Fleas are pervasive little devils. Once inside your home, they can take over. Getting rid of them will require some diligence on your part, but it can be done. With the right knowledge and arsenal, you can evict these little pests and reclaim the comfort of your home.
What you Must Know About Fleas
Hopping and jumping, fleas are masters at moving about the world. Thriving in environments that are warm and moist, they may start outside and hitch a ride into the home on your pets. Once inside, they will find the average home to be an excellent area for permanent residence. Their remarkable life cycle makes them difficult to remove, but you can overcome it if you understand what that cycle is.
Adult – Adult fleas are flat from side to side. They have three pairs of legs, and the hindmost pair is what allows them to jump great distances as they move around on your pet and in the home. Gleas can jump vertically up to 7 inches and horizontally 13 inches. They live for several months, and they spend the majority of their time either feeding or laying eggs. The female flea lays up to 50 eggs a day, so she can easily add 500 to 600 eggs to your home over the course of a few months. Adult fleas have about 1 week to find food once they emerge, after that they can survive 2 to 3 years between meals.
Eggs – Eggs are laid on your pet, but they fall off all over the house. They will be found in bedding, upholstery, in soil and along floorboards. It takes two days to a few weeks for the eggs to hatch depending on how favorable the environment is. Flea eggs need a relative humidity of about 70% to 75% to hatch.
Larva – The larva that emerges starts out as a semi-transparent white oblong shape about a quarter-inch long. Eating the feces of adult fleas and organic debris found in most carpets and upholstery, they start to grow. After 5 to 18 days, they move into the next stage.
Pupa – The last stage before adulthood and the start of a new cycle, the pupa are encased in a cocoon spun by the larva. They remain in this protected state for a few days up to a year, and they only come out when conditions favor emergence. Warmth and good humidity levels will bring them out faster, so they tend to reproduce quickly in a household.
Living Quarters
Knowing how fleas reproduce and how rapidly they take over a household is only part of the challenge. It’s also important to understand that only about ten percent of fleas in the home will be on your pet. The rest are living in your couch, lounging in your pet’s bedding and working their way through the carpet as larva. Treating these fleas will help you take control of the problem and get these insects out of your house. Use Petcor Spray for cats, kittens, puppies and dogs to kill the fleas that are making your pet miserable and ensure that they can enjoy their bed again.
Treating your Home for Fleas
Daily vacuuming pulls up the eggs, larva and pupa, a study from the University of California showed that vacuuming can catch about 96 percent of ADULT fleas. Take the vacuum bag and dispose of it in the outdoor trash can as soon as you are done. If you can do this every single day, you will start to win the war on fleas. However, you can drastically speed up the process by using Precor 2000 Plus Premise Spray to kill fleas in all their stages. Use a sweeping motion to apply a light spray to carpets, upholstered furniture, rugs, around pet resting areas, and on curtains.. The spray will continue working for up to 210 days, so you can stop the infestation in its tracks. Continue vacuuming regularly to remove the dead fleas and eggs. You may also use the Precor Fogger to treat your home along with the Precore 2000 Premise Spray. The Precor Fogger will cover 6000 cubic feet (25 x 35 foot room with a ceiling of 8 foot). Both products controls fleas, eggs and prevent re-infestation.
Treat the Lawn for Fleas
A multi-pronged approach is necessary to kill fleas. In addition to treating the pests on your cat or dog and cleaning the bedding and house, you will also want to treat the lawn. Invest in Martin’s Viper RTU for the yard and house. Sprayed along baseboards, bedding and throughout the yard, this incredible treatment will destroy fleas, ticks, carpet beetles, bed bugs, lice, flies, clothes moths, cockroaches, spiders and more.
With the help of Precor 2000, Petcor spray, Precor Fogger and Martin’s Viper RTU, you will be well on your way to winning the fight against fleas in your home. The spray will kill fleas in all stages, so you can stop the life cycle and give your pet some relief. Fleas spread rapidly and cause your pet a great deal of misery, so invest in these treatments as soon as possible.