat fleas. Dog fleas are more commonly found in Europe. That means if one pet in your household has fleas, you will need to treat anything with fur, including small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs. Keep in mind that flea and tick products are species specific. Dog flea products are usually toxic to cats.