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October 13th, 2008 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.So you have found some of those pesky little jumpers around your home or on your pet. What do you do?
Firstly you have to treat you pet, your home and any area that you pet frequents all on the same day. Only a very small percentage (5%) of fleas are usually found on your pet at any one time, so you have to take a overall approach to eliminating the problem. If you only eliminate the fleas on you pet, you have only fixed a very small part of the problem, and very quickly the fleas will return.
A flea population is typically made up of:
• 50% Eggs.
• 30% Larvae.
• 15% Pupae.
• 5% Adults.
The complete life cycle of a flea from egg to adult can vary from 2 weeks to 8 months. A female can lay between 15 - 20 eggs per day and up to 600 eggs during her lifetime.
How do we get rid of fleas?
Firstly you need to wash your pet with a good quality shampoo and also wash their bedding. Fleas cannot survive in water; therefore you need to immerse your pet in water if possible. There are also flea mists available that you spray on your pets that help control fleas.
You also need to vacuum the house thoroughly. The larvae are found in carpet, floorboard cracks, under rugs, in crevices and along baseboards. The larvae avoid sunlight so you have to be diligent in seeking them with your vacuum. Oh and don’t forget to dispose of the vacuum bag after you have finished. The adult fleas don’t give up easily, and just might find their way out of the bag if not disposed of properly.
Next you must spray a good quality insecticide around. Don’t forget about outside as well. Sand and gravel are ideal places for flea development, so if you pet lays in the dirt, sand or gravel chances are there will be fleas close by. It is best to use a spray that has Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) which kills the flea eggs and larvae. Larvae are hard to kill as they have a protecting cocoon around them. Sprays containing IGR will eliminate this problem.
Fleas prefer the warmer weather and higher humidity. Concentrate your efforts on the darker places around the yard, and under the house.
Jump to howtogetridoffleas.blogspot.com howtogetridoffleas.blogspot.com to learn about what you can do now and also advises of some very high quality products that will break the flea cycle.
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