INTRODUCTION TO FLEAS
Flea infestations within the home are typically due to infested pets and domestic animals. Infestations can also occur when homes are left in poor sanitary condition. Fleas can be vectors of plague and murine typhus, and serve as intermediate hosts of the dog tapeworm. Human fleas are found throughout the warmer parts of the world, and in the United States they thrive in sub-tropical climates, such as Florida.
BIOLOGY
Females lay 4-8 eggs after each blood meal, for a total of up to 400 in a lifetime. Eggs usually fall off the host and hatch in 2-14 days. Larvae usually feed on organic matter such as droppings from adult fleas and feces of animals, but can feed satisfactorily on crushed rat feces alone. The larvae go through 3 instars in 1-5 weeks and then spin a cocoon and pupate. Under favorable conditions, adults emerge in 1-3 weeks. Developmental time (egg to adult) may be as short as 17 days. Adults may live more than 2 years.
HABITS
Besides humans, these fleas infest cats, dogs, and other domestic animals, especially pigs. Most problems with human fleas occur in rural or farm areas. Infestations start with the farm animals and are then brought into the home. The human flea attacks a wide variety of wild animals including mice, ground squirrels, skunks, fox, deer, opossums, and burrowing owls. In a Florida study, 20% of the flea-infested dogs had the human flea on them accounting for about 7.5% of the fleas present. In Florida, human fleas are more prevalent in the cooler months on dogs kept outside. Bites of human fleas may be generally distributed over the human body whereas, cat flea bites which tend to be concentrated on the lower legs.
CLEMENTS APPROACH TO CONTROL
Removal of Host: If your pet has fleas at the time of treatment, you must arrange for the pet to be treated. Treatment may be done by a veterinarian, grooming parlor, or by the pet owner, but must be done on the day of treatment and either before or while the premises are being treated.
Interior Treatment: Occupants of the home must do the following just before the flea treatment:
Remove all items such as toys and pillows off the floor or carpet;
Remove all articles from under beds, on closet floors, and from under furniture;
Vacuum all upholstered furniture, floors, and carpeting, paying particular attention to the foot of the furniture on which the pet rests, under furniture, and wall-floor junctions. The vacuum bag must be immediately removed and put into a plastic garbage bag, the top sealed, and then placed in an outside garbage receptacle or burned.
Thoroughly clean all areas frequented by cats, e.g. table tops, refrigerator tops, window sills, counters, etc.
Cover aquariums and turn off the pumps prior to the treatment. Be sure to remove all pets, including birds.
Our interior treatment consists of applying an appropriately labeled pesticide and/or IGR (insect growth regulator) be used on the initial treatment throughout the home, and reapplied during a follow-up treatment 7-10 days later.
Exterior Treatment: For exterior control, we offer an additional lawn spray application with a thirty day warranty.
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FLEA CLEANOUT CHECKLIST
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