Can You Get Fleas From Pests – Rats and Mice?

There are various types of pets that can invade our homes. Some prime examples are rats and mice. Collectively known as rodents,
they are destructive, dangerous and notoriously difficult to control. Their biological makeup and instinctive habits make these rodents fairly challenging to eliminate on your own. Therefore, if you suspect that you could be having a rodent infestation in your house, you should call a professional exterminator to come over and get rid of these pests for you. Many people who have rats or mice in their homes wondering if they can get fleas from pests like rats and mice and should they call a mice removal Toronto? Here is an answer for them.

Rodents and fleas come hand in hand so rodent extermination will likely need to be two-fold on account of the fleas that are infesting the home. Fleas are much smaller and will prove more difficult to exterminate. Hire a licensed exterminator in Toronto to handle your flea problem permanently.

Do mice carry fleas?

Despite their tiny size, when they infest your household, mice can be a destructive and annoying problem. Mice will damage your food, household equipment, and furniture and if left to thrive, are a notoriously expensive problem to get rid of. You might have wondered, what is the connection between mice and fleas?

If you have pets like dogs, you have probably encountered fleas. They measure just a few millimetres and are as bad a problem as their host, mice. These parasitic nuances are equipped with powerful hind legs that enable them to jump long distances. Bites from fleas are itchy and irritating. Apart from causing allergies, they also carry another dangerous parasite, the tapeworm. What you might not know is mice, just like pets harbour fleas. These fleas will easily infest your home if you have a mouse problem. In case you notice that your dog or cat has fleas, and you can’t work out how and why they got them, then consider the possibility of a mouse colony in your home.

Mice fleas

Fleas need blood to develop and produce eggs. These parasitic insects will look for hosts to live off.  While fleas could easily invade your home and suck blood off humans, they prefer hairy animals such as cats and dogs but preferably mice since they are wild. Mice have fur, meaning they are not immune to fleas. Field mice, wild mice, and house mice all often have fleas.

Do mice have fleas?

When mice get access to their home, their first line of action will be to build a nest and look for food. Mice carry fleas, dealing with a mice infestation is a difficult task. Combine that with a flea problem, its one huge predicament. Fleas live off sucking blood on mice, and since fleas on mice are uncontrolled due to their wild nature, they could grow into a problematic number.

Mice invade homes looking for nesting areas, food, and water sources. When they finally get access to your home, they pose a potential flea problem.

Mice fleas are a potential health risk to both humans and animals. They often have tapeworms, and when they get into contact with human food, it could pose dire health problems. Worse, when the mice die, humans can get infected by the Plague that is transmitted to humans by handling the tissue of an infected mouse. It is therefore important to contact a professional pest removal service once you notice signs of fleas in your home. Chances are, you have a mouse and flea problem.

Do Mouse Fleas Bite Humans?

No, they do not, at least not under normal circumstances. Fleas and mice often come in a combo that would not like to have. Fleas are parasitic insects that feed on the host and that inhabit fur-bearing animals such as cats, rodents, and dogs. Back to the question, mouse fleas will not bite humans unless it is crucial to their survival, and no alternative. Since fleas live on the blood of mice it is highly unlikely that they will need human blood to survive, unlike bed bugs who only live off human blood.

Can Mice Carry Fleas Into Your House

Mice can very easily carry fleas in your house because fleas are already living off the mouse before it even enters the property. This issue gets even worse when you have cats and dogs living in the same home. Because the fleas live primarily on fur-bearing animals. When a flea happens to be dislodged and gets itself attached to either a dog or a cat, it can cause them irritation. If you see you cats and dogs behaving in an abnormal manner it may very well be fleas that caused them to be agitated. Fleas do have the potential to be dangerous to both humans and animals because of the blood they normally feed off. Mice carry at least 35 diseases that fleas feed off of making it possible to transfer the same diseases to humans.

How To Deal with Fleas From Rats in House?

Fleas and rats are usually one problem since fleas are dependant on rats to nourish them. DIY approaches are unlikely to work since these creatures are so minuscule. What you can do when you do have fleas on your dogs and cats is to comb and wash them out using special flea shampoo and a flea comb. It may be tedious work, but it will safe you a trip to the vet in the event that the dogs or cats scratch themself too roughly. The best way to deal with fleas is to deal with it through a professional pest control exterminator who has all the tools and the experience to make sure that the problem will not reoccur again.

Can rats bring flea infestation to your property?

Rats by themselves are a health hazard and are responsible for substantial damage within any given property. Their excrement causes disease as they harbour pathogens, while their teeth and nails scratch and claw through anything from the wiring and insulation, creating a fire hazard. Additionally, rats often carry ectoparasites; these are parasites living outside their bodies, and they include fleas, mites, and ticks. However, it is fleas that predominantly latch on, to which they drop off as rats make their way through your property.

Rat and flea infestation go together, and you should, therefore, treat them as one problem. Get rid of the former, you won’t have a return of the latter, especially after extermination. Having a flea problem in your home or commercial property and you don’t have pets is an indication that you have a rat problem; they are just yet to reveal themselves. Droppings and scratches on items are indications rats exist even though you don’t see them.

How to know if you have fleas on your property

It’s next to impossible to spot a flea, but you will know it’s around from how it leaves you feeling. After it bites, they typically hop out of sight, leaving you with the feeling that you’ve just been stung. Should bumps and welts, along with redness of the skin ensue, you’ll certainly know it was a flea bite? The primary instinct will be to scratch. When they infest your pet, you will notice that they itch and experience hair or fur loss.

What accompanies the next are areas where you’ll find white or black power or debris. The former is usually the eggs while the latter is feces. You’ll know you have an infestation of you notice them on your bedding, carpet, couch and other similar areas. This primarily applies in all areas but be sure not to mistake these signs for bed bugs. It may be worth comparing bed bug feces and flea feces pictures on the internet to be sure you are diagnosing the right pest.

Signs You Have Fleas in the House

Having rodents in the house is an obvious first sign that you might have additional invaders. Others signs that you might have a flea infestation include;

1. Scratching

If you or your pets are scratching more than usual the likely culprit might be fleas. These pests tend to infest pets first because of the abundance of fur on the animals. You can expect fleas on areas of your body that have hair such as the back of the head and neck and armpit among other awkward areas.

2. Unexplained Bumps and Welts

It is highly unlikely that you will see these tiny pests in action as they tend to jump out of sight after attacking. Flea bites are felt like a painful sting and result in welts and bumps. You might want to make sure that you don’t have some other kind of pest such as a bed bug. Unexplained bumps and welts are a sign you need to call an exterminator about a pest problem.

3. Strange Debris on Bedding

You may spot flea eggs which are white mounds of what looks like powder or debris. Flea feces look black or brown and roughly the size of powdered pepper. You may notice this debris in your bedding, pet’s sleeping area or on the carpet. This together with scratching and unexplained welts and bumps are a good indication of a flea problem.

4. Pet Hair Loss

Some types of fleas cause a severe reaction in animals. This reaction is known as alopecia and causes the pet to lose its hair or fur. This hair loss may also be a result of the pet scratching the infested area too much. Fleas do not cause hair loss in humans.

5. Rats, mice and fleas

Rats and mice can deliver fleas to your house. The fleas can hide in the fur of these pests and end up in your home, clothing or on your
pets. If your resident dog or cat is treated and you still notice some fleas in your home, then you have an infestation of mice or rats.

When you have rats, mice and fleas in your home, this can be a major problem. That’s because the fleas can lay eggs all over your home and eventually number in the thousands over a very short period of time. Moreover, the rats and mice can multiply very quickly as well. This further propagates the flea problem around your home.

Fleas that are brought about by rats or mice can cause you to get infected with some serious diseases. Infected fleas cause the bubonic
plague when they bite human beings. This disease is known to have caused the deaths of approximately 25 million people in Europe during the 14th century. Today, there are still some outbreaks of this disease that are caused by infected fleas from rats and mice.

How can you solve this infestation if it happens in your home?

Upon noticing that you have rats, mice and fleas in your home, the first thing to do is to contact a professional extermination company.
There are experts who have the necessary equipment and skills that are required to eliminate both of these pests from your house permanently. Licensed exterminators also have the experience which is required to deal with an infestation of small, medium or large proportions. Do not attempt to get rid of these pets on your own. If possible, find an alternative place to live in while the pests are being exterminated from your home.

Rats and mice are common pests in residential and commercial establishments today. For those wondering, can you get fleas from pests – rats and mice? These pests often bring along fleas that can bite and spread disease. In case you find evidence of rats or mice in your home, make sure to contact a licensed exterminator. Call the Exterminators at 647-496-2211 and we will handle your issues with fleas quickly and effectively. Additionally, we offer pest control products for DIY methods.

The reason to call an exterminator for a rodent problem aside from professional extermination is the expert can determine whether there are additional problems such as fleas. DIY is almost always ineffective in this case. Flea larvae, eggs and pupae are almost impossible to spot unless you know what you are looking for so there is little chance that you can perform an effective treatment. Hire a pest control Toronto expert who can guarantee comprehensive pest removal services and clean-up.

Getting rid of rats and fleas

If you have an infestation of both, you might have to prepare for a long journey ahead. Getting rid of both, especially fleas, can take quite a while due to their ability to breed and spread on your property at an accelerated pace. Therefore, upon noticing the first signs, call a professional exterminator immediately. Though you might find ways to reduce the population, it takes someone with training and experience to deal with the problem using a wholesome approach.

Those faced with this issue for the first time might be tempted to go about tackling the problem themselves. The reason why this only goes so far is that of the ability for both rats and fleas to hide in places that you could never imagine or you can’t access. Getting rid of rats begins with locating every possible entry point in your home and sealing them, before going around setting traps. It’s unlikely that you’ll have the technical know-how on going about this, or even the resources. Secondly, a flea bomb can kill existing ones. What of the thousands of eggs already existing?

Hiring a professional exterminator

A pest removal professional in Toronto will ensure that they use industry and zone approved technology and equipment to remove both rats and fleas from your home. Part of the package includes assessing possible entry points and sealing existing ones, the extermination process itself, and cleaning. It may be necessary for the exterminator to come back in case the initial treatment did not work as expected so make sure you get a warranty for the service. Whatever the case, you can be assured that the exterminator will do everything in their power to leave your home free of rats and fleas.

Article Updated:  October 17, 2020