Prevent Flea Infestation of Your Home and Yard - Break the Life Cycle of the Flea!

Fleas are more than annoying things that jump around, driving you and your pets crazy.  They are dangerous parasites that can carry serious human diseases; as well as dog diseases and cat diseases!

There are 4 stages to the life cycle of a flea.  It all starts with the adult female!

She needs a host to provide a free meal of fresh blood, before she can lay her eggs.  That could be you, your dog or your cat!  After a good meal, she is ready to go about the business of being fruitful and mulitiplying.  Several times per day, she will lay between 20-50 eggs.  That comes to approximately 600 in her lifetime!

At first, they eggs are wet and sticky.  They adhere to their host, the hair of your pet or even your clothing.  Unknowingly, their host tranports them as they go in and out of the house. When the egg dry, they fall off in your carpet, dog's crate, dog's bedding, on your furniture and bedding, in cracks and crevices, in the kid's sandbox, in gravel, dirt, under shrubs, shady spots under trees and just about any place the family dog or cat finds comfortable.

In 2-14 days, the eggs hatch into larvae.  The larvae prefer to avoid light and survive by eating dead organic material such as feathers, adult flea feces, and dead skin.  The larvae stage lasts about 14 days.  During the last stage of the larvae period, they spin a protective silk cocoon. To camouflage their habitat, they attach debris.  They can wait patiently in their third stage called the protective pupae.

Safe in their cocoon, the protective pupae take from from 1 week to over 1 year to morph and emerge as an adult flea.  What signals a good time to escape from the cocoon, are signs there is a hospitable host available.   The pressure, heat, noise, vibrations, and carbon dixiode, that we and our pets create, stir the pupae into fighting their way out of their cocoon.  Viola!  You have the adult flea!  The cycle starts all over again!

The good news is, if a female adult flea does not find a host and meal soon, she will die!  The bad news is, flea infestation can last from 2 weeks, to 2 years, especially if ALL the pupae are not found and eliminated.

Things you can do to break the cycle:

Vacuum daily...concentrate on nooks, crannies, crevices, under furniture, under rugs, and dark places.  Remove and dispose of the vacuum bag outside.

Cover sandboxes.  Try to keep animals that don't belong in your yard, out of your yard!

Bath your dog and/or cat with a quality flea shampoo.  Add a few drops of pennyroyal or eucalyptus oil in their bath water.

Add brewers yeast and garlic to your dog's food.

Flea comb your dog or cat daily.  Dip the comb in a bowl of DAWN or bleach between each swipe, to rid it of eggs or fleas and to prevent spreading from one animals to another.

During flea infestations confine your pets in one area...preferably tiled.

Wash all dog bedding and towels in hot water and bleach daily.

Keep your lawn mowed and the yard cleared of debris.

It takes time and effort...but breaking the cycle will make your life and your pet's life more comforble!