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Flea Control
Fleas invade millions of homes each year. Any home - even the tidiest - having heat, humidity, carpeting and a pet gives fleas the warmth, shelter and food they require.
Although fleas are tough to control, you, your professional pest control operator, and your veterinarian can work together to solve this problem. The basics of a proven three-step treatment include:
Step 1 - Preparation
Your home has been inspected and fleas were found. Now it's time to prepare for the flea treatment.
The first order of business is cleaning the home thoroughly. Cleaning eliminates some of the fleas directly and improves the speed and effectiveness of the insecticide treatment. Your pest control operator may recommend specific actions to take before making the application, but here's a good checklist to follow:
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Clear all carpeted floors - including closets - of boxes and other items.
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Wash all pet bedding in hot water or destroy it. If pet bedding is placed in the trash, put it in a sealable plastic bag.
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Mop wood, tile and vinyl floors.
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Vacuum all carpeting and rugs thoroughly.
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Carefully vacuum pet sleeping and resting areas - under furniture, cracks and crevices in floors and draperies. Window sills and appliance tops need to be cleaned if you have cats that rest on them.
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Carefully vacuum furniture - especially between and under cushions.
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Empty the contents of the vacuum cleaner into a plastic bag. Immediately dispose of the bag.
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Remove all debris around dog houses, the outside perimeter of the home and in bushes where pets rest. Dispose of debris.
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Prior to the application, remove pets from the home. Store or cover all food. Cover fish bowls or fish tanks.
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Arrange to have dogs, cats and other flea-infested pets treated at the same time the home is treated (see "Pet Precautions")
Step 2 - Treatment
Your pest control operator will be using and advanced insecticide which is highly effective against fleas.
Before the application, your pest control technician should make sure all preparation is completed and that items have been removed or covered as necessary. People and pets must leave the premises during the application.
Your technician will apply spray over all infested areas - carpets, rugs, and some furniture. While the product will not stain carpeting or rugs, you may notice a slight odor after the application.
Depending on the situation, your technician might also treat outdoors around your home, dog pens, porches, under crawl spaces and other areas where pets frequent. Fleas easily enter homes by hitchhiking on pets, so it's necessary to control outdoor and indoor infestations at the same time.
Step 3 - Follow-Up:
People and pets may go onto treated surfaces and areas four hours after application and after the insecticide has dried thoroughly. To speed drying time, your pest control technician may have opened windows or turned on the forced air system.
After the insecticide has dried thoroughly, fish tanks and bowls can be uncovered.
Upon reentering the house, you can resume all normal activities except one: do not clean carpets, floors or furniture with detergents or cleansers for a few days after the treatment. Detergents or cleansers will remove the insecticide before it has time to control all fleas. However, you can vacuum since the insecticide binds tightly to surfaces as soon as it has dried.
You should notice a sharp drop-off in flea activity soon after the application. The insecticide provides fast control of adult fleas, but also lasts long enough to control the pre-adult flea population in your home. It can take several weeks to completely control a typical flea infestation due to adults emerging from their protective cocoons.
PREVENTING FLEAS FROM RETURNING
Properly executed, a flea treatment provides relief for you and your pets. However, no flea treatment is a miracle cure. Fleas may return. In some areas of the country, you can almost count on it. If you live in an area with a severe flea problem, frequent and thorough cleaning of the areas in your home where pets are active will help minimize flea activity. Your pest control operator can recommend ways to maintain a flea-free home and yard, and your veterinarian can suggest ways to protect your pet.
FOUR-STAGE FLEA LIFE-CYCLE
Fleas mature through a four-stage life cycle. EGG, worm-like LARVA, PUPA which live in a protective cocoon and ADULT.
For the pest control operator the flea life cycle makes control difficult because an infestation consists of four different life-stages. Two of those life-stages, larva and adult - are actively moving and susceptible to insecticides. But the eggs and pupa are immobile and live in egg casings or cocoons that block insecticides.
So, when your home is treated for fleas, the larva and adults will be controlled, but new flea larvae and adults may emerge days or even weeks later. For this reason, your pest control operator has selected an insecticide that provides enough residual action to control emerging larvae and adult fleas. Retreatments are usually not necessary, so make sure enough time has been allowed for the original application to work before a second one is made.
PET PRECAUTIONS
A veterinarian can treat your pet for fleas, or recommend a product you can use based on the health, size and age of your pets.
Your pest control operator and veterinarian can also work together to ensure that the treatment of your home and yard does not harm your pets. Insecticides, by definition, are toxic and their safe use depends on using doses large enough to control the insect pest, but too small to affect pets or people.
Pets can be exposed to insecticides from flea and tick collars, household insecticides, some flea and tick sprays, and flea treatment of the home and yard, and from flea treatments performed by your veterinarian. When the pet and home are both treated, it is recommended that two different classes of insecticides be used to minimize pet exposure to any one insecticide class. For example, if your home is treated with an organophosphate insecticide, your veterinarian should use a flea-control product for your pet from a different class of insecticides (pyrethrum, pyrethroids, etc.).
The ideal time to treat your pet is at the same time the home is treated. Make sure that your pet does not reenter until the treated surfaces have dried thoroughly - at least four hours. Take special precautions around cats because they are especially sensitive to insecticides. If your pet is old, ill or pregnant, an extra margin of safety can be ensured by keeping it out of the home for 24 hours following the treatment.
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