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Flea season is coming! Flea prevention helpful hints every homeowner should know about

Flea prevention hints every homeowner should know about

Dear Pet Owners, brace yourself as the flea season is just around the corner, and having a flea infestation can become a serious pest issue for you, your family, and your beloved pets. Fleas can turn everywhere in your home and both you and your pet will end up scratching and itching like crazy. The cat flea is the most common type of flea in the United Kingdom.
Fleas are well known for their superpower to jump really high. These pests are also very fast and on top of that, they have strong legs, and once the flea is attached to the victim it becomes almost impossible to remove it. Luckily today the flea exterminators from Archers Pest Control will share with you flea prevention helpful hints and how to successfully get rid of these frustrating pests.
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Flea Characteristic and Life Cycle

Fleas are wingless insects 1⁄16 to 1⁄8 inch long and are normally reddish-brown in colour, with proboscis adapted to feeding by piercing the skin of their host and sucking blood through their epipharynx. Flea legs also have strong claws that help them hold graphs for their host. These pesky pests also have a very rigid body that is able to withstand tremendous pressure, likely adaptation to survive attempts to be eliminated by scratching.
 
Flea Life Cycle
The flea has four life stages (complete metamorphosis).
  • Stage 1 - Flea Eggs 
    A single female flea usually can lay on average 15-20 eggs per day but some females can lay up to 50 sometimes.
    Once the female flea has found a host and eaten a blood meal, she can start reproducing and after that lay eggs. Flea eggs are white and tiny, usually around 0.019 inches in size. (smaller than a grain of sand). It is almost impossible to notice them, especially if they are hidden in carpets or furniture.

  • Stage 2 - Flea Larvae
    The flea larvae emerge from the egg to feed on any organic materials such as dead insects, faces, and flea dirt from the environment. Actually, flea dirt is dried blood and looks like black spots.
    Flea larvae have translucent colors and have no legs. For the larvae to develop takes one to two weeks. They can grow up to 0.19 inches.

  • Stage 3 -  Flea Pupae
    The flea pupae refer to the cocoon stage of the flea and this is the final stage before it turns into an adult flea, which can take several days or sometimes weeks. Once developed, the adult flea will not emerge until they sense a potential host.

  • Stage 4 - Adult Flea
    Once the adult flea emerges from the cocoon, it will seek a suitable host to feed on.  A newly emerged adult flea, in the beginning, is very small, with a flat body and dark colour. When these blood-sucking pests have had their fill, they will grow into recognizable flea-shape.

Warning! 

Fleas may transmit diseases such as Bartonellosis, Flea tapeworm, and  Murine typhus while taking a blood meal from a human or animal host.

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Detecting Flea Infestation In Your Home

Flea infestations start by coming into your home on your pet, wildlife, or clothing. As we previously mentioned fleas could jump up to six inches at a time, making it easy for them to jump on your pet, and sneak right inside without even knowing it. Their bodies are flat so they are able to sneak in through any tiny cracks and crevices.
A flea infestation can be detected in your home by bite marks on humans or pets. The flea bite is small in size and has a reddish circle around it. You might also find pimples scattered on your legs and feet. Remember that a flea bite can sometimes cause swelling and a rash. If you suspect a flea infestation you should inspect your home and pets for them. Adult fleas are very small, and you may also find tiny black dots that are droppings on your pet's skin and fur.

Flea Infestation - Prevention Tips

Flea infestation could be hard to get rid of. Treating your pet will help your pet from getting more fleas, but that will not get rid of all of the other ones that have managed to infest the rest of your house. To get rid of fleas and prevent them from coming back, you should vacuum your home on regular basis. Pay special attention to carpets, furniture, especially pet sleeping place, beds, cushions, and pillows. The flea exterminators from Archers Pest Control recommend emptying the vacuum cleaner outside your home, so the fleas don't come back. Washing your pet bedding with hot water will is also good prevention against flea infestation.
For some flea infestations, steam cleaning before vacuuming is highly recommended. The heat will eliminate almost all of the adult fleas, but keep in mind that you may not kill all of the eggs. Continue to hoover thoroughly every other day after the steam cleaning to make sure you are killing fleas as they hatch. Some fleas might still make it to the adult stage. Insecticides are always a necessary step in moderate to heavy flea infestations, even after steam cleaning and vacuuming.
Sometimes even the most common sprays fail to kill flea pupae, which means you might see a few fleas over the next 2 weeks. Keep vacuuming, as it stimulates the fleas to hatch prematurely. Vacuuming should be enough to control the lingering population as long as you've treated your pet. This may look like a lot of work, and not as easy or effective as calling the flea exterminators from Archers Pest Control.
 
Solving Flea Infestation
Getting rid of flea infestation in your London home won`t be an easy task. Usually, flea control is time-consuming and not always 100 % effective. Even if you do everything right, you are probably going to have to keep killing fleas for the next couple of weeks or so. Luckily, you don’t have to go through this hard time alone. With that being said, Archers Pest Control is here to save you and your pets and family from these frustrating pests. Our well-trained professionals can help you get rid of any pest-related issues including the battle against fleas.