Fleas are common pests in Tampa, particularly for residents with dogs and cats. Why are they so common? Because flea prevention isn't easy. Often, DIY control falls short due to a lack of knowledge. For example, putting traps down to catch fleas will definitely catch them. You'll see the tiny specks floating in your traps. But traps are only helpful for monitoring activity; they are not a control solution. And, in most cases, it isn't necessary to track flea activity. You'll know you have them if you continue to get bitten.
Join us today as we delve into the complex nature of flea prevention. We'll talk about some common misconceptions and share what the professionals use to deal with these pests. If you'd like to see how we deal with fleas firsthand, contact Haskell Termite & Pest Control for flea control in Tampa. We're here to help.
The Flea Life Cycle: Understanding Their Stages
The primary way flea control and prevention falls short is that it doesn't consider the life cycle of these insects. Why is this important? Because you can eliminate fleas continually and not stop an infestation. Let's look at the challenges in each stage of flea development, starting with the adults.
Adult Fleas:
You don't need special products to kill fleas. All it takes is a little dish soap. Fleas can float on water. The dish soap breaks the surface tension, and the fleas sink into the water and drown. If you create a trap with a desk lamp and a plate of lightly soapy water, the fleas will spring toward the heat from the lamp and land in the water, sink, and drown. But no matter what you use to exterminate fleas directly, it won't stop the infestation because fleas will continue to mate and lay eggs far faster than the traps can catch them.
Pupae:
In its pupal stage, a cocoon protects the flea. When applying products to control fleas, most do not eliminate fleas hiding inside their cocoons, and the treatments fail.
Larvae:
There is a misconception regarding baby fleas. They are not insects like the adults. They don't jump around inside your home and bite you. If you see small fleas and large fleas, you have two different species, not babies and adults. The babies are little worm-like critters that live in hiding places and feed on flea dirt (the waste of adult fleas). Products sprayed or sprinkled on carpets and furniture don't usually get deep enough to eliminate larvae hiding underneath fibers.
Eggs:
The safest place for a flea is inside its egg. As with pupae, fleas are protected from treatment products when hiding in their eggs. After finishing the treatment, new fleas will hatch, increasing the infestation. A treatment needs to have a residual impact—in other words, it needs to stay in place to address the new fleas. For the application of control products, a licensed service technician can help.
During its life, a flea will live in only a few places. The eggs and cocooned fleas are in pet and wildlife bedding and nests. The adults are found on animal hosts or on floors, seeking a new host for a blood meal needed to survive. Your control methods should take into consideration areas where fleas are most common.
What Are The Health Problems A Flea Infestation Can Create?
Another common misconception regarding fleas is that they're just annoying, biting pests. While they certainly are irritating and constantly bite, causing itchy wounds, there is more you need to know.
We're commonly asked, "Do fleas carry diseases?" The reason for the question is that it is possible to have several flea infestations and never get sick. This is because most of the fleas found indoors are fleas that have hatched indoors. Since fleas aren't born infected with diseases, indoor fleas have a lower risk of carrying or transmitting diseases. The ones that present the greatest risk are the ones that lived on a wild animal before jumping onto a dog and cat.
So, what are the flea-borne health issues that impact humans? The most common are murine typhus, bartonellosis, tularemia, and tapeworm. If you become ill during a flea infestation, check the CDC for information about these diseases and compare your symptoms.
We share these facts because DIY flea control falls short when some people aren't too concerned about having a flea infestation. That can lead to a slow response and the potential for illness.
Some Household Items That Will Deter Fleas
There are some common household items that can help you deter fleas. We mentioned one already. Soapy water used in traps can collect these insects. If you see fleas jumping around in your home, you can make traps to provide a small amount of relief. But, as we pointed out, traps will not arrest an infestation—nor will the application of any other household item. Home remedies are rarely successful. But here are a few that people tend to try:
- Vacuuming: Can you suck fleas up with your vacuum? Certainly, but you won't get them all. Flea eggs, cocooned fleas, and sometimes larvae are difficult to remove with most vacuums.
- Baking Powder: Some people sprinkle baking powder on carpets and bedding or go one step further and buy diatomaceous earth to stop fleas. Do these work? Partially. The issue is that you'll get tired of living in a powdered environment long before you eliminate these insects.
- Vinegar: Some people use a vinegar and water bath to treat pets with an organic solution. Does it work? Yes. But it won't provide a long-term solution for your pet. If you have fleas in your home, they'll hatch and spring onto your pet to replace the fleas you eliminated with the bath. That means you'll have to do it all over again. If you have a squirmy pet that doesn't like baths, you won't have any fun at all.
- Rosemary: There are natural aromas, like rosemary, that repel fleas. While you can have some success managing fleas with something that smells bad to them, they'll find a way to get a blood meal when they're hungry enough. Also, repellents don't correct a flea infestation because fleas won't go back outside if they don't like the smell of your home.
The best solution for fleas is not a home remedy. Applying all-natural flea control to arrest activity and break the cycle of infestation is a chore that is likely to end in failure. What should you do? Here is our suggestion.
Call The Pest Control Experts For Total Flea Elimination
It pays to contact the local flea experts to deal with a flea problem inside your home. Professionals use treatment products that stay in place long enough to address new fleas that hatch after treatment. These products are carefully selected and properly applied for efficacy and safety.
When you contact a professional, you'll also get a comprehensive solution. Your service technician can evaluate your problem and give you some insights into how you got fleas in the first place and how you can help prevent future infestations by making a few alterations.
Pest control service providers don't just offer extermination for fleas. We help you prevent flea problems "before" they begin. The best way to deal with fleas is to be proactive. Here's how fleas operate:
- Adult fleas hitch a ride into your yard on wild animals.
- When animals explore your landscaping and shaded places, they drop eggs and flea dirt.
- The emerging fleas feed on the flea dirt, develop, and create cocoons.
- The cocooned fleas develop fully into adult fleas and lie in wait.
- When a dog or cat walks by, the adult flea breaks free of the cocoon and leaps on.
- The dog or cat brings the flea into the house.
- A male and female flea can mate and produce eggs when they are on the same dog or cat.
- These eggs fall off indoors and land with flea dirt.
- Just as outdoors, indoor fleas develop and cocoon.
- The cocooned fleas can break free when a dog, cat, or human walks by.
All of this comes to a halt by addressing fleas in your yard. Routine treatments provided by a pest control service provider will eliminate fleas in the places they hide and develop. When your dog or cat goes outside, there will be no fleas to pick up and bring indoors. Problem solved!
Are you in Tampa? Contact Haskell Termite & Pest Control for termite extermination or ongoing flea control for your property. The methods and products we use are scientifically derived and known to work. Let our team work on your flea problems until they're nothing more than a distant memory.
Get started by navigating to our Contact Us page for easy access to the information you need regarding flea control in Tampa. From there, we can easily schedule a service visit. But, of course, you can always just call. We're here to help.