Ava Williams
In many households, dogs are equal family members, sometimes even substitute children. So what speaks against having your beloved four-legged friend with you around the clock and also letting him go to bed?
Dogs in bedrooms are not uncommon. This was the result of a recent survey of pet owners. According to this, almost every second dog owner allows their animal to spend the night in bed. Cat owners are even more tolerant. And although, according to the survey, almost all animals also have a permanent place to sleep in the house, night after night they prefer to slip under the covers of their mistresses and masters. Nine out of ten animals that are allowed to sleep with you do so every day or at least several times a week. Interestingly, only every fourth child is regularly allowed to sleep in bed with their parents.
But be careful with too much animal love. Dogs are not always “out and about alone”, but bring uninvited guests into the bedroom. What is meant are fleas that like to romp around in the fur of dogs or cats and thus get into the house and bedroom unnoticed. There and in the whole apartment they find the best conditions to multiply uncontrollably. A female flea can lay up to 40 eggs a day. Only five percent of these offspring make their quarters in the animal’s fur, the rest spread out invisibly in the form of eggs, larvae, and pupae near the pet – including in the bed.
The most important and most common flea is the cat flea. Despite its name, it is not particularly choosy when it comes to finding a host. He feels equally at home with cats and dogs. Even humans are not safe from its bites.
Late summer and autumn are particularly critical. Fleas like it warm and look for suitable winter quarters. A heated apartment and a cozy bed are just the things. Therefore, all dogs and cats living in the household should be treated against flea infestation in a timely and long-term manner. Suitable for combating is the combination of preparations that capture both adult fleas and eggs and larvae.
If fleas have already made themselves at home in the bed, the bed and the rest of the home must also be included in the control measures. However, fresh bed linen alone is not enough. The mattress should be vacuumed thoroughly and ideally treated with a steam cleaner. Likewise, all other rooms and sleeping areas of the pet must be cleaned thoroughly every day over a longer period to get rid of the tough beasts.