| The
facts
That allowing any type of insect or rodent within your premises
or home will obviously be a nuisance and in some cases serious
illness, loss of business and in extreme circumstances,
legal and civil prosecution. Adults fleas are normally 1
- 4mm long, brownish in colour, without wings, but with
powerful legs adapted for jumping. Female fleas can live
up to two years, during which time they can lay up to 1000
eggs and 0.5mm long oval and pearly white. Four to eight
eggs are laid after a blood meal, they will hatch after
10 days. Larva 1.5mm long and thread-like. Larvae feed on
debris and adult flea droppings. Adult fleas feed solely
on vertebrate blood. In most situations a flea problem in
the home, is caused by the cat or bird flea. These are the
two most common fleas found today, followed by the dog flea.
(The human flea is extremely rare). Fleas can be carried
into the home by an animal or a person.
Where do Fleas live?
Adult fleas live exclusively as parasites of warm-blooded
animals. The females lay their eggs after feeding on the
infested animal. The eggs drop onto the floor and the animal's
bedding. After several days the eggs will develop into larvae.
After two to three weeks the larvae will be fully developed.
The larva will then spin a cocoon where it will spend a
further two to three weeks before emerging as an adult flea.
Why keep Fleas under control?
In this part of Europe there is little evidence to suggest
that fleas transmit any serious illness to humans. However,
flea bites on you or family members - in humans, flea bites
can produce an allergic reaction and cause skin irritation
and distress. The typical symptom of a flea bite is a small
red spot 5mm or so in diameter. In sensitive individuals,
however, the response can be worse and the bite intensely
itchy. If in doubt, contact your GP for advice.
Prevention & Control
There are many stages involved in treating a flea problem.
In order to treat an infestation successfully the type and
source of the flea needs to be determined. This may require
professioal identification. You will probably first become
alerted to the fact that your pet may have fleas by its
constant scratching. Your suspicion can then be confirmed
either by seeing fleas or flea droppings in the coat. Flea
droppings are small black specks mainly composed of dried
blood, and they are usually seen in clusters lying next
to the skin. They are easy to spot in light coloured animals
by brushing back the hair. In dark coated breeds it may
be better to comb the animal over a sheet of paper onto
which any flea droppings will then fall. The identity of
the black specks may be confirmed by adding a few drops
of water - if they turn red, your pet has fleas.
Treatment
Contact Paramite Pest Solutions
if you suspect you may have a problem and we can advise
you on the best course of action. A visit by our pest control
officer can be arranged. He will carry out a survey and
will advised you on the type and action to take. First,
clear as much floor space as possible, to ensure that treatment
is as thorough as possible. Vacuuming all areas helps to
remove any debris, eggs, larvae and adult fleas. The vibration
of the vacuum cleaner also helps to stimulate adults to
hatch from their cocoon stage. Pay particular attention
to areas where your pet may sleep. The standard treatment
for infested premises is the application of a residual insecticide,
either as a powder or a liquid spray. The insecticide is
applied to all floor surfaces and these areas must not be
vacuumed or washed for at leat 10 days after the treatment,
or longer if possible. In order to achieve effective control,
pets must also be treated with a product approved for veterinary
use (treatment of adult fleas on pets is the owners responsibility).
Paramite Pest Solutions will take all possible precautions.
Revisits will be made until the problem is cleared. |
