If you’re having an issue with fleas or any other pests, then it is time to call a Tulsa pest control company that you can trust. Dogs and cats have become a regular part of our family. People adopt these pets all the time into their homes. Because they’re a part of the family, these family members need to be protected from stuff that will try to hurt them as well. One of the big parasites that works against dogs, cats and other pets are fleas. Fleas are a bloodsucking parasite that latches onto the fur of your fur baby and feeds off their blood. In this article, let’s take a good look at fleas, their life cycle and what are you and your Tulsa pest control company can do.
FLEA LIFECYCLE AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
In order to understand how to get rid of these insects, it’s important that we understand their lifecycle. Fleas start as an egg. The flea will lay her eggs at the base of the fur on the host animal that she is living on. As the dog or cat starts to scratch, those eggs will break loose and fall off onto the ground. This normally happens somewhere around the bedding area or some other high traffic area. When the egg senses the heat and vibration of a host animal nearby, it will emerge from the egg as a larva. A larva is the worm form of the flea
Larva will search for flea dirt. Flea dirt are the droppings of adult fleas. The flea larva will eat the flea dirt, consuming the dry blood. This contains blood that was not digested by the adult and other enzymes necessary to maintain the gut biome that they will need to consume blood. Your Tulsa pest control company will have more information.
FLEA PUPA AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Once the flea larva has grown to the end of its larva cycle, it will begin to pupate. This is a stage must like a cocooned caterpillar. It will find dirt, dust and hair and pull it around it, and create this cocoon around itself. Once in the cocoon is complete, it will continue to develop into the adult flea. When it’s ready to emerge as an adult flea, it will wait for the heat and vibration of a host animal nearby. Once that pupa senses that the host animal is near, it will emerge from the pupa cocoon as an adult.
Adult fleas have the ability to jump long distances. They use this ability to jump on a host animal that’s walking past. When it jumps onto it, it has front legs that are hinged in the opposite direction to give it the ability to grab onto fur and hold on for dear life. Because it can hold on so tightly, it can stay attached to even scratching animals. These animals will have a hard time getting these small insects off of their bodies. While on the host animal, these fleas will pair up, mate, and then the female will lay her eggs. It’s in the adult stage that these insect actually bite your pets. These adult fleas must feed on blood in order to reproduce and continue survival. Your Tulsa pest control company can get rid of them.
WINTER FLEAS AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
Fleas survive during the winter months on their host animal. These adult fleas will enjoy the warm body temperatures of mammals that they are using as a host. The flea egg and the flea pupa can survive in much cooler temperatures than the larva itself, but at a certain point when it gets too cold, even the eggs and pupa will die out. But the adults always survive with the help of the heat of their host animal.
When fleas are in their egg or pupa form, they are immune to pesticides. This is why your Tulsa pest control company will recommend you treating multiple times to eliminate a flea infestation in your home. When they come in and treat the first time with pesticides, this will kill off all the adults and larva. You will notice immediately that there are no more fleas biting you or your loved ones. But after a week or two, the eggs and pupa will emerge and a new batch of fleas will show up. At this point, your Tulsa pest control company should come back, and re-treat for fleas, eliminating the the new batch. This process will need to be repeated until all of the fleas, eggs, larva and pupa are eliminated from your home
PET FLEAS AND TULSA PEST CONTROL
In addition to treating your home, it’s important that you make sure and treat your pet. While your Tulsa pest control company can apply pesticides to your home, they are not allowed to apply pesticides to your pet. This is the job for your veterinarian. Veterinarians have a lot of different tools at their disposal to be able to help you to do this. You can get flea dips, collars, drops, injections, baths, and many more different solutions that can remove fleas from your pet.
Lastly, the yard may need to be treated as well. If you have a situation with a lot of fleas in your home or yard, then it may be time to have your Tulsa pest control technician come out and spray your yard for fleas. While you can’t kill all the fleas outside, you can limit the number of them that your animal will have access to when they go outside to use the bathroom or play. This can be especially useful with outdoor dogs and other such pets.
If you’re having issues with fleas or any other pests, time to call, then it’s time to call in a Tulsa pest control company that you can trust. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with fleas or any other pests. We service agree to Tulsa area including Owasso, Turley, Jenks, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Prattville, Coweta, Claremore, Catoosa, and much more. Call today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!