Fleas are external parasites of mammals – especially dogs and humans. Gross. They have specialized body parts including straw-like mouths designed to suck blood and an extreme ability to leap more than 200 times their body size in order to jump on or off their host. Flea control is a huge issue for many as we’ve all had bites ourselves and witness our dogs go crazy dealing with flea bites!!
There are four stages of life – eggs, larva, pupa and adult – beginning with the laying of eggs by a female. In order for a flea to reproduce, both males and females MUST have a blood meal. Eggs are usually laid in groups of 20 and are typically laid on the host which allows eggs to fall off into the host’s sleeping and living areas. A female will lay as many as 60 eggs a day and up to 600 in a lifetime. It is important to know the stages of life in order to have successful flea control.
Within a given flea population, the breakdown is typically 50% eggs, 35% larva, 10% pupa and 5% adult. From egg to adult can take two weeks to eight months depending on temperature, humidity, available food sources, and the specific species of flea. While a blood meal is necessary for reproduction, an adult flea can live up to a year between feedings. They can over winter in certain areas and remain dormant in the larval and pupal stages until favorable conditions are present. Optimal temperature range is between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity around 70%.
Sobering fact: In just 30 short days in favorable conditions, 10 females can multiply to more than a quarter million fleas in different life stages. Flea control is imperative!
Flea ‘bites’ are actually single puncture holes and the allergic reaction on a host is to the flea saliva. Not only are these bites annoying, they can also be vector carriers of diseases including stomach flu, typhoid fever, bubonic plague, tapeworm and other organisms such as bacteria and protozoa.
While households provide excellent conditions for breeding, sandy soils are also supreme. Sand boxes, at the base of shrubs, in areas that dogs dig in the soil, etc. all serve as premier environments for fleas to multiply rapidly. Therefore, flea control must be multi-faceted to deal with all potential breeding sites. These little blood suckers are becoming immune to synthetic insecticides and can survive contact with many known anti-flea pesticides. But Greenbug works great!
To successfully treat, it is necessary to treat the host as well as the host’s environment. Fleas spend up to three-quarters of their lives off of a host and all of the different life cycles must be addressed in order to obtain adequate control. Vacuuming, laundering linens and dog beds with very hot water, plus diligent ongoing inspections work well inside the home. Treatment of outside sleeping areas as well as the lawn and landscaped areas (in case you have a dog that runs in the yard) are all necessary steps in a complete eradication of fleas. Treating just one variable such as just treating the dog is futile and will not yield satisfactory results. If you want to get rid of fleas, then you must get serious!
Greenbug for Pets and Greenbug for Indoors or Outdoors (as Ready to Use or concentrate) work wonders on controlling, preventing and eliminating fleas from your world. For more information, go to Help! I’ve Got Fleas!
<a href=”http://twitter.com/{screen_name}” data-show-count=”false”>Follow @Greenbugworks</a>
<script src=”http://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>