 |
Fleas Pest Control, Flea Extermination, How to Get Rid of Fleas, Flea Exterminator |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Fleas
Fleas are small specialized parasitic insects, having some 2,380 species known worldwide and only about 90 species represented in Australia.
Adult fleas are blood suckers, the majority feeding on mammals (eg dogs, cats, pigs) and some feeding on birds.
Some flea species are very widespread and as a result of their biting habit, which may cause severe irritation, and their role of disease transmission, the flea has justly earned a reputation of being extremely important in the medical and public health context. When conditions favour flea growth and development, populations can be so great that references to a ‘flea plague’ are not uncommon. A sound understanding of the biology of fleas is an important prerequisite to effective control.
Structure
Adult fleas are small (1.5-4.0mm), usually brownish, laterally compressed, (facilitating fast movement through dense hair or fur), and equipped with piercing and sucking mouthparts. In the course of insect evolution, it appears that fleas have become wingless. Their well-developed hindlegs facilitate very powerful jumping, and claws on their legs ensure that they grapple onto the host animal. Some species have a row of spines above the mouthparts, called the genal comb. Flea larvae are small, legless, worn-like creatures with short antennae, chewing mouthparts and rigid hairs along the body.
Life Cycle
Fleas undergo a complete metamorphosis. The adult female usually lays 4-8 eggs after each blood meal. In her lifetime she may lay several hundred. Most eggs are laid on the host; and as these usually fall off, they can be distributed in virtually any area visited by the host animal. High concentrations of flea eggs are often associated with animal sleeping quarters. Eggs usually hatch in 2-14 days. Larvae feed on available organic material, in the form of crumbs, human skin scales and other debris that may accumulate in carpets, furniture, pets’ bedding, cracks between floorboards, lawns, gardens and sub-floor soil. Adult fleas often excrete almost undigested blood, which may dry into dark granules and serve as an important feeding supplement for larvae. The feeding period for flea larvae is usually 15 days, but it may be as long as several months in adverse conditions. When feeding is complete, the larvae usually spins a silken cocoon, to which it will adhere particles of dust, soil and the like, so as to camouflage and protect itself. The larvae pupates within the cocoon, and the pupal stage may last for 7-14 days, or up to a year in some cases. The entire life cycle may take as little as 18 days or more than a year in less favourable conditions. Adult males and females, both blood suckers, may live 100-500 days and can endure long periods (up to 4 months) without food.
^Back to Top
Habits
Fleas prefer warm, humid conditions and hence are often a pest during Summer. High humidity favours the development of larvae, which may be populous both indoors and outdoors, where sandy soils (particularly if under cover from rain) are favoured. When climatic conditions are favourable, the development of larvae outdoors can be very widespread.
Insects can slow and almost halt their growth and development at various stages in order to make the most of more favourable conditions when they occur. Flea pupae may remain as pupae for long periods, being stimulated to emerge as adults by vibrations. Energy costs as a pupa are minimal, certainly less than those of an adult flea, which moves more, consumes more oxygen and so on. As vibrations may be caused by a larger animal that is likely to be a suitable host from which to obtain a blood meal, it is more efficient, from the viewpoint of the flea’s well-being and inclination to produce the next generation, to wait until its first blood meal declares its presence by causing vibrations. Hence the emergence of adult fleas often relies on warmth, pressure and/or vibrations.
Buildings unoccupied for long periods may suddenly seem to come alive with fleas immediately the occupants return. Host detection probably relies largely on temperature, carbon dioxide and possibly the detection of certain odours, as seems likely in the case of rodent hosts. Adult fleas spend a considerable time on the host (but not to the extent of some lice, which remain on their hosts all the time).
Fleas as Pests
The significant pest status that fleas have achieved is largely attributable to their ‘biting’ (piercing and sucking) habit, which may cause mild to severe irritation or serve to transmit diseases.
Where a flea infestation is troublesome in domestic residences, most flea bites occur around the ankles and lower legs. Great variations in the degree of irritation exist between individuals. The irritation, which can persist for days, is due to the injection of saliva, which acts as an anticoagulant. Typically, a cluster of bites may occur, and these usually develop into a small red spot, surrounded by a red dish halo but seldom with any swelling. In Australia, it is the frequency of bites, which may occur indoors or outdoors, that can annoy and irritate to the extent where control measures are sought.
The role of fleas in disease transmission and human welfare has been profoundly important, because any flea bite allows the possibility of infection at the wound site, and because a number of diseases, some devastating, are transmitted by fleas: Plague, Murine or Endemic Typhus, Intestinal Worm Parasites.
Important Pest Species
- Cat Flea – this is perhaps the most common pest flea in many regions. In addition to cats, it is known to attack dogs, rats, humans and other mammals.
- Dog Flea – This is very similar in appearance to the cat flea but seems to be less commonly encountered. It also attacks a wide range of mammals.
- Human Flea – This is becoming much less associated with humans since the advent of the vacuum cleaner and other aids to better housekeeping. It also attacks dogs, pigs, rats and mice. It is often encountered in piggeries.
- Oriental Rat Flea – Favoured host is the rat. This is the principal vector of bubonic plague and Murine typhus.
Flea Control
Effective flea control often relies on the well-directed application of chemical insecticides and/or insect growth regulators, backed up by procedures that the client undertakes to help make the environment less suitable for the development of fleas. Where pet animals are concerned, their role as carriers of adult fleas should not be overlooked.
^Back to Top
|
 |
|
|
 |
