Fleas
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.