Chances are if you have pets you have had to deal with the almost inevitable flea infestation. All pet owners know that once a flea infestation has gripped your living space it can be the start of a long battle.

In order to properly rid you home and pets of fleas you will treat the infestation as a whole. The fleas do not only live on your pet. Some research indicated that fleas spend less than 15% of their time on you pet. The rest of the time they are comfortably tucked away in a variety of warm places. Your carpet, your couches and even in your garden.

Summer and warmer weather will also bring out these evil little critters. This is because the warmth speeds up their life cycles. Depending on where you live you could face a flea problem all year around.

RECOGNIZING INFESTATION

Chances are you will know all about a budding flea problem. Fleas leave itchy bites on the ankles and beyond and make life for everyone in the area a misery. Fleas also leave telltale black or dark brown droppings.

One way to gauge the severity of the infestation is to comb your dogs coat over a white paper. The number of dark crumb-like bits that fall onto the paper will indicate the seriousness of your infestation.

If the fleas are leaving a lot of bites on the people in your home you will know the infestation is bad. Calamine lotion will provide some relief if the itching is bad. You can also experiment with one of the many natural repellents. Various substances rubbed on ankles or exposed skin will help keep the fleas from biting the humans; so you can concentrate on killing all the fleas.

THE DANGERS OF CHEMICALS

Many experts agree that the current chemical warfare on fleas is doing little to lesson the problem. Not only are these chemical treatments ineffective; they are also dangerous.

The dangers of these chemicals being ingested by dogs or even your children are high.

And theres the fear that repeated, prolonged use of these chemicals is creating a new "super flea'. Eventually fleas will become completely resistant to our treatments. This evolution of fleas will create a need for stronger and stronger chemicals. Who knows what kinds of super chemicals we'll need 50 years from now.

Those in favor of natural flea remedies claim that natural treatments work better than the chemical ones. In order to treat the problem effectively you will need to adopt a holistic action plan.