There are over 2000 species of fleas recorded in the world today. Fleas are external parasitic insects well adapted with tube-like strong mouth parts able to pierce the skin of mammals and birds to feed by sucking on their blood. They are about 1.5-3.5 mm in size with long and strong hind legs that make them very agile, especially in jumping. Fleas are wingless but can jump great distances in comparison to their body weight. Distances which other insects cannot. They are the best jumpers in the animal world. They could jump vertically and horizontally covering distances of about 7 inches and 13 inches respectively. If we humans compare their jumping ability to ours, we could be jumping nearly 300 feet horizontally and more than 150 feet vertically.
Flea Control & Treatments
There are fleas of different species that feed on humans, cats, dogs, rats, and other mammals and birds. They have adapted themselves well with hard strong bodies to withstand dislodging from a host’s body by scratching or pulling. They cannot be easily mashed up and being very agile, especially on a host with fur, hair or feathers can move very fast through. With a polished dark-colored body and hair that are bent towards its rear, fleas can move at speed undetected when threatened. Fleas cannot be killed easily by pressing between our soft-skinned fingers, it can only be killed by trapping them between two hard surfaces, like our fingernails. When pressed between our fingernails, they give out a sharp click noise when mashed up.
Like all other pests, fleas too are resilient and formidable. Infestation in our homes usually takes place if we have pets around, or have pets of our neighbors entering our premises. If you believe you have fleas in your home call your local pest exterminator in Charlotte, NC. Dropped fleas can begin an infestation, and when that happens if we do not provide them with a host in the form of a cat or dog they are sure to cling onto us, for their feed of blood. Fleas evolve through four stages in their life cycle, which are egg, larva, pupa, and adulthood. Adult fleas must have a feed of blood before they can begin their reproduction cycle.
An adult flea that has had no access to blood will not be in a position to reproduce hence they would desperately seek out a host to feed so that their life cycle could be completed. The four stages are generally distributed with about 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and around 5% adults. The females can only lay eggs after they have had a feed of blood, which they would lay in clusters of about 20 at a time. Once we have a flea infestation, depending on the gravity of the situation an effective flea treatment conducted by flea exterminators have to be undertaken to bring the situation under control.
Doing it on our own after the problem has aggravated would not suffice as all the areas that the host has had access to, would need to be treated. Preventing an infestation would be the ideal solution, which would mean that we would need first and foremost to keep our pets free of fleas. This is a very difficult task as pets are always prone to pick up a few fleas from anywhere they have access to. Flea exterminators would be able to advise us on the best course of action that we would need following, to endeavor and keep our pets free from fleas. Regular clean-up, and showering our pets with anti-flea shampoos, medication, and other flea treatments could prevent infestation by fleas.
Flea control is imperative if we do have pets at home, and always keeping a very close watch on our pets is important. Any scratching by our pet would indicate an infestation and immediate flea treatments have to be taken. Ignoring it could have disastrous consequences, as flea infestation can take place within a few weeks. Regular flea control has to be carried out on our pets to keep them free from fleas, healthy and active, and for our good health too.
When you do find fleas on your pet or some around your home even though you do not have a pet at home, it is best not to panic. Vacuuming your floor, carpets, furniture, and other likely places for them to be regularly will reduce your flea problem. Once you have vacuumed you must ensure that the bag is thoroughly cleaned up or disposed of, as the case may be. Regular vacuuming is known to be a very effective method of flea control. About 70-80 % of all stages of fleas are readily sucked in. Adults being only about 5%, it is necessary that the early stages are also controlled so that re-infestation does not occur. Floors of wood and tiles that have minute cracks and crevices are ideal hiding places for fleas. Vacuuming will suck them out, and then taking corrective measures like mopping with disinfectors would help.
There are natural ingredients like citronella oil that are used effectively in flea control. Giving your pet regular baths with a citronella-based shampoo would reduce the incidence of fleas, on its body and around the house. Regular brushing of your pet with a flea comb would also reduce the quantum of fleas on its body. If you have a garden where your pet is very likely to play, they could also harbor eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. Any treatment that would be carried out on your pet will have to be extended to the garden as well.
Experienced and trained flea exterminators can identify the various species and employ the most effective methods and insecticides to counter them. Like all other pests fleas cannot be eliminated or exterminated, they can only be controlled and that too, on a very consistent and sustained exercise. The strict regimen that we put into place is good for our pets as they would grow with no visits to the veterinarian, and grow into healthy animals. Their coats if dogs and cats would give a more gleaning look rather than a dull disarranged look after regular scratching. Regular scratching would also drop their fur and look sickly and frail. Their appetites would drop and be prone to various other sicknesses