Please Please Please stay tuned for this exciting topic as fleas are a very important problem on the Outer Banks. We have started this today but will continue throughout the next few days. In the meantime, please enjoy the game below courtesy of Elanco!
Fleas and How to Get Rid of Them!
So you’ve hopefully come here out of morbid curiosity to learn about fleas. If you have a flea problem, you will save money through veterinary visits and ineffective treatments by following the simple rules below:
Rule#1 – Fighting Fleas is WAR and if you are seeing fleas, you are losing worse than you think. For a better explanation, read below about the flea cycle.
Rule #2 – Despite what anyone tells you, NOTHING (practically) will kill a flea in it’s cocoon. Insecticides cannot penetrate the barriers to kill the growing parasites. That means that you can’t do as much as you think about the fleas in your pet’s environment.
Rule #3 – Pyrethroid based topical flea preventatives just don’t work on live fleas and may be harmful to your pet. Look on the active ingredient list and if the active ingredient ends in ‘thrin’, don’t buy it! You will only waste your hard-earned dollars on ineffective treatments.
Rule #4 – Having your house sprayed can help, especially for larval and egg stages. In our opinion, you are better off SAVING your money for preventatives that kill fleas on your pet and being consistent about using them! If you can stop the flea cycle at your pet, you can get rid of fleas. Products like Comfortis for dogs are very effective. For the best results, you must be ABSOLUTELY consistent with giving preventative and giving it appropriately.
Rule #5 – Patience is a virtue. If you have had flea problems for the past several months to years, you will not get rid of them overnight. Although we currently have good preventatives available, there is not a pill that will keep bugs off your dog for life!
Rule #6 – Get rid of the fleas in the environment by Vaccuuming where your pet sleeps. Not because your house is dirty because fleas aren’t picky guests, but because the vibration will help the juvenile fleas in cocoons to emerge. Make sure that you throw away the bags after you’re done or emptying the canister OUTSIDE in the trash. If your pet stays outside, it may be more difficult to clear the environment where your pet stays.
Now that we have 6 good baseline rules to start with, lets talk a bit about fleas. Despite common thought, the flea that affects your dog is called the ‘Cat Flea’, or Ctenocephalides felis. To fully understand the flea, we must understand their life cycle. We won’t bore you with the details but give a quick, important details only version
Flea Pyramid
Eggs – Flea eggs account for 50% of the total flea population in an infestation. They are very small, white eggs that easily blend into the dirt in your carpet. Flea eggs typically live for a short while before they move along in the life cycle. A single adult female flea can produce as many as 2000 eggs in her lifetime.
Larvae – Flea larvae are small worms that emerge from the egg. They typically live about 1 – 2 weeks and spend their time burrowing deep into the carpet or areas where they can hide from light. They are also typically drawn downward as well. Larvae account for about 35% of the fleas in an infested household. If you wish to have your house treated, it would also be effective in this phase. Please make sure that you have a professional perform the treatment as larvae burrow deep into the carpeting or your pet’s bedding.
Pupae – At the end of their 2nd stage of life, flea larvae weave a cocoon and collect debris around them. They then form a protective barrier and begin the third stage of their life, the pupae stage. Pupae comprise approximately 10% of the total flea population in an infestation. They mature inside the cocoon for 1-2 weeks and then….either hatch or wait. This is why fleas are around for so long. The juvenile flea can live in the cocoon for up to a year. No pesticides that are currently on the market can reach it. Stimulation for coming out of the cocoon include carbon dioxide, pressure, and vibration.
Adults – This is the life stage that everyone sees. After Mr. Flea comes out of the cocoon, he has but a very short while to find a host before he dies. The adult fleas only comprise about 5% of an active infestation. Adult fleas, once they have fed, must take a blood meal often (every day or so at least) or they will die. Adult fleas DO NOT fly but can jump amazing heights for their body size. This
So, I know this has been a fairly long bit about fleas…so here are some key points to help you invest the most wisely in killing fleas:
Key Points:
- Fleas preventatives MUST be given regularly to be most effective and to prevent resistance.
- Although many holistic remedies have validity with other pet diseases, most of them just don’t work against fleas.
- Because of the nature of cocooned juvenile fleas, environmental control against fleas is marginally effective. You absolutely must kill them at the host (a.k.a. your dog).
- Although there have been some cases of documented resistance to fleas, the vast majority of ‘flea resistance’ comes from non-compliance. If you do not give flea medications appropriately and consistently, how can you ever expect them to work?
Enjoy your day and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call us at (252) 715-1407!
Enjoy the informative flea game courtesy of Elanco!
