Does this sound familiar? You're comfortably watching TV, your beloved pet by your side and suddenly you start to notice your ankle itching. As you look down to scratch, you see a miniscule black dot about the size of a sesame seed jumping off your leg into the carpet?

Unfortunately, for most pet owners, this scene will be reality one day. Fleas just seem to be a part of pet ownership and while they don't really pose a major risk of disease to humans they do pose a health threat to your pet. Veterinarians report that up to 80% of pets they see with skin irritations, lesions, intense scratching issues or tapeworms are all the result of fleas.

Fleas are small, wingless insects that live on warm blooded hosts (your dog, cat, ferret, bird even you!), biting and sucking blood as their only food. They have very hard shells, giving them an edge on survival and very strong jumping legs for quick and easy movement. Try to pick one up, and you'll see just how far and fast they can move. And fleas reproduce fast; one adult female flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day or 300 during the course of her short lifetime. It's been estimated the at any time, if your pet has fleas, the flea population is made up of 50% un-hatched eggs, 30% larvae, 15% pupae and only 5% adults. That means that for every 5 fleas you see, there are 100 more you don't see in some stage of development.

Does your pet have fleas? How do you know?

As you've read above, not seeing the fleas doesn't mean they aren't in your home and on your pet. If you haven't seen a flea but you suspect that your pet may have fleas, here are some signs of flea infestation:

• Black specks left on the surface where your pet has been sitting or napping. You may also see the flea dirt attached to your pet's hair while you are grooming the pet. The tiny black specks resemble pepper and may be mixed in with small white specks. What you're really seeing is white flea eggs and black "flea dirt". The flea dirt is really undigested blood that has been excreted by the adult fleas as they feed.
  
• If you want to be sure, simply pick up a few of the specks on a dampened white paper towel. In just a few moments, those black specks will dissolve into rusty red spots as the blood is reconstituted.
• Increased scratching or gnawing by your pet. Many animals have an allergic reaction to flea saliva. When the flea bites, the pet reacts by trying to relieve the itching from the allergy. The pet may also be constantly gnawing in an attempt to catch the flea. Keep in mind that all pets occasionally scratch, just like humans, and there can be other causes, but very intense scratching, usually with scabbed sores or reddish skin usually means a severe flea infestation.

What next? Treating and Controlling Fleas

No one wants to see their pet suffer from all those fleas biting. It's time to take action. Controlling fleas is a multistep process; you must treat the pet, your home and possibly even your yard to completely control the infestation.

The Hidden Survival Secret of Fleas

Fleas are extraordinarily adapted for survival; this is what makes it so important to commit to a multistep approach to killing them. What's their secret? Fleas can actually adjust their life cycle depending on the environmental conditions around them. The normal flea life cycle is 12 days to 6 moths, but they can live up to 2 years in the pupa stage with no food. Even the adults, can go weeks without food, while waiting for a host to appear.

Step 1 - Treat Your Pet

The first step to controlling the fleas is to get a flea comb and spend some quality grooming time with your pet. Luckily, most pets love being groomed, so take your time, comb your pet slowly and really get all those fleas. A flea comb's teeth are very closely placed to allow capturing adult fleas, eggs and flea dirt.

If you've never used a flea comb, here's a couple of tips.

• Cover your lap with a light colored towel, not only to keep yourself clean, but to help you see fleas and flea dirt as it comes off the pet.
• You'll need a shallow bowl of warm water nearby. As you comb your pet, dip the comb in the water to remove all the fleas and residue.
• Start each new stroke with a clean comb to make sure that you're not just spreading the fleas around.
• When you are finished, flush the dirty water and fleas down the toilet.
• Keep your flea comb handy for daily use and you'll really notice a decrease in the flea problem.

Flea Treatment Choices

Once you've gotten your pet combed, its time to apply a flea treatment. The most popular flea treatment choice today is called a Spot On. It's a topical liquid that you simply squeeze out of a tube and apply to your pet. Spot On flea treatments are safe for your pet and gentle on the skin. They are very effective and there are Spot On flea treatments for cats as well as Spot Ons for dogs. Be sure that you are using the correct formula for your pet. Dog Spot Ons are not interchangeable with cat spot on treatments. Topical Spot Ons work externally and internally to break the flea lifecycle.

Other choices in treating your pet's fleas are flea sprays or mists, shampoos, dips and flea collars. Each is effective in specific situations, but most only remove the adult flea and do nothing to break the life cycle. Consult with your veterinarian if you need help deciding which treatment is right for you.

Generally, flea dips are economical and convenient if you have a number of pets to de-flea. Flea Sprays or Mists can be useful for spot treating specific areas of reinfestation or for removing fleas on just one area of your pet. Flea shampoos only work to kill adult fleas. It's always a good idea to keep your pet clean to help reduce the irritation of a flea allergy, just keep in mind that flea shampoo is not actually doing anything to prevent further flea troubles.

The least effective method of preventing and controlling fleas is the traditional dog flea collar. Although they are more effective than in years past, collars are limited in their effectiveness.

Here's an insider tip on flea treatments. Contrary to popular opinion, there is really no reason to switch brands of flea control from year to year. Fleas are not known to build up any resistance to the chemicals in today's flea treatments.

Step 2 - Treat Your Home

Now that you've gotten the fleas under control on your pet, it's time to treat your home. Anywhere your pet spends time will need treated ; carpets, pet bedding, furniture, your bed if you pet sleeps with you, the bottom of the closet if that's your cat's favorite spot. Getting the picture? If you're pet's been there, so have the fleas.

Begin by thoroughly cleaning. Vacuuming has been proven to be almost as effective as pesticides at reducing the flea population. Vacuuming has the added advantage of creating the pressure and vibration that causes adult fleas to break out of their cocoon, meaning that you'll be ending the life cycle by sucking up those new fleas! So get a new bag or start with a clean dirt cup and vacuum several times a week until the problem subsides. One caution – empty the dirt cup or remove the vacuum bad immediately when you're done and seal in a plastic bag for disposable.

Use your crevice tool to get into all the dark little places the parasitic flea larvae like in your furniture, under carpets, between floor boards and baseboards, etc. If you don't have carpet, use hot soapy water to clean the potential breeding and hiding place.

Very severe flea infestations may require multiple cleanings before you see results. You may even want to shampoo or steam clean your carpet to really get all the fleas out.

Once the fleas are gone, use an environmental indoor flea preventative spray on the entire premise to prevent further flea development. Read all the precautions and directions on the container and be careful to use only as directed.

Step 3 -Treating The Great Outdoors

Fleas live outside as well as indoors and on your pet. If your pet goes outdoors, you'll also have to apply an outdoor flea treatment. Outdoor fleas can some indoors by hitching a ride on your own shoes as well as jumping back on your dog.Fleas can live in the soil under bushes and in places your dog frequents in the yard. You'll also need to stay vigilant and watch for any new fleas that could come home on your pet from the groomer, a dog park, a visiting pooch or even the veterinarian's office.

Flea season can be especially tricky to nail down because of the flea's adaptability. In the United States, flea season can run from July to December and be a year round problem for the southern states where it never freezes. It can take year round preventative treatment to keep the fleas at bay.

It's a lot of work to get rid of fleas, isn't it? You're probably agreeing now that year round prevention is the best way of dealing with the pesky little bugs!