Like to be with your pet
Almost every dog or cat has a couple of fleas. Sometimes you will hardly notice it, but in hot weather, a flea can get thousands of offspring in four weeks, which will all start looking for food: blood! A flea plague in the house is almost always caused by the cat flea, which loves to drive its teeth in dogs or other pets as well.

Lifestyle
The female puts her small white eggs in the basket of the pet or on the floor. The larvae that come from the eggs seek shelter in seams or cracks or under the edge of the carpet. The larvae eat organic material, which exists in dust. The larvae make a cocoon of their own saliva. After 8-14 days, the adult flea comes from its cocoon. Curious is that the if the cocoon remains absolutely undisturbed, the flea will remain in the cocoon, in a sort of sleeping state. This can last an entire year. This explains the massive attack of fleas when a building has been uninhabited for a long period of time or after a vacation when the house is entered by people or animals. An adult flea feeds on the blood of pets. The flea is a true jumping athlete, sometimes up to 30 cm. Sometimes the flea accidentally jumps on humans, which leads to skin irritation. It bites, but is picky, because it doesn’t like our blood.

How to get rid of them?
Try to keep your pets free of fleas. Animal welfare can advise you. The vacuum cleaner is the best weapon against the flea plague. Vacuum seams, cracks, but also along the plinths. When you leave the house for a long period of time, for instance because you’re going on a holiday, make sure to vacuum the house thoroughly and to destroy the contents of the dust bag. The nest or beds, mats or rugs but also the baskets of the pets should be cleaned and / or dusted frequently. You can also hang mats or rugs in the sun.

Control
When the flea plague in your house persists, you can call the Plagen Preventie Dienst (PPD) to take care of it. In this, you are asked to thoroughly vacuum before the appointment. If you have an aquarium, you must shut down the air pump and cover the aquarium. The entire house is given an anti-flea treatment. You and your fellow residents and pets must leave the house for a period of two hours to avoid any health risks. If you return after two hours, you must properly ventilate the house. Open all windows and doors against each other. Do not vacuum for a couple of days to allow the agent to do its work. Before you enter the house again, make sure to free your pet of fleas as well.