Sleeping with you are cat or dog on the bed is quite cozy and soothing but this may turn out different if the pet has fleas.
- Psychological snuggling or sleeping next to your pet has been documented to reduce anxiety and stress from work or school.
So, you’re wondering; your “dog has fleas and sleeps in my bed,” what should you do? Is it safe?
Well, fleas don’t generally jump onto humans and bite them but they do occasionally. Therefore if the dog has fleas and it sleeps on your bed, you could end up with a massive flea problem, or (at the minimum) the fleas might just bite you while you’re sleeping and leave you with itchy or painful skin.
Fleas will bite pets such as cats and dogs but will also bite humans if they share a bed or if you go near there betting that is not flea-treated.
- So if you’ve risen from your bed and you notice that your pet and yourself are scratching continuously, I encourage you to continue reading this article to know the science to check out to know whether you have fleas in the bed.
Details: Dog Has Fleas and Sleeps in My Bed
So if your cat or dog sleeps with you on the bed and they’re not flea-treated you could be attracting a flea problem around yourself.
- This is because fleas will jump from the dog to your body and clothes while you are sleeping or after they’ve hidden in the bed for some time after the pet leaves.
Flea bites are generally not welcome by most humans because they lead to allergies pain irritation and itching. So, you’ll need to know the various flea signs and how you can control fleas on the dogs naturally or using chemicals.
My friend has two cats and one dog and he believes that they could have picked some fleas from the yard or garden.
- Since he and his kids do sleep next to their pets regularly I advised him to use some Seresto Cat flea collars.
- Further, the vet advised a flea bath (using flea shampoo that is medicated) for the dogs and also thorough vacuuming of the spaces and washing of the fabrics and bedding.
Using these flea control techniques and conducting a regular spot check of the house for fleas helped eliminate the flea problem within weeks.
Fleas love hiding in the hair or fur of dogs but humans lack such features and thus they won’t be a favorite as a hiding place for the bugs.
Signs that you Dog Dropped Fleas on the Bed
1. Flea Bites
Flea bites (itchy red and itchy dots) on your skin will be the first signs that there are fleas in your bed. The bites from fleas are concentrated in one area (clustered) they are itchy and tiny.
- The bites will generally be on the lower body around the feet, ankles, and shins – largely in a straight line.
Compared to bed bugs that will bite humans around the neck, arms, and face, the flea will generally bite people on their lower bodies.
- But fleas can also on areas of the human skin that is moist and warm such as behind the knees
So if you’ve been sleeping next to your dog, you can also notice some bites (red dots) on the upper body, and around the elbow bends, chest, and face.
For anyone that is allergic please they may experience other side effects that may come with varied symptoms such as;
- Shortness of breath signifying anaphylaxis
- Extreme and intense itching
- Rush
- Swelling
- Hives
2. Flea Dirt on the Bed
If you notice black specks that are tiny in size especially after you enjoyed cuddling with your dog you may already have fleas in the bed.
The black specs are the body waste from fleas (flea dirt) which is undigested blood that is released as poop.
- These specks can be found on pillows, bed frames, and bedsheets.
As the dog walks around your bed during the night it will drop not just the bugs such as fleas but bacteria too.
- So, besides bringing flea bites, the dogs sleeping on your bed could also cause the transmission of salmonella and E. coli.
Therefore, it would be advisable to keep dogs off the bed completely or ensure that you bathe them frequently.
But will flea dirt harm kids and adult humans? First, humans will only be harmed by parasites including ticks and fleas if they are bitten on the skin.
- However in theory there is a risk of humans getting harmed when they contact or touch the flea dirt (feces).
Another question that homeowners have is why they would see flea dirt on their bed but can’t find fleas.
- Well, there could have been fleas on the bed at one time but they may have jumped off or were killed through the grooming and licking actions of the dogs.
So tackling the flea dirt challenge will require you to go ballistic to control the fleas including bathing the dog with flea shampoo.
Flea Treating Your Bed and House
Do you suspect or are sure that there are fleas in your bed you require to wash the bedding using hot water.
- Speed while dealing with the pest is a critical factor to stop them from multiplying in your residence.
So wash the beddings through a hot cycle with detergent (including all the mattress pads, pillows, blankets, and sheets).
- After washing the bedding, you may use a dryer and the Heat will help kill even more fleas.
Also, you should vacuum the mattress thoroughly (and rigorously) including on the underside and its seams. I advise that you repeat the vacuuming process a number of times.
- Remember to vacuum the headboard especially if it’s made of fabric.
Additional steps you can take to control fleas in the whole bedroom include using a flea bomb.
Flea treating the house will ensure you remove the flea eggs and the other place from various places including the carpets.
A product like the Addams house spray will kill bed bugs, ticks, and fleas. The chemical will knock down the fleas in about 5 minutes and offer protection against the pests for about 7 months.
The next product is Adams carpet powder that will kill please in all various life cycle stages. Luckily, each of the packages will flea treat up to 400 square feet (1 – 2 rooms).
Finally, flea-treat they had since the dogs may also carry the bugs from outdoors to the indoor spaces. The product I recommend is the Adams garden spray that will kill ants mosquitoes ticks and fleas for about one month.
Flea Treating the Dog
So it’s also very important that you control fleas that are hosted or hiding on them that’s including the dogs.
1. Topical and Oral Flea Control
Despite that plays will persist and become annoying you can use spot-on treatments and dog flea pills to remove these pests.
However, you must know the stage of the flea life cycle that the flea treatment remedy is aimed at for example it could be targeted at larvae and flea eggs or just the adult fleas.
In addition, other treatments will combine heartworm prevention and flea control in that single remedy.
a. Flea Medications that require Prescription
Besides some of the flea treatments may not require a prescription but others will – so it’s important to consult the vet on this.
- However, prescription flea medications are an excellent way to exterminate fleas.
An example is the Bravecto (fluralaner) that will continue killing fleas for about 3 months but its knockdown effect is within 2 hours.
Other flea medications with a first-time knockdown effect of about 30 minutes include the Trifexis and Comfortis which will also continue killing phrase for about 30 days.
- Among these three treatments are some that will only kill the flea eggs and thus will contribute to the breaking of the flea life cycle over time.
Also, if your pet is hypersensitive or allergic to flea saliva, I advise you to select a treatment that will target faux adult fleas before they bite on the cat or dog.
- Some of the approved products for dogs that have hypersensitivity to flea bites include Vectra 3D and Seresto collar.
b. Flea Medications that Don’t require Prescription
The market has a number of flea-treatment products for your dog that won’t require a prescription.
- But the downside is that most of these non-prescription products could have alone effectiveness compared to the prescription-based alternatives.
Some of the flea treatment products that won’t require a prescription include spot-on treatments, oral flea treatments, flea collars, flea sprays, flea powders, and flea shampoos.
I have to note that these remedies are good emergency products for flea treatment on your dog but some owners have reported the persistence of fleas even after using these and prescription products.
- An example is the Capstar Flea tablets that you will give to your dog orally and it will start killing the fleas in 30 minutes and it is able to exterminate almost 95% of the bug population in just 4 hours.
2. Using Dog Flea Shampoos
There are a number of dog shampoos that are formulated to kill fleas and they are considered relatively effective if you use them as directed.
But the effectiveness of the flea shampoo will depend on the ingredients that are used and the procedure used to apply it.
- Also, avoid bathing the puppies with dog flea shampoo that may have toxic ingredients such as Tea tree.
Awesome check the age of a puppy to determine if it will be able to understand being method and weighted with the flea shampoo for about 10 minutes – depending on how long the flea shampoo directs the application to last.
Finally, after washing the dog with the flea shampoo you can now use a tick and flea comb to help remove all the dead pests from the dog’s fur.
- Another point to note is that flea shampoos won’t provide continued protection for fleas to the dogs and thus you require to use another flea treatment for that purpose.
Conclusion
So in conclusion it is clear that sleeping next to your dog can have many advantages including stress relief but the pet may also cause flea problems if the animal is flea-infested.
- So it is important that you the dog before allowing it on your bed. Also, wash and dry the bedding exterminate any fleas left behind.
Flea-treating the yard and your house will also help control the bugs from the surroundings.
That’s all.
Cheers!