Most of us consider our homes a safe place. These are sacred dwellings in which we stay, live and thrive. We enjoy the solitude and the camaraderie of invited guests. Our families and loved ones use our homes just as we do. Part of those families are our pets. Our dogs and cats, hamsters and guinea pigs and everything in between. These fur babies, as many of us call them, have many special needs. One issue that our pets can come across is the issue of fleas. How do we deal with fleas on our pets? This article will delve deep into the subject of finding a way to take care of your pets and their flea issues.
LIFECYCLE OF FLEAS
Fleas are a parasitic insects that feed off the blood of animals. In North America, the most common flea is the cat flea. Even though it’s name implies that it only bites cats, it actually is far less prejudice in its tastes. Cat fleas will bite dogs, cats, squirrels, rats and many other animals. It will suck the blood off of those animals, and feed off of that blood. Their entire lifecycle is built around preying upon these animals.
The flea begins as an egg, loosely attached to the base of the fur. As the dog or cat starts to move around, those eggs will break loose from the fur and fall to the ground. Usually these eggs fall near where the animal is sleeping. Bedding and other common areas are all susceptible to being infested with flea eggs.
Once these eggs have developed to a certain point, they will hatch. Once they hatch, a larva will come out searching for food. These larva will consume many different things. They will eat dead skin that falls from the animal, shed fur and many other things. Their favorite meal is to consume the droppings of adult fleas that are still on the animal. These adult fleas will have some undigested blood in their feces. This undigested blood will be used by the flea larvae to to grow. This will also transmit stomach biome that’s necessary for fleas to consume the blood of the animals near them. For help, call your Tulsa pest control company today.
THE GROWTH CONTINUES
After a while of development, the larva will use things in its environment, such as fur, dirt and other things to create a cocoon. At this point, the larva has pupated. It continues to develop inside its dirty cocoon. It will wait until it senses a viable host near it. Pupated flea larva have the ability to sense heat and vibration that are near them. Once it senses the host is near, it will emerge from the cocoon as an adult.
The adult has the unique ability to be able to leap great distances. The flea will use this in order to jump onto the host. Here the flea will find a mate, and reproduce. Fleas legs are specifically designed to be able to grab onto fur and latch on tightly. Once they mate, the female will lay eggs on the base of a fur follicle and the process will begin again.
FEEDING AND JUMPING FLEAS
Fleas will require to feed many times before they can reproduce. The female flea will have to feed off the blood of the animal one time before it is able to lay eggs. The flea has an amazing jump. The legs of the flea are designed specifically to be able to jump on a passing potential host. Inside the flea is a piece of cartilage that acts much like a spring. The flea will hunker down pulling tight this cartilage and storing energy in it. The legs are uniquely jointed together in a way that synchronizes their movement.
When the flea jumps, the energy in the cartilage is released and the legs move in synchronicity. This causes the flea to jump many times its own body length. For more information, call your Broken Arrow pest control company.
ESCAPING FLEA INFESTATION
When you find your home has been infested by fleas, there are essentially three things you need to do to take care of them. The first thing you’ll need to do is enlist help of your veterinarian. Your vet will have many different options when it comes to removing the fleas from the fur of your pets. These pesticides can be administered by a collar, a pill, an injection, a patch, or many other different methods. This will give your pet the ability to slowly and safely release a pesticide which deters and kills any fleas and flea eggs that are on the animal. But this will only take care of the fleas on your cat or dogs body. If you have fleas in your home or your yard, then they will reinfest the animal once the veterinarian distributed pesticide has worn out.
Because of this, the other two in places you need to taken care of are your home and your yard. These two places are best taken care of by a Broken Arrow pest control company. The pest control technician will come to your home, and treat your carpets, couches and other fabric areas including your pet’s bedding and other things. This treatment will be pet and child safe once it dries. It’s important to remember that even though you have taken care of the pests in your home and on your pet, you’ll need to take care of the insects in your yard as well. Most Tulsa exterminators have a treatment for this kind of pest control. This consists of treating the yard with a special blower type of sprayer to thoroughly coat the yard and protect your pets from fleas.
ELIMINATING FLEAS FOR GOOD
If you’re having an issue with fleas, ticks or any other pests, it’s important to get in contact with your Broken Arrow exterminator. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with fleas, ticks and any other pests that you may be dealing with. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby, Prattville, Turley, Sand Springs, Sapulpa and much more. Call today for a free estimated. We’re here to help!