Archives for January 2019

How fleas enter and infest homes

January 31, 2019 By admin

How fleas enter and infest homes is a question that often comes to mind. Fleas are small parasites that can jump on any available rodent, cats or dogs. The infested flea or rodents will carry the parasites into houses and that is how an infestation begins. Most flea species prefer to live on animals as hosts but feed on human when there is no animal present.

Sometimes they fall off their pet’s bodies into upholstery, bedding and carpeting. The immature stages are mostly found inside the carpet, but they are hard to find.

Issues with flea infested carpets

A female flea can lay over 5 0 eggs each day as long as it has access to fresh blood. These eggs fall off the pets bodies into the carpets and cracks in the flooring. When they hatch into larvae, they will burrow into the rugs or any shady area feeding on the adult’s feces.

Flea bites

Fleas infest homes and nestle deeper into thick rugs and from there they constitute a nuisance for the people and pets in the house. Humans experience flea bites when they lie or step on those spots, their lower legs are usually most likely to be bitten.

How remove fleas from carpets

Vacuum the carpets carefully to suck out every dirt and parasite that may be hiding there, dispose of the dirt bags away from your home. This helps prevent more fleas from infestation of your home.

Reduce the amount of time your pets spend outside playing. Then consult your vet doctor for the best preventative treatment options suitable for your pet. This information hopefully helped answer how fleas enter and infest homes.

Control Tick and Flea infestation

January 31, 2019 By admin

It is important to control tick and flea infestation. The major way fleas infest homes is through the pets. When you allow your pets to play outside a lot, you stand a high risk of attracting ticks and flea into your home.

Once these pests have entered your home, they are not easy to get rid of; they practically spread throughout the house in every stage of metamorphosis and penetrate every hidden space. However, there are precautions and methods you can use to apply to reduce their population or prevent them from penetrating your home.

Bedding: When pests invade a home, they get shaken off into bed sheets, mattresses, pillow cases and pet beddings. These materials should be carefully machine washed under high heat – fleas cannot survive in high heat. This will ensure that every single one is killed off. The bedding should be transferred immediately after washing into a dryer.

Clean Carpets: rugs and carpets get insect eggs, pupae and larvae more than the adult stage especially the areas under furniture. This is why it is important for the carpet to be thoroughly clean with soaps and hot steam, the parasites in every stage will die off under the heat.

More Tips and Steps

Vacuum: use a vacuum cleaner to clean your whole house. Make sure that all corners are not left out, including those areas where pets sleep. Suck out both dirt and parasites, then carefully dispose of them at a safe distance to prevent re-infestation.

Groom pets: if pets are constantly taken care of, tick and fleas will not be a problem all. However, if a pet becomes infested, use a flea comb to groom the animal, it will detach fleas, flea feces and dirt from its body. Focus on its tail where the infestation is thicker, when you are through dispose of the parasites and dirt in hot water to kill them.

Use the above information to help control tick and flea infestation in your home.

Indoor Flea Control

January 31, 2019 By admin

Getting rid of fleas in your home

Indoor flea control is important. Fleas and ticks did not just appear on the body of your pets by magic. Your pets got infected from the environment, which harbors such pests, and if you don’t take the right steps to eliminate them, they’ll continue harming your pets. 95% of fleas in the environment are still in their early stages of development as eggs, larvae or pupae. They hide under grasses and carpets, and you can only set your environment free from ticks and fleas if you eliminate the pests from this early stage.

If your pet has flea allergy, its health can only improve if fleas are completely exterminated from your home. Because pets mostly stay indoors, flea and tick control should focus mostly on indoors, but then, outdoor flea and tick control is also essential especially for people who have a yard where pets can play.

Best Products for killing ticks and fleas in your home

Fogger: Virbac Knockout Fogger

Foggers help in indoor flea control by eliminating fleas from the home. Vibaric Knockout Fogger also eliminates fleas, eggs, ants, roaches and spiders. Its efficiency is however limited to open spaces, where it is distributed in a circle. The effect does not get to ticks and fleas hiding in cracks, closets, deep inside the carpet, under cushions, along baseboards and other hidden corners of the home. To exterminate fleas and ticks in hidden corners, use a powder.

Powder: Bio Spot Carpet Powder

Bio Spot Carpet Powder is ideal for clearing ticks and fleas hiding deep under the carpet, in cracks, under cushions and other hidden corners of the home. It also kills the eggs, larva and pupae of ticks and fleas.

Areas to pay attention to during indoor flea control

All carpeted areas of the house, including carpeted closets and cupboards, carpeted upholstery, under furniture cushions. Using a vacuum with a beater bar can eliminate up to 50% of flea eggs and 20% flea larvae, and it also helps raise carpet fibers for easy penetration of insecticides.
Under the edge of furniture where flea larvae hides
Pet Bedding and fabrics: Hot-laundering of pet bedding and all fabrics meant for the pet helps eliminate fleas and ticks at all stages, including eggs, papal, larval stage and adult stage.

Also check those unlikely places where you don’t let your pets into. Well, pets have a way of visiting all corners of the home.
Mattresses

How often do I need to do flea control treatment?

If your home is heavily infested, you may need to do this treatment every 2-3 weeks for at least 6 weeks. When the level of infestation has become considerably low, you can reduce to rate of treatment to every 4 to 6 weeks. While treating your home to eliminate fleas, also treat your pets for flea infestation.

Outdoor Flea Control

January 31, 2019 By admin

Exterminating fleas in your yard

Outdoor flea control is just as important as indoor. Both indoor and outdoor flea treatment are important if you want your pet to be totally free from fleas. Pets with flea allergy may still continue showing allergic reactions after indoor flea treatment. As long as the pet spends some time outdoor, in the yard and surrounding areas, it is still at risk of reacting to fleas, and becoming infested again. Outdoor flea treatment is mostly important if the climate outside is warm, because fleas love warm environment.

How to exterminate fleas from your yard

Sprays: Using pyrethroid-containing sprays such as Virabac Yard Spray Concentrate rapidly eliminates ticks and fleas and aids in outdoor flea control. It has a sprayer and hose that can reach up to 6000 sq. feet of yard. You can also dilute and spray it with a watering can.

Desiccants: Desiccants kill insects by causing them to lose water so much that they dry up and die. Desiccants like silica gel, sodium borate and Diatomaceous earth can dry up adult fleas, their eggs, larvae and pupae. Desiccants are not harmful to pets, humans and other mammals.

Beneficial Nematodes: Although nematodes (Steinernema carpocapsae) cannot survive temperatures of below 45°F and above 95°F, they can be selectively beneficial in eliminating fleas and ticks when the weather favors their activities and metabolism. This can help with outdoor flea control.

Topical Flea Preventatives

January 30, 2019 By admin

Suitable Flea Preventative

Topical flea preventatives have been useful in protecting pets from the unwanted pests. Fleas are parasitic insects that can be found everywhere, and they reproduce very fast making infestation easy. It can increase from one flea to millions in a matter of weeks. Their sheer number makes it extremely difficult to completely eliminate them from an environment. The only way to be a hundred percent certain that your pets remain free from fleas is by administering preventatives monthly. They are capable of preventing a flea’s survival when they attack the animal.

It’s easier to stop fleas from using pets for hosts but harder to kill them. These topical flea preventatives are very effective in doing this.

Topical Flea Treatments Help Protect Your Pets

Topical Treatment Administration

These treatments are administered according to a pet’s lifestyle, some tend to spend most of their time outside and others are found indoors all the time and as such their treatments will differ. Dogs or cats that spend a lot of time in water should be given treatment that will not wash of in water and will last for a month.

Tick and flea preventatives can also exterminate the parasites and repel them from coming back on that animal. Some of the treatments can prevent parasitic worm from the animal’s intestinal tract and repel mosquitoes. Again, it is important to know your pet especially the products it is allergic to, knowing this will prevent you from accidentally poisoning your pet.