Winter Fleas
| Due to central heating, the average temperature in our home is around 22C, and fleas will thrive all year round. Everyone knows that prevention is better than cure, and this is certainly true when it comes to fleas. However, most pet owners only react to the visible signs and limit treatment to their pets, which unfortunately means they are usually too late to prevent an unwanted invasion in the home.
Almost all experts agree that integrated flea control is the best form of management for a flea infestation. It involves using a combination of two different types of insecticide that targets the different stages of the flea life cycle. An adulicide is used to kill the adult fleas you can see on your pet, and an insect growth regulator is used to deal with the eggs they have laid around the home. An effective treatment programme involves treating your home and not just your pet as each female flea will lay hundreds of eggs which fall of your dog, and you could end up with thousands of eggs scattered around your home. Some pets can also be allergic to fleas and knowing what and how much treatment to use can prove complicated, so it is always best to seek veterinary advice with regards to flea control. The facts about fleas - There are over 2000 species of fleas, of which 63 can be found in the UK Cat fleas, despite their name, can infest dogs as well as cats and are the most common type of flea found on our pets A flea can jump over 150 times its own height A flea when jumping accelerates 50 times faster than a NASA space shuttle!! A female flea consumes more than 15 times its body weight in blood every day A flea can live for more than 100 days The largest recorded flea is the North American Hystrichopsylla schefferi, measuring 12mm in length, which is almost half an inch! |