Ugh, bugs! We are talking about those nasty, crawly, tiny bed bugs. You might have heard of them even if you have never encountered them. These small pests make their homes on your bed, furniture, mattresses, and even your dog’s bed. Once they are comfy, they terrorize you and your home endlessly, unless you take some serious action by contacting pest control like powerpestcontrol.ca.
There are numerous ways to get bed bugs in one’s house; however, the question here is whether your dog could be carrying them. You should know that bed bugs are nasty, tiny, devilish things that can attach themselves to your dog when it is out. Subsequently, your pet dog can come back with them and have your entire house infested.
A scenario like this is entirely possible. However, you can prevent this from happening by checking your dog for sure signs that indicate bedbugs’ bites. Read on to learn more about a few tell-tale signs that your dog is infested and how you can prevent your home from getting overrun.
The Science Behind Bed Bugs and Dogs
There is the possibility that you might have never experienced bed bugs before and reading about this pest for the first time. With that said, you are probably wondering what these crawly creatures are and what the great deal about them relates to your dog. Without wasting much time, let us get straight to the point: bedbugs are undoubtedly gross.
More than that, these bugs can be straight down annoying for your dog as they are hard to get rid of. As they hail from the Cimicidae insect family, bedbugs are many species that also affect humans.
Bed Bugs can grow up to 7mm in size. Their colors are reddish-brown, and like vampires, these pests feed off the blood of your puppy, and probably, yours too, if you don’t control it. And, we forget to mention, luckily, these pests don’t have wings. But they can crawl damn well!
As indicated by their names (bedbugs), these pests dwell in places and spots where people and animals sleep as the bedbugs are utmost active at night. The female bed bugs will snuggle inside the cracks of your mattress or your dog’s bed and lay their eggs. You know the lifecycle of such eggs when they hatch into nymphs and finally grow into adult bed bugs. More eggs are produced until the crevices of your mattress, or your dog’s bed is infested with countless bedbugs.
The egg-into-adult cycle of the bedbugs takes no more than ten days, and before you know, you are infected with a plague that needs to be taken seriously. Having the bedbugs exterminated is exceptionally crucial as they might want to feed off your blood or the blood of your dog!
What Does History Say?
According to scientific researchers, humans originally contracted the pests of bed bugs back in 400BC somewhere near the Middle East. Since that time, these pests have been feeding off our pet animals and us relentlessly. Bedbugs are familiar with the trend of hitchhiking; therefore, it should be no surprise if they happen to climb into the fur of your dog, get themselves safely nestled there before they start to make their adventurous trip to your home.
Bedbugs never plan to make your dog’s fur their permanent home. They just use the puppy as a furry transportation service to get to the places they want to go (your mattress/ bedding). In case you are wondering, bedbugs can also hop onto your pants while they are on the go, slip into your purse or backpack with the devilish intentions of finding their home where you and your puppy will be resting heads at night.
Once the bedbugs are nestled and have started laying eggs, they will find deeper spots to nestle into the crannies and nooks of your home. With that said, it could get extremely difficult to have them exterminated. You are more likely to require the professional assistance of pest-controlling and exterminating companies. The professionals are well-equipped with tools and know exactly how to get to the nooks and crannies of your home to get rid of the bugs permanently.
Tell-Tale Signs that Your Dog is carrying Bed Bugs
Since bedbugs are serious pests that need to feed off the blood, your pet dog gets bitten continuously by these tiny nasty things if it is infested. Consequently, if your home is infested with bedbugs, irrespectively of whether brought in by your dog or not, there are several signs your pet will indicate to tell you that it is being fed on.
Suppose your dog is itching tons. This is the first red flag that something is fishy. We know that dogs have a natural tendency to scratch, yet, if a hundred tiny bed bugs are biting on him, he will scratch massively.
You should also look out for skin infections on your dog, such as red lesions or welts, as these are indicators that some kind of pest is disturbing their peace. Pay closer attention to your dog and watch out for rashes, blisters, and any other irritability on its skin. If your pup is losing a considerable amount of fur, there is a great possibility that bedbugs bite it.
The good news is that bed bugs don’t cause any severe skin disease. That said, it is still essential to get rid of bedbugs as these will be a constant source of annoyance and discomfort, not only for your pup but also for your home, in the long run.
What to do if Your Dog has Bed Bugs?
Suppose your dog has bedbugs. The first rational thing would be taking the dog to the vet immediately. However, you will have to ensure that your pet is well-trained to take pills/ medicines. You might want to train the puppy to take the pills with food or straight from your hand. Secondly, sterilize your pet’s leashes and collars.
Preferably, get new ones and replace the toys after sterilizing them. Lastly, the bedding of your pet needs to be sterilized as well. The best thing to do would be to get him/her new bedding. With all done, you need to eradicate the pest in your own home. If you can’t do it yourself, you can always seek help from pest control services who know the art of eradicating all kinds of pests from homes.
LEAVE A COMMENT