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Fleas eat you and
your pets! Period!!!

Fleas & Treatments

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The flea life cycle involves four different life stages:

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1.  Eggs - Flea eggs are very small, about 0.5mm in length. An adult flea will lay up to 50 eggs per day. The eggs fall off of the host (dog, cat, etc) and into the environment. If your pet is inside when eggs are laid, they will fall into the carpet, rugs, and furniture where your pet spends its time. The eggs are not sticky, so they can sometimes be removed with a vacuum. However, the eggs are so small that sometimes they fall too deep into the carpet for a vacuum to completely remove. Eggs hatch 1-12 days after being laid depending on the type of environment. Most of the time eggs will hatch in 2-3 days.​

​2.  Larvae - Larvae hatch from the eggs and are 3-5mm long. They seek our dark areas such as cracks in the floor, under furniture, or deep in the carpeting. Larvae feed on the feces from adult fleas, food particles, skin cells, and dead insects. The larval stage 4-18 days after which the larvae spin a cocoon around themselves and enter the next life stage.

​3.  Pupae - When fleas are in the pupal stage they are very hardy. The cocoon protects the larvae from insecticides and desiccation. The cocoon is also very sticky making it difficult to remove from the environment. This is often the life stage that leads to a persistent flea infestation because they are difficult to remove or kill. The flea is typically in the pupal stage from 5-10 days, but can survive for up to 6 months. The flea must eat a blood meal within one week of emerging from the cocoon or it will die. If there are no suitable hosts, the flea will remain in the pupal stage until a host is present. When a host is nearby, the flea senses its presence and will emerge from the cocoon.

​4. Adult - Adult fleas are about 2.5mm long and are the most commonly noticed stage of the flea life cycle. They have long, powerful legs that are used to jump onto their host. Adult fleas live on a host for two to three months. Female fleas can lay up to 50 eggs per day or 4500 eggs in their lifetime. Fleas feed on blood from their hosts. They inject a numbing agent while feeding so the host does not feel the bite. However, flea saliva can cause skin irritation and lead to itching. Adult fleas are the easiest life stage to kill because they are susceptible to insecticides, vacuuming, and manual removal.

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Overall, the flea life cycle can occur in as short a period as two weeks or last for several months. This is important to understand so that flea preventatives can be used effectively to eliminate a flea infestation.

Flea Prep

Preparing for flea treatment in your home is a labor intensive but necessary part of controlling a flea infestation. We’ve put together a checklist with some tips so that you and your home will be fully prepared for our treatment. Please note that the following apply to all areas of your property for which you are requesting treatment, whether it is inside your home or the exterior.

  • Wash all pet bedding in hot water or destroy it. Tell your pest control technician all of the locations in and outside your home where pets normally rest.

  • Vacuum all carpeting and mop wood and tile floors, including along the walls and inside closets.

  • Clean or vacuum furniture, especially between and under cushions, and under the furniture itself.

  • Close the vacuum cleaner bag tightly and dispose of it in a trash container outside your home. If using a vacuum with a re-usable canister, take it outside your home and empty contents into a container, close it tightly, and discard. Wash the reusable canister in hot water.

  • Remove all pets and have them treated for fleas by a veterinarian. If you plan to treat the animal yourself, it is essential that all label directions be followed and that you use only products specified for the species of animal on which the product is to be used.  It is critical, however, that pets be treated at the same time as the home, so that neither re-infest the other afterward.

  • Cover fish tanks with wet towels and turn off pumps until reoccupying the home.

  • Pick up all pet food bowls, pet toys, children’s toys and other items off floor as well as the yard if the exterior is being treated. This includes picking up items from floors inside closets and under beds and inside kennels and outdoor pet houses.

  • Strip all bed linens from any beds where the pets rest or lounge, and wash in hot water.

  • Cover and store any open food products, dishes or utensils before service is rendered.

  • Remove all caged pets from your home (birds, reptiles, hamsters, etc.) before service is rendered and until the waiting period described below has elapsed.

  • Be prepared to leave your home or apartment during treatment and until insecticide is thoroughly dried. This will be approximately 4 hours.

 

The following needs to be done after the treatment to increase the success of your treatment.

  • Plan on your family and pets vacating your home for 4 hours after treatment. Keep children and pets off treated areas until the treatment has dried; this will take approximately 4-5 hours, sometimes less.

  • Ventilate your home prior to re-occupying.

  • Vacuum lightly for 14 days. Ordinary vacuums cannot pick up the chemicals we use but can pick up adult fleas still hopping around. Fleas can re-infest your home from the vacuum cleaner. A small amount of flea powder (1 teaspoon or less) can be vacuumed directly into the vacuum cleaner to kill the fleas that may have been vacuumed up. Continuing to vacuum will get the fleas through their life cycle more quickly, resulting in better service effectiveness.

  • A note about vacuuming: Vacuuming the carpet can help to remove the eggs that drop there from fleas on the pet. Vacuuming will remove a few larvae as well as the debris that the larvae eat. Vacuuming will also cause the adult fleas to come out of their cocoons while the carpet treatment is fresh and effective. It is normal to see fleas for a couple of weeks after the treatment. Make sure you remove and discard the bag from the vacuum cleaner in the manner described above every time you do this, discarding the bag outside the home.

  • If your exterior was treated, also make sure you keep your lawn cut short.

  • Do allow 25 days for the treatment to reach its maximum effectiveness. There can be any number of fleas going through various stages of their life cycle at any given time. If there is a problem after 25 days, please give our office a call & we’ll be happy to help.

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