Fleas

Cat flea
Flea eggs and larvaeFlea pupae

Fleas are a common pest, especially if you have pets.

Fleas can't fly, instead they have powerful hind legs so they can jump onto a host to feed upon fresh blood. They are brown'ish in colour and their bodies are remarkably flat (for travelling through hair), often in pet hair you can find their faeces and eggs.

Fleas breed fast, it is always a good idea to act quickly to prevent an infestation getting too big a problem.

If you need advice or would like to make an appointment to get rid of your flea problem as soon as possible please use our enquiry form or call us on 01284 799 398.

  • Risks

    The obvious risk of having fleas in your home or business is being bitten. Even though a cat flea will specifically need cats blood to produce viable flea eggs, they will happily jump onto a human to take a blood meal. This is true of all flea species. All will bite humans leaving itchy red marks on most people in the process.

    There is also the risk of anaemia from repetitive flea bites and also intestinal worms – the most common source of intestinal worms in humans comes from swallowing a cat or dog flea.

  • Treatment

    The usual treatment for fleas is for all the floor areas of a home to be sprayed with a residual insecticide, paying particular attention to the floor/wall junctions and areas where pets frequent most often.

    Prior to our arrival we will ask you to thoroughly vacuum your home, taking the contents of the hoover and disposing it immediately into an outside bin. Any pet bedding or soft furnishings used by pets will require washing at a temperature above 60 degrees. We will also need good access to all the carpeted areas of your home so please move anything which needn’t be on the floor.

    Pets will also need to be up to date with their flea treatments, we recommend using your local vet, however we may be able to provide you with a treatment when we arrive.

    During the treatment you will need to evacuate the property, and in accordance with the product label wait until the insecticide has dried into the carpet (allow for two hours after completion) before re-entering the property. If you have concerns please call us for a more in depth explanation.

  • Life Cycle

    Fleas lay eggs which are white and oval in shape (see photos); these eggs will often fall off their host and are often found in animal bedding. Once hatched the larvae (pale worm like creatures) feed on any organic matter they can find such as hair, dead skin and even faeces.

    The larvae create a silken cocoon in which they crawl into and transform into adult form. Once hatched the adult flea must feed on their chosen hosts blood before they can reproduce.

    It is the phenomenal reproduction rates which can make even a stray flea in your home a serious infestation within weeks! A female flea lays eggs in batches of around twenty, these can hatch, pupate into adults and reproduce themselves within two weeks, and a female can lay up to 500 eggs in her lifetime!

    Adult fleas will often rest in the cocoon and only hatch out when they are stimulated by the vibrations of a potential host. It is this trait which often leads us receiving a phone call when someone returns from holiday or moves into a new home.

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