After removing the adult fleas from your pet and controlling the eggs, larvae and pupae in the house, you also need to prevent reinfestation. This can be difficult because there are so many other flea hosts outside and probably close to your home. In North America, says Prior, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, cattle, skunks, raccoons, possums, rodents, ferrets and other animals are all hosts to the same fleas that plague dogs and cats.
Keeping your pets indoors as much as possible is a good start, and you should also work to make the area around your home an uninviting place for wild or stray animals and the fleas they might be carrying. Remember that flea larvae like dark, protected environments. Keeping attics, crawl spaces and areas underneath decks and porches sealed up can keep animals out and prevent them from contaminating these places with flea eggs.
Of course, you can only have so much control over what happens outside. Keeping your pets on lifelong flea control will help kill any fleas that do decide to hop onto your pet. Image: Nicolas Primola via Shutterstock. Home Dog Care Center. You can identify flea dirt by putting a few of the specks on a white piece of paper and adding a couple drops of water. If you see a red color—which signals the presence of digested blood—then you are dealing with flea dirt. The bad news is that it absolutely indicates a flea problem, which means your pet will require more than just a gentle bath for treatment of the larger problem.
Flea larvae that hatch from flea eggs are off-white in color and look like tiny worms that range from millimeters in length. You may not see them, however, because they quickly burrow deep into carpets, cracks and grass. However, getting rid of flea eggs should be a part of a multi-pronged approach to eliminating a flea infestation. Many modern flea treatments for pets contain ingredients that kill adult fleas and also include insect growth regulators IGRs , which stop flea eggs from maturing into adults.
Talk with your vet to decide which treatment they recommend for killing flea eggs on cats or dogs. They can help you choose the best product for your pet. Foggers provide a simple way to kill flea eggs and many other pests. It is recommended to use foggers in combination with sprays or other products that can be used under furniture, where foggers have trouble reaching. Go slowly so you can see the skin beneath. Begin by checking the areas in which fleas love to hide, between the shoulder blades and near the base of the tail.
Flea eggs on cats are usually easier to comb out due to the softer fur. They can be a little tougher to see and extract from dog fur. According to the Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service , temperatures of 75 to 85 degrees and over 50 percent humidity accelerate the life cycle from egg to larvae. Fleas like to lay eggs near their primary food source—your dog or cat. So, even if they bite people, they almost never lay eggs in human hair. The time it takes eggs to fall off your pet depends on how long their fur is and how active they are, but most of the eggs will fall off within a few days.
The itchiness from flea bites naturally encourages scratching, which contributes to faster shedding of dry eggs. An adult female flea can lay anywhere from 20 to 50 eggs a day, depending on how much she has eaten, the temperature, and whether there are any pesticides in the environment. Over the course of a lifetime just a few months , a single flea can lay as many as 2, eggs.
That means that a single female flea can cause a serious infestation in a matter of weeks. As long as a female flea has a steady supply of blood for food, a female flea will lay several eggs after each feeding, meaning every hours.
Flea eggs can survive for about 10 days, tops. Flea eggs need a warm, humid environment—anywhere from 70 to 90 degrees and 75 to 85 percent humidity. Under ideal conditions, flea eggs can hatch their larvae in as little as 36 hours. In a less favorable environment, the eggs take longer to hatch. Once the flea eggs hatch, flea larvae emerge. Flea larvae are born blind and avoid bright light, so they quickly burrow deep into carpets, cracks, and grass, where they feast on flea dirt. Flea larvae make up approximately 35 percent of the total flea population in any given area.
Boron-based products, such as disodium octaborate tetrahydrate, can be used on indoor carpeting and have little skin dermal toxicity. Borates kill immature fleas by contaminating their food supply.
Because adult fleas feed on fresh blood only, boron insecticides do not control this life stage. Borate treatments are best applied as shampoos to avoid problems with dustiness, abrasion to carpets, and contamination of furniture or food preparation surfaces.
The insect growth regulators methoprene and pyriproxyfen can be used indoors. Although methoprene is unstable in sunlight, it is an effective indoor treatment. Pyriproxyfen controls both immature and adult fleas. Indoors, treat pet loafing and sleeping areas, and in and under nearby furniture.
Outdoors, treat only flea breeding sites such as bedding areas, the ground under decks and shrubbery, and wherever pets spend a lot of time. Well maintained lawns in sunny sites are unlikely to harbor many fleas. Suitable consumer products for indoor and outdoor treatments are listed in Table 1. Because flea pupae are hard to kill with insecticides, an additional follow-up treatment is usually needed 7 to 10 days after the first application.
When using short-residual insecticides such as pyrethrins, two or three follow-up sprays at 5- to day intervals may be required. Fire ants and other predatory insects eat flea larvae but they do not control fleas completely. Several kinds of predatory nematodes a type of microscopic worm are sold for outdoor flea control, but their effectiveness has not been well tested.
Studies suggest that nematodes work best in sandy soils. This prolongs nematode survival and helps them move through the soil in search of flea larvae.
Several kinds of flea traps are available from pest control companies and pet stores. The most effective designs use a special green light that blinks occasionally to simulate the shadow of a passing host.
Most attract fleas to a sticky card, where they are trapped. Place traps near pet beds and loafing areas for best control. By themselves, traps are unlikely to solve most flea problems; however, they can be a useful part of an integrated flea control program for your home.
Begin your flea control program early for best results. Start a frequent and thorough sanitation program, regularly inspect your pet for fleas, carefully follow the label directions of the insecticide product you choose, and dispose of all pesticides safely.
These steps will help you reduce the need for extra pesticide treatments. Long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, socks and shoes are the minimum. Check the pesticide label for additional safety requirements. When mixing liquid pesticides wear unlined, chemical resistant gloves.
Allow pesticide sprays to dry thoroughly before letting people or pets into a treated area. Never dispose of flea dips or other unused pesticides in storm sewers, toilets or sinks. This pollutes the environment and can result in costly clean-ups for your community.
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