The life cycle of a flea
So, you saw fleas and flea dirt on your cat, and went to your veterinarian to get flea medicine. You applied it, but you are still seeing fleas. You think it was a waste of money. Before you blame the medicine, let’s look at the flea life cycle.
Fleas thrive in warm, moist environments. An adult female flea lives an average of 30 to 90 days and can lay 50 eggs each day. These eggs are not sticky. They fall off, landing wherever the pet happens to travel. These eggs can hatch in two days, or can wait up to three weeks depending on the environment. The larvae that hatch from the eggs live another 18 days, going through a series of three molts before they reach the stage that spins a cocoon and develops into a pupa.
The pupae, in their protected state, will hatch in a few days, or remain in the cocoon for a year or more. Vibrations, carbon dioxide emissions from pets, warm temperatures and higher humidity can trigger the emergence of the fleas from the pupae. Did you notice that I said “pupae” in the plural form? Imagine great numbers of cocoons forming and then arresting development because the conditions are not right to come out as adult fleas. Cocoons that pile up in areas of the house, becoming time bombs set to explode when the conditions are right.
The flea life cycle suddenly takes on a whole new, sinister meaning when you consider that the cycle can vary from two weeks to two years, allowing little flea soldiers to unleash great legions of participants on unsuspecting pets that wander unknowingly into their territory. And the home is the greatest place for these field mines to form.
Do you have carpet in the house? Carpet is a great place for fleas to hide. There are safe flea products for the carpet. Flea Busters kills fleas with boric acid, which is very safe. By sprinkling the product on the carpet, it dries out the flea, flea larvae and eggs, and kills them naturally and safely. It is available online at Chewy.com.
Flea treatment in Florida requires monthly application of a safe flea product to all of the pets in the home. This is Florida, and fleas are as prevalent as mosquitoes. Just because we do not see them does not mean they are not there. Once they are bad enough for you to see them, it is almost too late. You are fighting a losing battle. Flea control needs to be year-round. We have been blessed with so many really good flea medicines, but we take them for granted. Flea control is an ongoing thing. Many of the flea treatments contain an insect growth regulator that will kill the eggs and larval stage, but it cannot do this for the flea eggs that were deposited two weeks or two months before the flea medicine was applied.
Why get rid of fleas? Fleas carry feline infectious anemia, seen in cats; tapeworms, an intestinal parasite; and Yersinia pestis, also known as bubonic plague. In addition to the infectious reasons for eliminating fleas, fleas also are a great source of skin irritation for cats and dogs, causing a great majority of the skin problems that pets deal with, including allergic dermatitis, hot spots and staph infections.