Are you having trouble with fleas? Experts say the time to get them under control is now. Josh Stevenson has our Safe Family report.

If they get on your pet they can become a nightmare for your dogs, cats, and you. That is because the fleas that you see, are just the tip of the iceberg

"When you have an adult flea, that’s only 5% of the flea population. 95% are in the environment," Dr. David Tidwell at Texoma Veterinary Hospital says.

Female fleas can lay more than 500 eggs in a lifetime, and as Dr. Tidwell has seen, they can be much more than an itchy annoyance.

“In small animals and some older pets, we see some that have so many fleas they are anemic and require a blood transfusion," Dr. Tidwell says.

The best defense against fleas is a good offense, by protecting your pet before a flea ever gets on them

“The most important thing to do is to have your pet on some type of monthly flea prevention. We have many safe preventative medicines that can give to your pet once a month to prevent fleas."

If your dog or cat does have pest problem, it’s a good idea to not only get treatment for the animal but for its environment as well.

"We do want to treat the pet, but if we don’t treat the environment, we are going to miss that 95% of the time."

To do this, first you can try an over the counter product, but be careful and make sure you follow the directions on where and how often to use them. If that does not work, you can always call in the professionals to take care of the pesky pests.

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