How Pets Can Attract Pests Without You Even Knowing About It
The unconditional love from a pet can do wonders in your family, making him or her a valuable and irreplaceable member. It’s common not to be able to imagine life without them! However, there are times when owning a pet has its downfalls. For example, pets can attract pests, carry pests into your home, and be the reason why you may be struggling with a pest infestation.
It’s not your pet’s fault that insects take advantage of a free ride by latching onto their fur. The goal of pests when sneaking into your home is to find food, shelter, or both. However, they can easily become a nuance—and quickly, at that! With that in mind, don’t blame your pet. However, it’s important to understand how pets can attract pests without even knowing about it.
How Pets Can Attract Pests: The Main Culprits
Fleas
What are fleas? They’re the pests that are as old as time—they are tiny, blood-sucking, and lay eggs anywhere at any time possible. Whether they attach to dogs or cats, they will find a way to sneak into your home one way or another. Did you know that fleas can pull over 160,000 times their own weight and can jump 30,000 times without stopping once? You do not want these pests infesting your home: Groom your pet regularly to clean them for fleas that may be lodged in their fur and regularly apply flea and tick medicine.
Ticks
Ticks are related to spiders, which means they are technically not an insect. Regardless, they will attach themselves to your pet in order to get its next meal. Ticks are extremely dangerous, can carry unwanted diseases, and be harmful to both you and your pet.
In order for ticks to survive, they feed on blood. Consequently, their diseases flow into their host’s bloodstream and may deliver Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and more. In order to make sure your pet is tick-free, bathe your dog and/or cat with certain shampoos, tick collars, powders, and more.
Mosquitoes
Lastly, mosquitoes are a parasite that you do not want to attach to your pet for a free ride into your home. Mosquitoes breed in many places—-around your home, in stagnant water, yard debris, clogged gutters, and more.
Mosquito-borne illnesses are spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. From the Zika virus and West Mile to malaria, mosquitoes are extremely harmful to humans. To protect yourself (and your pets), cover your body with mosquito repellent, long-sleeved shirts, and long pants.
Additionally, if you replace the standing water around your home about once a week, the risk of mosquitoes significantly diminishes. Clear overgrown vegetation and take unwanted garbage to the dump. There are many preventative measures you can take to ensure mosquitoes won’t cause a home infestation.
No Matter What, Pets Are Still the Best
With all that said, pets bring an immeasurable amount of joy and happiness into the home; we are quite fond of pets ourselves. However, you can lessen the pest risk by servicing your home regularly, giving your pets their proper shots and medicines, and making sure your home/yard stays tidy.
Do you have questions about how pets can attract pests without you even knowing about it? Contact us and we would be more than happy to answer your question and/or service your home. Call us or visit our website today!