Treat your pets as soon as you can. You
will get better results if all flea
treatments environmental and on-animal
are done about the same time.
DO NOT AVOID FLEA INFESTED AREAS AFTER THE
TREATMENT YOU WILL REDUCE THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TREATMENT
especially remember the spare room, shed
or places where the pet likes to rest.
If you remove the pet, flea problems may
appear to be worse as you have become the
only potential host.
It is best to treat before the numbers build
up, there is no need to go through the
discomfort of flea
bites.
Entering vacant houses will hatch any fleas
waiting to hatch. This is especially a
problem with vacant rental and holiday
houses.
If you are going on holidays, have a friend
stomp through the house/yard several times
while you are away, especially on the day of
your return the fleas will hatch and die
on the treated surfaces before you return.
(You will owe your friend big time.)
FLEAS
Solution only with understanding
You have called us because you have a flea
problem. Please take a few minutes to read
this brochure so you better understand how
best results may be achieved.
The life cycle of the flea is similar to
that of a moth egg, larva (caterpillar),
pupa (cocoon) and adult. A newly hatched
adult flea is unfed, small, black and
aggressive some people mistakenly refer to
these as ground or sand fleas. After they
have had a blood meal, fleas lighten in
colour and become larger. For every flea on
your pet there may be hundreds waiting to
hatch!
Sometimes flea treatments appear to be
ineffective as small black fleas are seen
after the treatment. This is because the
pupae are quite resistant to chemicals.
Fleas continue to emerge from pupal cases
because insecticides cannot penetrate the
flea pupal case. Ten fleas can potentially
reproduce to 250,000 in only 30 days!
The solution for successful flea control is:
treatment of the pet and the pets
environment
(if necessary in and outside the house)
along with some patience.
Fleas lay eggs on the pet when the host is
resting. The white eggs fall off the pet
onto the carpet, soil etc. Small blind
larvae emerge from the eggs. These larvae
move away from the light, burrowing down
into the carpet, cracks in floorboards or
into the soil. They feed on protein, such
as flea droppings of partly digested blood.
They moult three times before forming a
pupa. The larva changes into the adult in
the pupa. The pupa is sticky, so it binds
its surrounds to itself, becoming invisible.
In summer, a flea may be ready to hatch from
the pupa about 7-14 days after it is formed,
however they can remain dormant for up to 18
months. Hatching of the flea from the pupa
is triggered by nearby movement,
predominantly during warm, moist weather
conditions.
After feeding on the host, the engorged
female flea is ready to mate and lay eggs
about 24 hours after hatching. She is
capable of laying up to 500 eggs (27 per
day) over a lifetime which may span several
weeks.
A SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT MUST INCLUDE
ALL AREAS FREQUENTED BY THE PET
1) Indoors remove toys, clothes etc from
the floor. Some insecticides will affect
fish. Cover the fish tank and turn off the
filter prior to treatment. Remove pets from
the area to be treated return them only
after the treatment has dried.
2) Treat the pet(s) advice may be sought
from your Veterinarian. The use of soaps or
shampoos may reduce the residual action of
the treatment.
3) Be patient.
Even if everything has been done correctly,
you will still see newly hatched fleas,
usually for several weeks.
Do not leave flea infested areas
undisturbed movement hatches fleas.
Do not vacuum for at least seven days after
treatment. Place the vacuumings in a bag
and put in the bin.
4) Leave your pet in the flea infested
areas it will attract the fleas. If the
pet is removed from the infested area, fleas
will continue to hatch for about six weeks
with normal human activity. Retreat your
pet regularly according to the label of the
on-animal flea product.
EXPECTATION
Fleas will be seen when an area is newly
disturbed such as when people get up in
the morning or go outside but not later in
the day in that area. If the treatments are
working, fleas will hatch, contact the
treated surface (carpet, soil treated by
our company, or pet treated with on-animal
product) and die within a few hours.