Summer is here and many Orange County homeowners are starting to see fleas attacking their families and pets.
Fleas bite dogs, cats and people. Their bites cause itching and irritation, and some sensitive animals may even require veterinary assistance. Fleas can also transmit disease, such as tapeworms and bacterial infections.
These pests multiply rapidly and if you ignore early problem signs, infestations can quickly spiral out of control.
What You Need To Know About Fleas
Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) are the most common fleas infesting both dogs and cats. Opossums, racoons, rats and other wildlife, are also common carriers of these fleas.
One of the most important things you need to know about fleas is that they have a complete lifecycle (egg, larvae, pupal, and adult stages). This is so important to understand because if you only attempt to control just one stage of the lifecycle, it will have little if any affect on the other three stages.
Let’s say that you decided to go to the market and purchase one of those “flea bombs” that you see advertised. If you set one of those off in your home, you may see a temporary reduction in the number of adult fleas. The problem with this type of product is that it will have almost no effect on the eggs or pupae. In other words, if you still have thousands of flea eggs and pupae spread throughout your home, you will quickly see new fleas emerging because they were unaffected by your treatment.
How To Control Fleas
The biggest secret of controlling fleas is to break their lifecycle. Here are some steps you can take to make this happen:
• Have your pets treated. Adult fleas spend most of their time on dogs or cats. This is why treatment of your pets is an essential step in ridding your home of fleas. We especially recommend that you take your pets to a veterinarian. The products they use are proven to work, and if you’ll make this a consistent habit, you may never experience another flea problem at your home.
• Vacuum your home. Use a powerful vacuum to remove flea eggs, larvae and pupae from your floors, carpet, upholstery and drapes. When finished, it is very important that you empty the vacuum into a sealed trash can outside of your home. By doing a thorough job of vacuuming, you are helping to prevent thousands of fleas from ever developing.
• Wash pet bedding. Pet bedding can be a hotspot for fleas and washing these items will eliminate countless numbers of them.
• Treatment of premises. In some cases, you may find it necessary to treat the premises, as well as the pets.
This will help to speed up the elimination of fleas within your home.
When using any product, you should always follow the label’s instructions very carefully. Applications can be made by using liquid or aerosol products.
Applications should be thorough and include all likely areas of flea development. Flooring, carpets, rugs, under and behind beds and furniture, and under sofa cushions should all be treated. Look for areas where pets spend most of their time because a majority of the eggs, larvae and pupae will be found in those places.
• Use a product that contains an insect growth regulator! When selecting a product, read the list of ingredients and look for a product that contains “methoprene” or “pyriproxyfen”. These are insect growth regulators and they will halt the development of flea eggs and larvae. This is like “birth control” for fleas, and one of the best ways to break the insect’s lifecycle.
• Treat the exterior areas of your home. Concentrate on areas where pets rest, sleep and run. It is important to note that fleas do not do well in direct sunlight, so treatment of the entire yard is seldom necessary. Areas that are shaded and receive little or no sunlight should be inspected and treated as needed.
• Make your yard less desirable for stray cats and wildlife. Some people are experiencing flea problems – even when they don’t own a pet. Why is this happening? Well, the reason for this could simply be that they have wild animals living in, or visiting their yards – especially at night.
One of the best ways to make your yard less attractive for these animals is to eliminate areas where they can hide. Check for areas of heavy vegetation, and cut it back or thin it out as needed. If you can see the ground under these plants, the animals won’t be able to hide there and they will naturally look for another place for harborage.
You should clean up excess clutter around your home to remove areas where animals can hide.
If you feed your pets outside, please make it a habit to remove food and water bowls at night. This will help to keep these other animals from coming to your house for a late-night snack.
• Keep on vacuuming! Even after performing treatments, you may still see some fleas in your home. That is why we recommend you vacuum your home on a daily basis, until the problem goes away. Further treatments of your home’s interior are usually not necessary.
If you’ll take these tips and put them to use, you’ll be able to solve a lot of your flea problems on your own. Have a tough flea problem and need help with it? Call us at (949) 631-7348 and we’ll be happy to schedule an appointment at your convenience.
