March is here and with it comes new pest issues. Your loved ones, including your pets, are susceptible to all sorts of different pest control issues. When it comes to our cats and dogs, the most common issue that we find is with fleas. Fleas are a parasitic insect that attacks our pets and sometimes ourselves and our children. These insects are somewhat dangerous and it’s very important that we take care of them and keep them out of our homes and yards. Let’s talk about fleas, our pets and the ways that we can take care of these insects and keep them from biting us and I love ones.
ALL ABOUT FLEAS
Fleas are blood feeders. That means that they get their nourishment from piercing the skin of an animal and consuming its blood. Fleas have a very narrow body. They have this because their entire existence is in an attempt to hide themselves inside the fur of a cat or a dog. In America we predominately have cat fleas. Even though the name implies that cats are the only ones that can get infested with these insects, the truth is that these insects will infest many different animals. Cats, dogs, squirrels, mice and many other mammals are all susceptible.
Adult fleas have front legs that are designed specifically to grip onto the for an animal. They are hooked inward so that the flea can grip on to them very well. The back of the head of the flea also has hair like structures that work to hold the flee onto the fur. These insects are practically designed to get into the fur of an animal and stay there. Call your Tulsa exterminator today.
A FLEA’S LIFECYCLE
Fleas all start as an egg. The females will lay the eggs in a sack that loosely attaches to the base of a fur follicle. As the animal moves around, and probably scratches, that egg sack will fall off. in many cases, the egg sack will fall off near the animals bedding. Your dog and cat beddings are highly susceptible to all sorts of flea activity. Once the eggs fall off, they will eventually hatch and lava will emerge. This larva will consume whatever it can find. But its favorite meal, is to find flea dirt.
Flea dirt is the excrement from adult fleas. Inside this excrement, the flea larva will find two important things. The first thing it will find is some undigested blood. This will nourish the flea and give it the energy it needs to go through the changes it will need to go through in order to become an adult. The second thing the flea larva will find inside the flea dirt are the biome and enzymes that will be needed for it to break down the food that it will eat now and as it grows into an adult. In different areas you’ll find different animals with different blood types and many other different variations. Each different variation requires a specific biome to break down that blood. It’s important that the flea has exactly the right biome to do that. Your Broken Arrow exterminator can help.
IN A COCOON
Once the flea has grown to a certain point, it will cocoon itself in random debris that it finds around it. This can be fur, dust, flea dirt and any other things that it can find nearby. It will create this cocoon in a place that is hidden and protected from predators. Once inside this cocoon it will develop into an adult. But once it develops into adult, the flea will not immediately emerge. It will need to take a blood meal first. And it’s possible that the pupated flea could find that it has finished this process in the winter time outside. In order to survive this, the flea pupa has the ability to sense vibration or heat around it. By sensing these things, the flea larva pupa can determine if a host is nearby.
When a host comes by, the flea will come out of its cocoon and then jump to get onto the passing host. Fleas have an amazing ability to jump. They will wind up their legs in a fashion that allows them to jump long distances. Their legs are actually geared together so that they can synchronize perfectly. This will be necessary in order to exert the amount of force required to throw the flee the great distance that it will need to jump. Inside the body of the flea is a piece of cartilage that works like a spring. This cartilage will twist up like a spring storing energy. Contact your Tulsa pest control company today.
THE JUMP OF A FLEA
When it’s time for the flea to finally jump, it will release the energy from that cartilage and then unwind its legs in a jumping motion. Flipping through the air, the flea will find itself landing upon a passing host. Here it will quickly attach itself to the fur, and then search out a mate. When a male and female flee have found one another, they will mate and then the female flea will go on to lay a new sack of eggs. And the process continues. Fleas often overwinter on their host. An adult flea left in the cold will die. The only survival method that fleas have to make it through the winter is to either hide in a host’s warm fur or to be pupated.
ELIMINATING FLEAS FOR YOUR HOME AND YARD
If you’re having issues with fleas or any other blood feeding parasites, it’s important that you get in touch with your Broken Arrow pest control company as soon as you can. They have treatments that can deal with fleas and other pests quickly and economically. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with pet parasites. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Turley, Claremore, Catoosa, Coweta, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Bixby, Prattville, Sapulpa, Sand Springs and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!