Fleas usually are not hard to control with the right products. As a Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you have a flea problem that presists please call us or seek professional help. If you have animals in your crawl space or rodents in your attic you may only be treating part of the problem.
There are about 200 different species of fleas that exist worldwide. Mature fleas feed with blood from the skin of their host: pets, people and wild animals. The most common species (on humans, dogs, cats, rats, rabbits, mice, squirrels and other animals) is the cat flea. Fleas can transmit germs to their host, like eggs of tapeworms. The rat flea was the transmission vector of the bubonic plague bacteria that killed millions of people in the Middle Ages.
Fleas pass through a complete life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult. Completion of the life cycle from egg to adult varies from two weeks to eight months depending on the temperature, humidity, food, and species. Effective control of flea infestation aims to interrupt the life cycle (IGR Insect Growth Regulator). Normally after a blood meal, the female flea lays about 15 to 20 eggs per day, up to 600 in her lifetime. Eggs loosely laid in the hair coat drop out almost anywhere, especially where the host rests, sleeps or nests (rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, cat or dog boxes, kennels, sand boxes, etc.).
Eggs hatch into larvae stage between two days to two weeks, found indoors in and along floor cracks, crevices, along baseboards, under rug edges and in furniture or beds. Outdoor development occurs in sandy gravel soils (moist sand boxes, dirt crawlspace under the house, under shrubs, etc.) where the host may rest or sleep. Sand and gravel are very suitable for larval development which is the reason fleas are falsely called "sand fleas."
Larvae are blind, avoid light, and take a week to several months to develop. Their food consists of digested blood from adult flea feces, dead skin, hair, feathers, and other organic debris; larvae do not suck blood. Pupae can mature to adulthood in five to fourteen days, but will wait for the right time to hatch into and adult flea. The Pupae are very resilient and are protected by their cocoon, The adult fleas emerge or may remain resting in the cocoon until the detection of vibration (pet and people movement), pressure (host animal lying down on them), heat, noise, or carbon dioxide (meaning a potential blood source is near). Most fleas overwinter in the larval or pupal stage with survival and growth best during warm, moist winters and spring.
Do It Yourself Pest Control of Fleas outdoors: This can be accomplished using an exterior application of a residual insecticide such as Demand CS, Demon WP, Talstar P, or Suspend SC. Also treat the ground around your home 5 to 8 feet wide with Talstar PL granules (25 pound bag will treat up to 1/2 acre). All of these products are odorless and will give you great results.
Do It Yourself Pest Control of Fleas inside, our first choice is Ultracide aerosol that contains Nylar (IGR Insect Growth Regulator) and will treat up to 2600sq. feet. We have fewer retreats with this product than any others we have used. Many companies use insecticide concentrates like Conquer, Suspend CS with Precor IGR concentrate added to break the life cycle. If you have pets and don't have a flea problem you can treat your home with Precor IGR, this will help to keep fleas down. Just Click on the PDF Link here FLea Treatment Check List for some help.
Flea control on dogs and cats: We recommend Petcor Flea Spray. Petcor conntains natural pyrenthrins to immediately kill adult fleas, plus Precor IGR (Insect Growth Regulator) that kills flea eggs for about 60 days after application.
As the Do It Yourself Pest Control Person you are the one responsible for any Drift of Pesticide or contamination of waters in the area. So please read and follow the label very carefully.
