Mom! The Dog Has Fleas!

The adult flea can be one of the most frustrating pests to deal with for both humans and pets. With the change of seasons, from winter to spring people all across the country begin gearing up to defend themselves from fleas. By mid-summer, fleas are in full force wreaking havoc in yards and inside homes all across America. Eliminating fleas from your home and/or yard begins not only purchasing the right products and using them correctly; but also with having an understanding of the flea and its life cycle.  

Just like humans have three main stages of life, child, adolescent and adult, likewise fleas have 3 distinct stages as well. For fleas, the first stage of life is the egg followed by the larvae and finally the adult. Typical metamorphosis of a flea takes around 21 days but has been observed in as little as 12-14 days.  With this in mind, Solutions recommends an ongoing treatment for fleas of 21 days in order to eliminate fleas in all stages of development. One important fact to remember when treating for fleas is that when in the larvae stage, fleas are completely protected from any chemical that you may use.

Along with understanding the life cycle of a flea it is also important to understand how a flea problem occurs in the first place. If you have a flea infestation in your home, almost always the fleas were introduced into the home via animal or another human entering the house with fleas on them. For people with pets, that often means the animal is tracking in fleas when it goes outside into the yard. With fleas in the house, on the pet and outside the house, Solutions recommends a “3 Step Flea Free Program” which includes treating indoors, outdoors and any dogs or cats.

Once the areas to be treated have been identified, select the products that will be best suited for your unique situation. One vital piece of information to remember when combating fleas is that “vibration is key.” As previously said, when in the larvae stage, fleas cannot be eliminated by any pesticide. So, we must force the change from larvae to adult. Vibration is the key! Indoors, vacuuming the treated area every other day between treatments is recommended. This not only stirs the fleas up, it can even vacuum up existing fleas and flea eggs. Outdoors it is recommended to run your lawnmower over the yard prior to each treatment. One treatment every 7 to 10 days is recommended until all fleas are gone.  A good word of warning is that for the first 7 to 10 days while there are large amounts of vibration present in the treated areas, it may seem your flea problem is worse. Never fear, it will get better. Be sure to check out the flea control page on our website as well as check out the video to better explain a proper treatment. Once you have gathered up all the information, check out the products available to help you achieve a flea free home this summer.