Signs of Fleas or Ticks in Your Home
- Pets scratching, biting or licking constantly, especially around the neck and base of the tail
- Small, very itchy red bites on ankles and lower legs
- Tiny dark insects jumping on carpet, pet bedding or white socks
- "Flea dirt": black specks in pet fur or bedding that turn reddish when placed on a wet paper towel
- Ticks found on pets after walks, often around ears, neck and between toes, or crawling on walls and baseboards
- Fleas appearing after moving into a home where the previous owners had pets
Where Fleas and Ticks Come From
The cat flea is the flea found on most dogs and cats in California. Adults live on the animal, but eggs fall off into carpets, furniture, pet beds, car seats and shaded spots in the yard, where larvae develop. Fleas also arrive with wildlife: opossums, raccoons, rats and feral cats that bed down under decks, in crawlspaces or in attics can leave a flea population behind.
Ticks usually come from outdoors. Dogs pick them up in tall grass and brush, on trails and along river bottoms and open land. Some tick species can also establish around the home, in kennels and along walls where dogs rest.
How Flea and Tick Treatment Works
- Inspection. We look at pet resting areas indoors and out, carpets and rugs, upholstered furniture, and places where wildlife may be living, such as crawlspace vents and under decks.
- Pet coordination. Pets should be treated with a flea and tick product from your veterinarian at the same time as the home. Treating the house without treating the pet, or the reverse, usually fails.
- Indoor treatment. Carpets, rugs, under furniture, along baseboards and pet resting areas are treated with an adulticide and an insect growth regulator, which stops eggs and larvae from developing into biting adults.
- Yard treatment. Shaded, protected areas where pets rest and fleas develop are treated: under decks and shrubs, along fences, dog runs and kennels. Sunny, open lawn is less important because flea larvae don't survive there well.
- Wildlife and entry points. If animals are living under the house or in the attic, the openings need to be sealed, which ties in with our rodent exclusion work.
- Follow-up. A second treatment about two weeks later is common, to catch fleas that hatch from protected pupae.
What Affects the Cost of Flea and Tick Control
Cost depends mainly on the size of the home, how much carpet and upholstered furniture needs treatment, and whether the yard is included. A small apartment with hard floors is quicker than a large carpeted house with multiple pets. Adding the yard, dog runs or kennels adds time and material. Heavy infestations, homes where wildlife is the source, and the number of follow-up visits also change the price. We give you a price after learning about the home and pets.
When Fleas or Ticks Need Quick Attention
- A heavy flea infestation in a home with an infant, an elderly person, or someone with a skin condition
- A young, small or elderly pet with a heavy flea load, which can cause anemia. See your veterinarian as well
- Fleas that appear after an animal died under the house or in the attic, when fleas leave the host and look for people
- Many ticks found indoors or in a kennel area
If you find a tick attached to a person, remove it with fine-tipped tweezers by pulling steadily close to the skin, and contact a doctor if a rash, fever or other symptoms develop in the following weeks.
Why Fleas Don't Have an Off-Season in Oxnard
Fleas develop fastest in warm, humid conditions, roughly 65 to 80 degrees with high humidity. Oxnard's coastal climate sits close to that range for much of the year: mild temperatures with average relative humidity around 70 percent under the marine layer. Winters rarely get cold enough to slow fleas down in shaded yards and crawlspaces, and indoors they breed all year. For pet owners here, that means flea prevention on pets shouldn't stop in winter, and a flea problem can build up at any time of year, not just in summer.
How to Prepare for Flea Treatment
- Have your pets treated by your veterinarian on or before the day of service.
- Wash pet bedding, throw blankets and washable rugs in hot water and dry on high heat.
- Vacuum carpets, rugs, furniture and under beds thoroughly, then empty the vacuum outside.
- Pick up items from floors so carpets and baseboards can be reached.
- Plan for people and pets to be out until treated surfaces are dry.
- After treatment, vacuum daily for two weeks but don't shampoo carpets during that time.
Flea and tick control is one of the services we provide as part of home pest control in Oxnard. Bites without any sign of fleas can sometimes be bed bugs instead; our bed bug treatment page explains how to tell the difference.