Help To Control Fleas

Fleas can create a full-blown infestation of your home and jeopardise the health of your loved ones without warning, but homeowners can arm themselves with the right information to better treat, control, and eradicate fleas.

Homeowners are urged to consider fleas a viable threat to family members and pets, specifically during the hot summer months when fleas thrive and populate quickly. The most important step to take when ridding your home and pets of fleas is to understand a the 4-stage lifecycle of a flea in order to know when how and when best to kill these resilient pests.

Most do-it-yourself treatments don't do a good job of explaining to consumers that different products work only on a particular life stage of the flea – egg, pupa, larvae or adult – so, when treated, fleas can return to infest time and again.

All fleas start out as tiny eggs, each about one-and-one-half times the size of an actual flea. Once fully-grown, female fleas are capable of laying between 400 and 800 eggs within a week that can be easily shaken off and scattered throughout surfaces in and around your home to hatch into small, wormlike larvae, until they emerge ready to attack a warm-blooded host in search of a blood meal – whether human, canine, feline or other.

If bitten, symptoms can include itching, dermatitis, allergic reactions and even anemia. In some cases, flea bites can even cause hair loss as a result of frequent scratching and biting by the animal. Fleas are commonly found in furniture, carpeting, cracks and dark corners. Because fleas spend 90 percent of their time off their host, if you find one on your pet, you can likely assume that there are an additional 100 fleas hiding around as well.

On average, fleas can live for two to three months. However, fleas in the egg stage can survive through a cold winter, and then hatch to hunt again when the temperatures become warm enough for the flea to thrive.

The following three-step approach can help control a flea problem in and around your home:

1. Prepare the Home

   • Wash all bedding that the infested pet has been in contact with in hot water. This includes any and all pet bedding, as well as your bedding if your pet sleeps with you or jumps up on the bed. Leave beds stripped until after treatment.
   • Remove all toys, decorative items, pillows and other items off the floor so all areas of the floor can be treated. Also, remove all articles from under beds, on closet floors, and from under furniture, as these areas are where fleas live and need to be treated.
   • Vacuum all areas that your pet has been in contact with, especially the areas around the pet's bedding, to remove animal hair, organic debris, flea eggs and pupa. The vibrations from the vacuum cleaner also can trick fleas into emerging from their pupa stage, where they are protected by a hard, impenetrable shell that keeps them safe from most flea control treatments. Once out of the cocoon, they are vulnerable.
   • Cover fish tanks and unplug fish tank pumps.
   • Wet mop non-carpeted floor areas with warm water immediately before treatment.

2. Treat the Problem

   • Once you've properly cleaned and prepared your home for treatment, you're ready to contract a reliable pest control professional to fully treat your home and outlying areas, or you can make the commitment to undertake the job yourself.
   • Treat the problem yourself by using insecticide treatments to kill adult fleas and larvae in your home. Other treatments known as insect growth regulators, are used to eliminate the fleas' ability to lay eggs and repopulate, thereby eliminating future generations of fleas.
   • For outdoor environments, use an insecticide and growth regulator around infested areas, such as doghouses and other infested sites.
   • Do not allow pets, children or other people back into your home until the treatment has completely dried. This could take up to three hours.

3. Treat Pets

   • Fleas can also live and reproduce on your pet, so it is just as important to properly treat your dog or cat as it is to treat your home.
   • If treating at home, shampoo your pet with insecticide shampoo. This kind of treatment is meant to eliminate the fleas living on your pet. Be sure to use a shampoo that is right for your pet, and pay close attention to label warnings and toxicity labels accordingly.
   • Dips are among the most effective, yet invasive flea treatment. Most dips come in concentrate form, and need to be diluted in water before being rubbed onto your pet. The substance is then left to dry and not washed, or rubbed off. You should consult with a vet before exposing your pet to this treatment.

Treating your home and your pets can greatly reduce the number of fleas in your home, and decrease the chances that more fleas will complete their life cycles. Be sure to take precautionary measures in using chemicals and insecticides, and carefully read the labels of every product you use.

By carefully and methodically cleaning and treating your home and keeping up on your pet's flea treatments, you will be able to eliminate fleas and prevent future flea breakouts.

Article provided by SDA Pest Control