Fleas

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Fleas Fleas are dreaded pests no matter where they are found. They are particularly bad during warmer months when the ground stays damp. The presence of pets and livestock can exacerbate flea problems, however fleas can be introduced into any area by wildlife such as squirrels, rats, mice, skunks, deer and other warm blooded animals.>/p>

Adult fleas are a nuisance to humans, pets and livestock simply because their bites cause extreme ithching. Additionally, fleas can cause medical problems including flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), tapeworms, secondary skin irritations, anemia, and even be carriers for bubonic palgue! Although bites are rarely felt, the results are always itching and sometimes a severe reaction such as a rash or inflammation. Oriental rat fleas can transmit murine typhus fever among rats, and from rats to humans. Tapeworms normally infest dogs and cats but may appear in children if parts of infested fleas are accidentally consumed. Any flea problem should be brought under control and eliminated as quickly as possible. As a leading Atlanta pest control company we have the know-how, resources and trained technicians to handle any flea problem or infestation.

Adult fleas are about 1/16" to 1/8" long, dark reddish-brown, wingless, have three pairs of legs, and are narrow in width thereby allowing easy movement between the hair, fur or feathers of the host. Fleas are incredible jumpers, leaping vertically up to 7 inches, and horizontally around 13 inches. They have piercing, sucking mouth parts, and spines on the body projecting backward. Flea eggs are smooth, oval and white. Larvae are 1/4" long, slender, straw-colored, brown headed, wormlike, bristly-haired creatures that are legless, active, and avoid light sources.

Flea life cycles consist of egg, larva stage, pupa stage and adult. A typical flea population consists of 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and 5% adults. Completion of the life cycle from egg to adult varies from two weeks to eight months depending on the temperature, humidity, food, and species. Normally after a blood meal, the female flea lays about 15 to 20 eggs per day up to 600 in a lifetime usually on the warm blooded host (animal or human). Eggs loosely laid in the hair coat, drop out most anywhere especially where the host rests, sleeps or nests including rugs, carpets, furniture, kennels, etc.. Eggs hatch in two days to two weeks into larvae found indoors in floor cracks and crevices, along baseboards, under rugs, in furniture or beds. Outdoor development occurs in sandy gravel soils, especially cool shaded areas where pets rest or sleep.

Adult fleas cannot survive or lay eggs without a blood meal, but may live from two months to one year without feeding. There is often a desperate need for flea control after a family has returned from a long vacation. An empty house provides no food source for fleas, however flea eggs continue to hatch and flea larvae pupate. The adult fleas fully developed inside the pupal cocoon remain dormant dormant until a blood source (host) is discovered. A family returning from vacation may be immediately attacked by hundreds, or thousands, of starving fleas.

Flea populations can be controlled by actively maintaining lawns and yard areas, avoid having piles of sand or gravel for long periods of time, fence yards to prevent dogs from roaming into flea infested areas, and regulary bathe pets and clean their bedding. Obviously a key part of any flea control process is to hire an Atlanta pest control service to treat your yard and home with a environmentally safe flea control products. Call us to learn more about our flea control treatments, or to schedule a flea treatment.