The Life of a Flea: A Secret Adventure

Fleas are little, annoying insects that can turn a peaceful home front into a war zone. The secret that protects your family and pets from these uninvited guests is to understand the life of a flea. Join me and get to know the interesting, and sometimes infuriating, life of fleas and how effective flea treatment can end their life cycle once and for all.

Introduction to Flea Life

life of a flea is diversified, with rapid specialization and evolutionary adaptation. Fleas infest the entire United States and reproduce mostly favorable in warm, damp environments. Fleas are not only pests; they are disease carriers and allergenic stimuli for human beings and domestic pets.

A flea cycle starts when an adult female lays eggs following a first blood meal. A single flea lays 50 eggs daily, and these can infest a small area fast and make it an infestation. These eggs are smooth and easily fall from the  host and onto the carpet, bed, and furniture. For this reason, the life of a flea is never restricted within your pet alone—your whole house is their home.

The flea life cycle repeats in four simple steps:

Egg: Flea eggs mature in a day or two which depends on temp. and humidity.

Larva: Larvae are very delicate to light and are trained by organic waste, like adult flea poop. They choose dark, moist environments like mattresses and mat.

Pupa: Flea  create cocoons to protect themselves and they can stay in this dormant state for weeks or months, waiting for the right time to appear.

Adult: By capturing their full size, fleas will locate a host on which they will feed on blood, reproduce, and begin the cycle anew. Adult fleas survive weeks to months depending on circumstances and availability of host. 

Flea Treatment: Breaking the Cycle

Effective flea treatment must disrupt a flea’s continuous life cycle. Since most of a flea’s lifetime is on the host, overall treatment is required.

Major Steps in Flea Treatment

Pet Treatment: Start with treating all pets in the home. Apply vet-approved products in oral or topical form, which kill adult fleas and developmental stages. Wash the pets daily with the flea shampoo and brush them daily with a flea comb to kill fleas and eggs in their fur.

Home Cleaning: Vacuum carpet, rugs, and upholstered furniture regularly, and hot wash all bedding, including pet bedding, with water to kill eggs and larvae. Vacuum bags should be removed immediately to prevent reinfestation.

Indirect Oversight: Sprays contain insect growth directors to kill the fleas in all stages of life. Treat sheltered, moist areas where the fleas like to congregate, under furniture and baseboards.

Maintenance Prevention: Re-treat fleas hardly on a regular schedule because the life of a flea cycle enables them to hibernate for several months. Continue with additional treatments as needed in an attempt to eliminate all of the fleas, including the pupae.

It should be kept in mind that a single flea treatment will not work. Multi-level decision and determination will be necessary to eliminate the life of one flea and your home pest-free.

The Flea’s Effect on Home and Health

The flea infestation is not just a biological oddity, it occurs physically on your family and house. Fleas are also a carrier of tapeworms and bacteria, such as Bartonella (cause of “cat scratch disease”), and their bites are known to bring on severe itching, allergic reactions, as well as puppy and kitten feline anemia. Flea Bites in humans tend to cause red, itching welts, and on occasion may result in secondary infection secondary to scratching.

One of the flea survival secrets is that they are able to lie dormant for months at a time when in the pupal stage. What this implies is that even after thorough flea treatment, freshly emerging adults weeks later can still surprise homeowners. That’s why vigilance and continued flea treatment is needed to totally shatter the cycle.

Commercial and Natural Flea Treatment Options

There are several ways of treating fleas. Topical treatment, medication, and over-the-counter flea collars are extremely effective as well as widely prescribed by veterinarians. The drugs not only eliminate adult fleas but also inhibit egg and larvae development and affect all stages of a flea’s development.

For natural medications, diatomaceous earth, cedar or lavender essential oil sprays, and vacuuming regularly reduce flea infestations. Natural medications take more frequently and more rapidly than over-the-counter medications. Always contact a veterinarian prior to attempting a new flea medication on your pets for their own well-being.

Avoidance Tips for Future Infestations

Inspect your pets regularly for flea infestation, notably after visiting the park or going for a walk.

• Keep your area fleas free by mowing the lawn and picking up garbage, fleas prefer shaded, moist areas.
• Apply flea control to dogs year-round even during winters since indoor temperatures can support the flea cycle to be prolonged throughout.

That a flea exists is a credit to the persistence of nature, but you can keep your home and family safe with the right information and products. By gaining an understanding of the flea life cycle and its application of a complete flea control program, you are capable of killing their life cycle and preventing further infestations from getting a foothold.

If you already have fleas or would simply like to have your home flea-free, trust the professionals at saynopest. We offer advice and accompanying products for you to make an informed choice on flea treatment products that fit you. Do not allow the life of a flea overwhelm your home, act now with saynopest and sleep tight.