Archive for the ‘flea control’ Category
The Flea Life Cycle
October 14th, 2009 | 
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“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” Sun Tzu
The war against fleas is like any other war. Sun Tzu was an excellent general who knew the value of understanding the enemy that you are fighting against, and I thinkthis statement stands true regardless of the size of your battlefied. If you are going to win the battle against fleas it is important to understand them. Today I am going to talk about the different life stages of fleas. This knowledge will help to defeat fleas in your home.
The most common flea found on dogs and cats in Australia is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis. It is originally from Africa, and may have been brought into Europe during the Crusades, before spreading throughout the whole world along with human migration. Its life cycle can be split up into five main stages:
The adult flea:
The adult cat flea is around 2-4mm long and a dark brown colour. The body is compressed laterally to make it easier for the flea to navigate in between hairs. It is capable of great jumping feats, with an average jumping distance of 20cm and an average height of 15-25cm. The adult flea is a permament parasite. It is very unlikely to jump from one pet to another, and only survives 3-5 days in the environment Adult fleas take their first blood meal within 30 minutes, and breed within 48 hours. Females can lay up to 50 eggs/day for 50-100 days with an average of 20-30 eggs a day laid over a 2 month period. Fleas can live 100 days or more.
Eggs:
Flea eggs are pearly-white and oval-shaped. They are about 0.5mm long. Flea eggs are not sticky, so after being laid they fall from the fur and accumulate in areas where the host spends most of their time. Sleeping and resting areas in particular are likely to become heavily contaminated.
Eggs hatch in 3-7 days to produce flea larvae.
Flea Larvae:
Once hatched, flea larvae will seek a dark, humid area to hide in while they develop. They can move up to 20cm to do this, and will often take up residence at the base of carpet fibers, under furniture and in cracks in the flooring. Larvae feed mostly on flea poo and other organic debris. Larvae are very sensitive to dessication (drying out), and will die if exposed to relative humidity levels of less than 33%. Flea larvae take 5 days to 3 weeks to develop into pupae depending on environmental conditions.
Pupae
The third larval stage matures into a pupa, which is usually covered by a silk cocoon. The cocoon is whitish, about 0.5mm long and is covered in sticky silk fibres. These pick up debris from the environment and help to camouflage the pupa. The pupa metamorphoses into an adult in 6 days to several weeks. At this stage it can do one of two things: if there are animals around, it will hatch as an adult and try to find a host. If there are no animals around, then they can remain in the cocoon as a pre-emerged adult.
Pre-emerged adult
If no animals, adults will survive for around 150 days in their coccoon. At this stage they are protected from insecticides, which makes them very difficult to kill. Their ability to remain in the cocoon for a long time means that fleas can continue to emerge into the environment for up to 4-6 weeks after beginning a flea control program. When they do emerge, fleas are stimulated by factors like light, vibrations, and carbon dioxide to jump on their host and begin feeding.
Now that you know a little more about fleas, you can see why sometimes they are such a difficult opponent. The ability to remain in the cocoon for so long means that flea eggs laid in the summer can survive the winter and emerge in spring, leading to a sudden explosion of numbers in as short as a fortnight. This highlights the importance of using flea control all year round to keep the fleas in the environment under control.
Posted in flea control | 
Tags: flea carpet, flea control, flea larvae, flea life cycle, flea problem | 
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Sharing flea control products between pets
Have you ever looked at the ‘large dog’ sized flea control product and wondered whether you could just buy it and split it between your three small dogs? Or have you run out flea treatment product for your cat and been tempted to give it a leftover from your dog? This is a bad idea! I recommend that you stick to the manufacturer’s guidelines and save yourself a lot of trouble.
While it may seem more economical or convenient to share flea control products between your pets, there are good reasons for the manufacturer’s guidelines printed on your packet. They aren’t there to rip you off. The dosages listed on the flea treatment products are there because they have been tested and found to be safe for use at that dose. If you use products contrary to the directions on the packaging you will potentially end up wasting your money, or worse, losing a pet.
Sharing between pets of the same species is bad because it is too easy to get the dosage wrong. Most top-spot flea control products are administered in very small volume doses. This means that it is easier and less messy to apply, but it also means that the products are more concentrated. Small differences in volume given can mean big differences in amounts of medication given. Also, the active ingredients may not be well mixed, and different parts of the dose may have different concentrations. Getting the dose wrong is bad either way: give too little and the product won’t have its intended effect and you have wasted your money. Give too much and you risk poisoning which could cost you a lot of money and heartache.
Sharing between dogs and cats is a really bad idea! Cats are very sensitive to some flea control products, for example permethrin. This drug is registered for use in dogs as a flea control product, and works fine for them. If you put the same product on a cat, you will likely cause permethrin poisoning in the cat, which leads to tremors, seizures, hyperthermia and even death. Cats are so sensitive to this product that they can even show signs of poisoning from licking the area where the medication was applied.
All in all, it is simply not worth it to share flea treatment products between your pets. On the surface, it seems like you might be saving money. However, if you take into account the money wasted on ineffective treatments and in the worst case, a trip to the vet, then the savings you might make seem a lot less attractive.
Flea control for dogs
Flea control is an important part of owning a pet. Not only do fleas cause itching and irritation, they can also bite humans and even carry some potentially dangerous infections. Fleas are prolific breeders, with females averaging 37 eggs on average every day. With a lifecycle as short as 14 days, This means that any lapse in flea control can lead to an outbreak very quickly.
There is a confusing array of different options for flea control, with everyone trying to tell you that their product is the best. With products such as flea collars, flea shampoos, natural remedies, top spots and tablets, never mind all the different brands, it is hard to know which product is the best for your pet.
Unfortunately there is no one product that will be the best for every pet in every situation. If only it were that easy! Different products will be more suitable than others based on your lifestyle and environment. In this article I will take you through the three important factors which will help you decide which flea control product is the best for your pet:
- Flea control vs flea treatment
Your choice of flea product will depend on whether or not you have a flea infestation. If your dog is currently flea free, then you are really looking for what I call flea control (rather than flea treatment). This means you don’t necessarily need a product that will kill all stages of the flea life cycle. Something to control the growth of larval stages may be sufficient.If you are currently battling an army of fleas, then you need something a little higher powered. You need a flea treatment product that will kill adult fleas and also control the larval stages off the pet.
- Flea control vs total parasite control
Fleas aren’t the only parasite around to bother your pet. The two other parasites of significance are intestinal worms and heartworm. There are products available that will treat fleas + heartworm, or even fleas + heartworm + intestinal worms. These all-in-one solutions offer great convenience as you don’t need to try to remember to give 3 (or more!) different products. - Tablet vs. Top-spot
The two main methods of giving flea control products is as a top-spot (on the back of the neck) or a tablet. Both methods are easy to do, but if you have a fussy pet that really hates taking tablets, then a top-spot formulation may be easier for you.
As you can see, choosing the best flea control product for your pet is no easy task! However, if you consider these three main points then you are on the right path to making the best choice for your pet. Keep an eye out for new posts over the next few weeks as we go through each of your different flea control and flea treatment options.