Which Pests Can Harm Your Pet?

The average home contains hundreds of different insect species, but the vast majority of those bugs are completely harmless to humans. Unfortunately, some of the pests that live on your property might be a danger to your cats and dogs. Do you know which pests can harm your pet?

Here is a look at four bugs that you need to keep out of your home and away from your pets at all costs.

Which Pests Can Harm Your Pet?

Cockroaches

Cockroaches aren’t inherently dangerous, but many of them contain other parasites.

After ingesting cockroaches, your pet might develop a gastrointestinal infection or suffer from stomach worms.

The same parasites that live on cockroaches also cling to crickets and beetles.

Putting away food and cleaning up standing water will limit your risk of a cockroach or beetle infestation.

You can also spray all of the openings throughout your home with a mixture of warm water, vinegar, and lemon juice.

Ticks

These pests love to attach themselves to furry animals like dogs, cats, hamsters, and mice.

After they are attached, they will feed on the host’s blood and transfer pathogens.

Ticks often carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, and babesiosis.

Unfortunately, most ticks are brought into homes by the residents and their pets.

During the tick season, you should inspect your pets for ticks and give them thorough baths every few weeks.

Fleas

A single pregnant flea can create a colony of 1,000 fleas in just 21 days, and these bugs will wreak havoc in your home.

There are many different products designed to repel fleas including shampoos, conditioners, oral medications, and collars.

You might need to experiment with different products until you find a strategy that works.

Some of the most common signs of a flea infestation on your pet include open sores, constant scratching, and ornery behavior.

Mosquitoes

In addition to being harmful to dogs, mosquitoes can also impact your family’s well-being.

Much like ticks, mosquitoes live off the blood that they extract from their hosts.

During the extraction process, they transfer millions of pathogens directly to the host’s bloodstream.

Putting screens over your doors and windows and getting rid of standing water should keep most mosquitoes out of your home.

Some experts believe that camphor candles also drive away mosquitoes.

If you have cats, dogs, or any other pets in your home, then you must schedule regular service calls with a pest control expert like Godfather’s Exterminating, Inc.

Pest control companies have a wide variety of tools and techniques at their disposal to keep bugs and other pests out of your home.

If the treatments required themselves are dangerous for your pet, make sure to take your pet somewhere else while the treatments are being administered to your home.

However, the experts themselves will be able to inform you more about the precautions you need to take.