Flea Treatment

Adults are small (1/8 inch), dark brown, wingless insects with a flattened body and hind legs modified for jumping. Larvae are whitish, legless and worm-like and grow to almost 1/4 inch. Eggs are white and round. Female fleas lay eggs after consuming host blood. Eggs fall to the ground in the near vicinity where hosts spend time and rest. Whitish larvae hatch from eggs in 2 to 3 weeks. Larvae develop over 9 to 15 days under optimum conditions, but depending on the temperature may take up to 200 days. Fully developed larvae spin cocoons of silk that becomes encrusted with soil particles and debris, making them hard to detect. The pupal stage lasts from 7 days to a year before adults emerge. Under optimum temperature and humidity conditions development can be completed in 30 to 75 days.

Treatment

Flea control involves the safe application of EPA registered pesticides. Insecticides are currently available for inside and outside of structures. Flea control needs to be addressed in a team effort between the home owner and the pest control operator. It is important to mechanically control the fleas by strategically vacuuming the floor thoroughly before your house is treated. It is also a very good idea to have your pet treated by a veterinarian or groomer at the same time. The pets should not be allowed to enter the premises until the pesticide has completely dried.
To control the flea population the entire floor surface needs to be treated. In order to apply pesticide across the floor surface it is important to remove all non-furniture items from the area to be treated. Adjunct with the floor treatment it may be necessary to treat the furniture as well. The cracks and crevices can be harborage to eggs and larva. Our technicians are trained to make sure that we do not cause any harm to rugs, carpet, and/or furniture. We suggest treating the outside of the house at the same time as you treat the inside. Call our office for a more detailed explanation of our treatments.