Beaphar

flea control

A problem, all year round
Fleas are not just a summer phenomenon anymore. Warm, wet conditions are great for fleas and central heating will ensure perfect conditions in your house, all year round. This means fleas can cause problems for your pets throughout the year.
Flea eggs and larvae will not develop at temperatures of 10°C or below. After a period of cold, with temperatures below freezing, all fleas outdoors will have perished. The survivers will be indoors, in our homes. Which is why winter and spring are very effective times to deal with fleas on our pets and in our homes, once and for all.

The consequences
Fleas are the cause of many skin conditions in dogs and cats and they often carry tapeworm larvae.
A few direct consequences of a flea infestation:
• itchiness;
• blood loss, which may cause anaemia;
• changes in your pet’s behaviour;
• a flea allergy.
Obviously, these are very unpleasant problems for pets. In addition to these direct consequences, a flea infestation will have indirect consequences, too, as fleas can also transmit tapeworm infestations.
Considering the above, fleas are no laughing matter for your dog or cat and if an actual outbreak takes place, fleas will surely be your problem as well.

The (in)visible problem
The number of visible fleas are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Only 5% of fleas live on the animal and are visible. The other 95% are invisible to the naked eye in the shape of eggs, larvae or pupae in the pet’s living environment.
A female flea will lay approximately 1350 eggs in her entire lifetime (an average of 27 a day). The eggs will hatch after 1-10 days. Because the eggs all hatch at a different time, your pet will be constantly bombarded with newly hatched fleas from its on living environment.
About 60% of all fleas crawl around in our living environment as larvae. These larvae will naturally move away from light (negative phototaxis) and move downwards, towards the earth (positive geotaxis). This is why larvae often can be found in very hard-to-reach cracks or in the lower layer of carpeting. This adds to the invisibility factor of the flea problem.
The pupa and the young flea contained within it are very resistant to the various methods of fighting fleas.
The adult flea can emerge from its cocoon immediately, given the right signals, but it can also remain in its cocoon as a flea for days, weeks or even months. This enables the flea to choose the right time to pop out of its cocoon when circumstances are most beneficial and the chances of a pet for it to jump onto being near are the highest. A cocoon’s bursting is stimulated by vibrations (a possible host moving around) and warmth.
Because the length of time a flea remains as a pupa varies greatly, the flea may be able to survive a treatment by hatching after its effects have worn off. The pupal case protects the flea inside from the effects of pesticides.

What can you do about it?
Discover them in time
As is the case with many other problems, the sooner you discover the problem, the easier it is to cure it.
A clear indication of a flea infection is a pet constantly scratching itself. Often it is obvious a pet is suffering from unusual itchiness.
To find out if a dog or cat is suffering from a flea infection, thoroughly comb its coat. You will often be able to spot fleas or little irregularly shaped black specks dropping from your pet’s coat. These are flea faecal matter. Because this faecal matter consists of undigested blood, combing for fleas is best done with some wet cotton, paper, or sheets placed underneath your pet. The faecal matter that lands on the moistened wet surface beneath your pet will be clearly visible as dark red circles.
The best places to check to see if the animal is plagued by fleas are the waist, the neck, behind the ears and the “armpits”. These places are the warmest and fleas will often gather in these areas.
Should you discover any fleas on your pet, you will have to take measures to get rid of the problem. There are, however, a few things you should keep in mind when combating a flea problem.
Taking care of the entire problem
As already mentioned, only 5% of the fleas will actually be on your pet. The other 95% will be living in your pet’s surroundings, in the form of eggs, larvae and pupae. It is obvious that you will not only have to de-flea your pet, but also treat its environment.
It will not be sufficient to simply get rid of all adult fleas: you will also have to deal with the eggs and larvae. Your main goal will be to interrupt the flea lifecycle, and keep it that way.

Combating a flea infestation
Flea populations can be fought using various methods. You could use pesticides that target fleas, for example, use natural products, or use non-chemical means to fight fleas.
There are many different types of available flea pesticides: sprays, shampoos, tablets, powders, collars and drops. Your personal preference plays a major role when choosing a certain product to counter fleas.
To disrupt the lifecycle of fleas and tackle the problem in the longer term, anti-flea products are invaluable. To interrupt a flea’s lifecycle, you need to take action during two stages of the cycle:
1. Fighting mature fleas on your pet and in your living environment,
2. Fighting eggs and larvae in your living environment.

Countering the adult flea population requires the use of different products than those you would use to eliminate eggs and larvae. This is why you will find such a range of different anti-flea products to be available. There are 2 main types of products: insecticides (pesticides) and insect growth regulators (IGR’s).
Use insecticides to get rid of adult fleas. Read the product’s instruction leaflet carefully so that you know what type of insecticide you are dealing with, and how to use it effectively.
Insect growth regulators (IGR’s) will interrupt the lifecycle of egg-larvae-pupa-flea. IGR’s are not immediately deadly to adult fleas, but they will prevent eggs and larvae from developing into bloodsucking adult fleas.

IGR’s will break the flea’s lifecycle because they:
• prevent viable eggs being laid,
• prevent the formation of normal pupae,
• disrupt larval development,
• prevent eggs from hatching.
The precise way a certain product will counter the fleas’ lifecycle depends on the type of IGR the product contains.