Fleas can be difficult to get rid of because the female fleas can lay up to 50 eggs per day.

Once a flea latches onto your pet, it can be incredibly difficult to get rid of them. But how do you know if they’ve actually taken over your home and made it their own?

Thankfully, there are some obvious signs of fleas to watch out for. If you notice any of these, you should get rid of them immediately. 

Check Your Pet

Since fleas love to latch onto pets, your pet’s fur should be the first thing that you inspect. 

When you look through their fur, check for dark spots. They might be hard to see, but fleas are usually brown, black, or sometimes even a dark red. If you see something that’s this color and then it starts to move, it’s likely a flea. 

They’re very small, but they have six strong legs that can launch them to all kinds of new surfaces. 

Even if you only see one flea on your pet, you most likely have several others hiding somewhere else. 

They’re Biting or Scratching Themselves

Just because you didn’t see any fleas on your pet’s fur doesn’t mean that they’re not there. You just might have missed them.

Your dog may still try to tell you other ways that there’s a problem. The fleas will bite them, which can make them itch and give them hives. When your dog scratches them, though, the fleas will just jump to somewhere else. 

Your dog will scratch at a certain spot where the fleas like to hide. Normally, this is a difficult spot for the dog to reach. And if they can’t itch it, they might start biting it until it bleeds. 

They Lose Their Hair

Because they scratch and itch themselves so much, they might start to pull out and lose their hair. 

All of the constant itching might also hurt and damage their hair follicles, which can make their hair fall out as well. the longer the fleas make a home on your dog, the more bald patches and spots they’ll have. 

Check Your House

If you notice any of these signs with your dog, you should check your house next. If your pet has fleas, there’s a good chance that you have an infestation in your home. However, the key to making it easier to treat is by catching it as early as possible. 

Fleas like to hide in hidden away spots, so there are some places you should look first. Check your pet’s bed and their crates.

Fleas will also hide anywhere that your pet lounges. This might be your carpet or even the cracks of your fabric furniture. 

To check for fleas on the rugs or carpet, put on a pair of white socks. Rub your feet through the carpet or rug, and then check the socks to see if there are any fleas on them. 

Check Your Yard

If you find fleas in your house, your pet likely brought them in from somewhere outside. You can treat a flea infestation on your home, but it won’t help once your pet goes back outside to bring more fleas inside. 

You can take your white socks and a flashlight outside as well and perform some of the same tests. You can wear the socks through shady or moist areas of your yard. This is where fleas will love to hide. 

Every now and then, you can shine the flashlight down to see if any fleas are showing up on your socks. 

Check Yourself

While most fleas will travel on your pets, they may decide to travel on you as well. Because you don’t have as much fur and probably shower more often than your pet, you’re not the ideal host for a flea. 

But if they’re hungry, that won’t stop them. 

You probably won’t find fleas living on you, but you may notice signs of flea bites every now and then. It can be hard to even notice their bites, but they look like small red bumps. They might itch a little bit for some people, but in others, it can be an itch that drives you insane. 

To find flea bites, you should look on your arms, feet, and ankles. You’ll likely find a cluster of bites all close together. 

If you do have a few flea bites, there are several ways that you can treat them. Try not to scratch them, as tempting as it might be. Then, wash the bites with some antiseptic soap so that they don’t get infected. 

Once the bites start swelling, you can also use an icepack to help take away some of the itch and swelling.

How to Get Rid of Fleas

Once you’ve determined that you have fleas, you’ll need to learn how to get rid of them. Check out this guide here to make sure you really exterminated them. 

While trying to clean and get rid of the infestation yourself might be a good option, to really get rid of the infestation, you should call in the help of a professional.

Discover More Signs of Fleas

These are only a few signs of fleas, but there are many more that you should watch out for. 

Dealing with a flea infestation can be exhausting and anxiety-inducing, but unfortunately, you’re not the only one. Which means that you don’t have to solve it on your own.

Thankfully, we’re here to help. If you enjoyed this article, make sure that you explore our website to find more articles just like this one!