One of my family’s favorite pastimes is to go outside and enjoy the sunshine. There’s so many wonderful things to do out in the great outdoors. Going on a picnic, throwing a football or just having a nice conversation outdoors is a wonderful experience for all of us. And we spend a lot of our time in our backyard. Because of this, it’s important that we maintain our backyard. I have to mow lawn. I have to take care of our fruit trees and gardens. But one other issue that comes up with the outdoors is pest control. Outside is a big place where our family pets find themselves attacked by fleas. We have to do our part to protect our dogs and cats from getting bitten by fleas. This article will look into the subject of fleas and your pets. 

WHERE FLEA PROBLEMS START

In most cases, our pets are initially attacked by fleas outside. The adult flea will sit and wait for a potential host to walk by, and then leap onto the animal. In fact, fleas are amazing in their ability to jump. They have a set of specially built legs, that hinge together in such a way that they synchronize perfectly. The flea will hunker down and stretch tight a piece of cartilage inside his body. This cartilage works much like a spring. The insect will then release the energy in the spring causing the legs to extend in a synchronized movement. This causes the insect to leap many times its body length. 

The ability to leap long distances gives the fleet a great advantage when trying to find and attach up to host. Once it lands upon the host, its front legs are hooked in such a way that it can grasp onto fur follicles and hold tight. The flea is actually a very narrow insect. Its body is flat so that when a dog or cat is scratching itself, it presses itself flat against the skin. It’s harder to remove from the animal this way. Call your Broken Arrow exterminator for help.  

WHAT FLEAS EAT

Fleas are blood feeders. They require the blood of their host in order to survive. In America, we predominately have the cat flea. And as much as the cat flee enjoys feeding on a cat, it will also feed on dogs, squirrels and other rodents. In the adult form, the cat flea will mate on the host animal and then the female will lay her eggs, attaching them to the base of the hair follicle. These eggs are attached quite loosely and will very likely fall off. Usually the eggs will fall off somewhere near the bedding of the animal. This is ideal for the flea. After a time the egg will hatch, and a larva will emerge from the egg. These larva will start to move around looking for food and other things to eat. It will feed upon anything in finds, but its main meal is flea dirt. 

Flea dirt is the excrement from the adult flee. These fleas will feed on this excrement, gaining two important things. The first thing that they will gain from this is nutrition from undigested blood in the feces of the adult. The adults do not completely digest everything that they eat, and the lava can benefit from this. The second thing that they get is the gut biome from the adult fleas. Fleas get biome from their food that will aid in digestion specifically to the host’s blood that it’s feeding upon, and any other hosts that may be in the area. This gives the flea larva the biome that it needs when it becomes an adult to convert Its future blood meals into energy. Contact your Tulsa pest control company for more details.   

DEVELOPEMENT

After a while of being a larva, it will seek to gather dust, hair and other particles in order to make a cocoon. It will wrap it self up in all these things and then begin to further develop. Once it is past a certain stage and ready to emerge, it will wait. The pupated larva has the ability to sense heat and vibration anywhere near it. This heat and vibration signifies to a pupa that there is a host nearby. It will emerge from the cocoon as an adult, and then leap up on the nearby new host, starting the process all over again. 

DEALING WITH FLEAS

Dealing with these bugs requires help from two people. First of all, your veterinarian will be able to help you get the fleas off of your pets. Secondly you will need to employ a Tulsa exterminator in order to help you get rid of the fleas in your home and in your yard. Usually the home service and yard service are two separate services. In addition to this, there are things that you can do to help. If you vacuum your home often, this can be enough vibration and heat to convince pupated larva that there’s a host nearby. This will convince them to come out of their cocoon as an adult. Adult fleas are much more susceptible to pesticides and vacuuming than pupated larva. In their pupated larva state, it is very difficult to eliminate these insects. 

Keeping a clean home is always a good idea. Essential oils and other herbs and plants are often advertised as a deterrence to fleas and other insects. In reality these seldom work. The most important thing is that you get help from a professional when you find yourself with a flea issue. 

ELIMINATING FLEAS FOR GOOD

If you’re having issues with any kind of tests including fleas, ticks or other blood feeders, it is important that you get the help of a Broken Arrow pest control company. They have technicians who specialize in dealing with your particular pest control issue. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we’re the best in the business. We have certified technicians ready to help. We serve the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Claremore, Catoosa, Prattville, Coweta, Jenks, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Sandy Springs, Sapulpa and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!

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