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Flea Control
By Frank Marshal
Fleas can enter your home in many ways, whether or not your
pet is rarely allowed outside. Fleas will hop in from your yard,
they can be left over from previous inhabitants when you bear
in mind that a larvae can remain dormant for extremely long
period or a flea can hitch a ride on you.
Fleas can be carriers for diseases and worms, so therefore
keeping your pet free from fleas, also means keeping your pet
healthy.
To check your pet for fleas, you need to part its hair and look
out for signs:
* brown dust type pieces which may be attached to the fur.
These can be excreted digested blood from the flea, if the dust
dissolves into a red liquid when you put a wet paper towel on
it, then chances are fleas are present.,br>
* fleas bite. You pet may show signs of skin irritation, this may
because the flea has scratched or bitten your pet leaving red,
irritated skin and in some severe cases bald patches may be
present.
* Fast moving, small brown shapes ARE FLEAS.
The adult flea will only spend part of their time on your pet,
they will leave to lay their eggs elsewhere, therefore households
with no pets can still harbor fleas. Fleas usually lay their eggs
outdoors, but will sometimes lay them in rugs or your pets
bedding etc. In the fight to combat this your pets bedding
should be washed weekly. Likewise with regular vacuuming
and emptying of the vacuum bag will clear out those unwanted
deposited flea eggs. These simple methods of flea control
should be carried out regardless of other methods you may
also use.
There are also several other flea control products to kill or
discourage fleas. Some are synthetic, others are considered as
natural, both of which will work to some degree. You will need
to read the manufacturers directions to be clear of which
product would suit you best.
Always bear in mind the life cycle of the flea. From the egg
larvae to adult can be 3 to 6 weeks. To be rid of fleas you
need to break this cycle. This means that whatever flea control
treatment you choose, you will need to repeat the treatment a
few weeks later. By doing this you should be sure to catch the
fleas from the larvae that may have been missed first time
round. In this way you are addressing the problem of the eggs
and larvae as well as the adult flea.
Which ever method of flea control you choose, always
remember that the natural methods may only keep fleas away
rather than eliminate them altogether. Fleas tend to dislike
some natural chemicals, namely; cedar, garlic, brewers yeast
and some vegetable oils which contain linatones.
You can readily buy cedar shampoo, cedar oil and cedar filled
sleeping mats. Fleas like dry skin, you can help to avoid dry
skin by not shampooing often and giving your pet vegetable oils
which contain linatones. Brewers yeast and garlic can be put in
your pets feed (in small quantities), their resultant body odour
could then repel fleas.
You could spray your house. There are many commercial type
foggers available as well as other flea control devices which
you release within your home. Generally when these type of
flea control methods are used, you and your pets needs to
vacate the premises for a period of time whilst the active
chemicals kill the flea, flea larvae, or both. This method can
also be carried out professionally. You need to remember that
hand held sprays can be less effective that the foggers because
you may not have sprayed into hard to get at places. It's a
myth that having your carpets professionally cleaned will get rid
of fleas, this will only be the case if certain flea control
chemicals are used in the process.
Remember that carpets, upholstery, rugs and mats are prime
places for fleas to deposit their eggs. Some people get rid of
carpets and rugs etc and replace them with hard wood floor,
or lino. Obviously this is not always fleasible option for all of
us.
When implementing flea control outdoors remember, fleas will
not be found on your driveway, or in places "out in the open".
Larvae cannot survive in high temperatures. Fleas will most
likely be found in shaded areas, under porches, decks,
undergrowth and car ports. Fleas are also likely to be in the
shaded areas where your pets lay down.
Flea combs that have fine teeth are commercially available.
Have a bowl of ammonia laced water on hand, then as you
snag the flea you can kill them in the water. Always try to use a
metal comb, the plastic ones that you can buy are too flexible
and could allow the fleas to escape.
Using a flea comb will not rid your pet of fleas altogether but it
will give you an idea on the flea population within your home. If
you estimate that for every flea you find on your pet, there will
be another 1000 in your house.
Flea powders can be handy but some can also be poisonous.
You must never let your pet ingest flea powder, which can be
tricky with pets that groom themselves, especially cats. Flea
powders are probably best used in your vacuum cleaner bag,
this should then kill any fleas that you may vacuum up.
Flea collars again are widely available but most are not
effective and some could even be bad for your pets health.
Flea control and the prevention of flea infestations in your next
home - Because flea larvae lay dormant for long periods of
time, it is possible for you and your pets to gt fleas when
moving house or apartment, if the previous occupants kept
pets or had fleas. You can prevent this problem by spraying
your home before you and your furniture move in. If the place
has been uninhabited for a long while it's possible that all the
adult fleas are dead with only the larvae present. If the place
has not been uninhabited, then adult fleas could still be present.
Whichever the case, it's probably best to treat the whole house
with foggers, sprays etc along with a good vacuum a good few
days before you intend to inhabit the place. To concluded, a
good combination of all the methods mentioned in this article
should prevent fleas and pre-emptive strikes.
Ticks.
Ticks are small round arachnids which cling to one spot and
tend not to move. They will insert their head under the skin of
their host to gorge themselves on blood. Because ticks carry
diseases, should you find a tick, both you and your pet should
get checked out. Unlike fleas, ticks do not infest houses in the
way fleas do, since they remain outside, but they do carry
dangerous diseases and can be harder to detect than fleas.
Upon finding a tick, always use tweezers to remove the tick,
always place the tweezers as near to the skin (the ticks head)
as you can and pull, very slowly and gently, do not "yank", this
should release the tick from it's host. Ticks carry rickettsial
diseases, the most commonly known is lyme disease. If you
should find and remove a tick, always, always wash your
hands thoroughly with soap afterwards.
Never touch the tick with a cigarette or the head of a hot
match, as this could cause the tick to regurgitate into your
bloodstream, which in turn will increase the chance of you
catching any diseases the tick may carry. Lyme disease is
carried by the tiny deer tick, these are about the size of a pin
head, these are very difficult to find, you must look very
carefully at both yourself and your pet to detect these ticks,
other ticks can be as large as a peppercorn.
Should you remove a tick from your pet but leave the head in
it's skin, the chances are there will be an infection or an
abscess within a week. Always try to disinfect the area
thoroughly using approximately 70% alcohol. It only takes
around 5 minutes for alcohol to sterilize an area, any high proof
liquor will work, like Vodka, although ethyl alcohol is less toxic
than using alcohol. Should you use this method then always
apply a combination antibiotic ointment afterwards. Should an
infection occur, you will probably need to take your pet to the
vet.
After you have removed a tick from your pet, drop it into
alcohol to kill it, do not flush them directly down the toilet as
this will not kill it.
Adult ticks will remain on deer and other mammals through the
fall and winter. Should you spend time outside during these
periods you should be sure to check yourself, your family and
pets on a daily basis for ticks. If you hunt or trap always check
the areas where you catch your game for ticks that may ahve
fallen off during handling. Always wear long pants tuck into,
preferably white socks, light clothing is preferable, also wear a
hat to prevent ticks from falling from trees onto your head.
Ticks also like long grass, like you'll find on the edge of woods,
especially the deer ticks as the deer are likely to habit these
areas also. Ticks can crawl up onto the grass blades and cling
to you as you walk past.
Should you find a heavy infestation of ticks in your area, spray
your yard, this is a good idea to combat ticks, moreso if your
pet goes outdoors into your yard. Another was to combat ticks
is to raise guinea hens, these hens actually eat ticks! A
vaccination against Lyme disease for dogs is available, the
human version will be soon!
About the Author
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