Printable brochure on fleas

FLEAS 

Siphonaptera

Fleas in the Home

Although it may seem as if your pets are carrying the majority of the fleas, more than 90% of the fleas in your house are not on your pets. What you see on your dog or cat are the adult fleas and usually, less than 1% of the fleas are in this stage. The rest of it will either be in the eggs, larvae or cocoons stages and these are what you have to be concern about.

By the time you discover a few fleas on your pet,there could be thousands of flea eggs that have fallen on the carpet and into the cracks of the floor. 

You can treat your pet with the best flea products available but it does no good if the flea eggs hatch.  The  larvae will quickly develop into adult fleas. These hungry fleas will again jump onto your pet and begin the whole cycle leading to an endless cycle of re-infestation in your house.

Flea Control

There is a variety of different products aiding in Flea control. It may not be possible to completely clean your house like you can your pets, it is however possible to eliminate fleas in a few steps.

STEP 1:

Cleaning the house is a crucial.  Start with vacuuming the the floors,  Make sure to get under carpets due to hidden flea eggs.  NOTE:  It is essential you discard the used vacuum bag/s because eggs can hatch in the vacuum bag and launch another infestation.  

STEP 2:

Wash the base of carpets and loose material in warm soapy water.  Flea larvae is sensitive to extreme temperatures and thus will be killed off during high heat &/excessive cold treatments.

STEP 3:

In severe infestations the next step my be to use a flea fogger or flea bomb which can be done by your local pest control company.  In these cases you will have to vacate your home for several hours while the house is being fumigated.

For additional information:

Fleas Management Guidelines--UC IPM

Printable brochure on fleas