Human, cat, dog and rat fleas are different types of fleas
, which can equally often be found in apartments. House fleas, bedding fleas, furniture fleas, carpet fleas and other fleas, whose name is tied to the location where they were found, are simply everyday names for these insects that have nothing to do with flea species diversity. Fleas often appear in the carpet because the pile creates comfortable living conditions for them - they can hide and lay eggs in it, remaining in relative safety and only coming to the surface in search of food. Absolutely all fleas in the house, including carpets, can be dealt with using the same methods.
Important
You may find fleas in the carpet, but this does not mean that they fundamentally do not extend beyond it. Once in an apartment, fleas move throughout its entire territory, so it makes sense to carry out treatment in the entire apartment.
Structure and biology of fleas
Fleas are wingless, blood-sucking nest-burrows lying in wait for parasitic insects that feed on the blood of humans and warm-blooded animals (mammals and birds). In cities, the most common cat fleas, rat fleas, dog fleas, and human fleas. These species, as a rule, do not specialize in only one host species and can easily switch from one to another. Thus, the cat bites dogs, the dog bites cats, the rat bites people, etc. All types of fleas, including human fleas, prefer animals, but in their absence they attack people.
The body of an adult flea is vertically flat, with a rounded head. The oral apparatus is piercing-sucking. When bitten, the insect injects saliva into the wound with an agent that prevents blood clotting during blood sucking. Sizes vary in the range of 1-5 mm, depending on the species. The paws, abdomen, chest and head are covered with bristles and hairs, the tips of the paws are equipped with tenacious claws. Thanks to this structure, fleas move easily and are firmly held in the thick fur of mammals and the feathers of birds.
Fleas move mainly by jumping, pushing off with the third pair of powerful paws. The average jump height is 20 cm, length is 40 cm.
Features of metamorphosis
Fleas are insects that undergo metamorphosis (complete transformation), which includes 4 stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult.
It would be a big mistake to assume that those fleas that can be seen jumping indoors are all fleas. Let's talk about the life of each stage separately:
Flea eggs . Females do not choose a special place to lay eggs. In the house, they attach eggs to the fur of pets, after which they fall off, and also lay them in cracks in the floor and baseboards, in places where dust accumulates, or on the animal's bedding. At a temperature of 20-25˚C and a relative humidity of at least 60%, the eggs develop within one to two weeks. The female lays up to 10 eggs per day, usually in small portions of 2-6 pieces, and over her entire life - about four hundred.
Flea larvae . Legless, worm-like. They develop in 3 stages: after emerging from the egg, they go through two molts. They feed on organic waste, primarily the feces of adult fleas - digested dry blood. Shelter is sought in the fibers of upholstery, carpet pile, animal bedding, and microcracks in floor coverings. It is almost impossible to notice them accidentally with the naked eye. The entire period of larval development takes 10-15 days, and under unfavorable conditions it can last up to six months. This means that larvae that mature from eggs in the fall-winter will turn into full-fledged fleas only not earlier than spring-summer. There are many rooms with unsuitable conditions for the development of these insects, in which the presence of fleas may not be suspected at first glance. But in fact, they have long been inhabited by fleas.
Flea pupae . The pupal stage, under comfortable conditions, lasts 7-12 days, after which an adult insect, the adult, emerges from the cocoon. If preparations based on growth regulators were used during treatments, then a damaged insect emerges from the cocoon and will not live long.
Flea imago . These are adult fleas that can jump, bite, drink blood and reproduce. People only begin to feel bites when fleas of this stage appear. Life expectancy in the adult stage is from 3 to 18 months. In order for the female to lay eggs, she must be able to somehow obtain blood by biting and parasitizing on animals or the body of people. Under unfavorable conditions, including starvation, the lifespan of adults of some species can reach up to 2 years.
Adult fleas that jump on the floor at home and attack a pet are only the visible part of the infestation. According to research, adults make up only 5% of the total flea population indoors! 50% are eggs, 35% are larvae and 10% are pupae in cocoons.
Reproduction
Unusual sexual behavior of adults depends on the special structure of their organs
reproduction. These organs are the most complex in the entire animal kingdom. The female, climbing onto the male, pulls his genitals into herself. The male reproductive system consists of one pair of testes, vas deferens, two pairs of accessory glands and the copulatory apparatus. The size of the genital organ in an inactive state is equal to a third of the length of the body. It has a beard and spines. The female reproductive system consists of paired ovaries flowing into paired oviducts. They merge into a single oviduct, which passes into the ectodermal vagina, which opens outward into the vulva.
The entire penetration process takes more than ten minutes, and the duration of sexual intercourse is almost ten hours.
Females lay eggs that are less than a millimeter long. Their development lasts about two weeks.
Why are fleas dangerous?
Flea bites on the skin cause different reactions, depending on the sensitivity of the person: from short-term local redness to an extensive rash (allergic dermatitis, urticaria, pulicosis), which does not go away for more than a year. Children are more sensitive to bites than adults.
As a rule, a slight red swelling appears at the site of the bite, framed by a halo of inflamed skin with a diameter of 5-10 mm. This reaction lasts for several hours, and the person is bothered by itching.
In addition to the fact that fleas can in rare cases transmit something life-threatening, they also serve as intermediate hosts for helminths, including parasites of humans, cats and dogs.
Parasites carry and transmit infectious agents from sick animals to humans through bites and excrement left throughout the living space.
Description of appearance
Water fleas belong to the order of crustaceans. Small creatures with a body length of no more than 6 mm have an outwardly similar body shape, which is why they received the name fleas.
- The body color is light and transparent. Under a microscope you can clearly see what is happening inside. The body is covered with small scales, which have an interesting structure - they end with two hooks.
- The head is small, barely noticeable. Five pairs of limbs. The rear ones are slightly longer. The crustacean crawls well, clings to algae and plants with its paws, but does not jump, as befits terrestrial fleas.
- One eye. It is extremely mobile and includes several simple eyes. Many people are afraid of water fleas because of the danger of being bitten, but they need to be afraid of something completely different.
Below are water fleas in the photo. The structural features of the body and each of its components can only be seen under a microscope.
Daphnia or water fleas
Where do fleas appear in the house: reasons
In Russian cities, foci of flea infestation are concentrated mainly in the basements of apartment buildings. Dampness, heating networks and stray animals - all this creates comfortable conditions for parasites. In rare cases, fleas will invade attics, such as when pigeons or other birds nest there.
From there, the insects spread to animals, on people's legs and clothes, or on their own. People most often enter the apartment with pets after walking. They also enter with rats and mice, with birds through an unglazed balcony, with contaminated furniture or other things. Residents of the lower floors suffer the most. This applies equally to private houses.
Spikes in aggressive flea attacks may be due to changes in environmental conditions. Outdoors, a sharp increase in population occurs in the warm, damp season - in temperate latitudes from mid-summer (if it is rainy) to early autumn. Indoor heat and high relative humidity also accelerate the development of larvae and, accordingly, lead to an increase in the flea colony.
Sometimes an apartment with poor sanitary standards becomes a breeding ground for fleas.
The rate at which fleas reproduce indoors depends on how favorable the conditions are. Clutter, dust, an abundance of cracks in the floor and baseboards, dampness are factors in the growth of the number of parasites.
Who is hiding under the name "Sand flea"
Literally translated from English, the phrase means “sand flea” and is a collective name for four completely different groups of living organisms:
- southern marine crustacean living in the sand in the surf - this is bottom plankton of the genus Emerita;
- a shrimp-like sea crustacean of the Talitridae family, which prefers rotting tufts of algae on the shore;
- small mosquitoes;
- Brazilian ground flea.
The first two “sand fleas” do not pose any danger to humans; they filter sea water for food and dream of being left alone. But they are good bait for fish, so they only dream of peace.
Small tropical mosquitoes can already pose a danger to humans, as they are carriers of many types of serious diseases.
But the most serious object in this one is the Brazilian flea, which tourists are actually warned against.
Black Sea sand fleas
How to determine the presence of fleas indoors
Finding out if there are fleas in the house is actually simple. A dog, cat or other pet will be the first indicator of the appearance of fleas, and rather, a source of their further spread. If your animal is constantly itching, you should pay attention to this. This primarily applies to dogs and cats that regularly walk outside.
Examination of the animal's fur and skin will reveal what is causing him concern. Only adult individuals visible to the naked eye feed on blood. We inspect by hand or using a special flea comb.
If you notice small black spots in the fur or skin of an animal, this is nothing more than dried digested blood - traces of parasites. Such spots also remain on the animal’s bedding, and eggs can also be found there.
But fleas appear even in apartments without animals. In this case, the first sign of their appearance is bites. Fleas attack regardless of the time of day; they live mainly on the floor, so they often bite in the area of the feet and legs. As colonies grow, they spread to bedrooms and upholstered furniture, with bites appearing all over the body.
An easy way to estimate the size of the flea population in your home is to wear socks and pants in a contrasting light shade and count how many fleas jump on your feet in one minute. If 5 or more, then the degree of infection is high.
Effective store-bought drugs
You can buy a product for treating apartments against fleas in a specialized store or in the hardware departments of supermarkets. Or they order a powerful drug via the Internet or purchase it from SES employees.
Products for treating apartments against fleas are produced in the form of aerosols, concentrated liquids, and powders. The choice of an effective remedy depends on the degree of contamination of the room.
Powders
Larvae can be exterminated with powders and dusts. In places where they are found or where they are supposed to be, boric acid paths are sprinkled, the floor surface is treated with Mashenka chalk, and Clean House products are used.
Flea control products
Aerosols
If there is a small infestation, you can treat the room against fleas with aerosols. The drugs penetrate the body by contact through the spiracles and chitinous cover. The active components cause paralysis and quick death.
On a note!
The maximum effect lasts for 2 hours, the residual effect lasts about a week. Aerosols destroy adults and larvae. After 14 days, it is necessary to re-treat fleas in the apartment to consolidate the result.
The flea room can be treated with any aerosol with a broad spectrum of action; it is not necessary to buy a special product. Powerful aerosols for home treatment:
- Karbofos;
- Dichlorvos;
- Raptor;
- Raid;
- Clean house.
Fighting methods
How do commercial services kill fleas?
Our service works in the basements of apartment buildings, which are sources of flea breeding in modern cities, and also treats apartments and private houses for fleas. We carry out disinsection against fleas in residential premises by large-droplet spraying, using mainly emulsion insecticides and microencapsulated products. Floor coverings, furniture and walls are treated to a height of 1 - 1.5 meters from the floor, including bedding on which pets sleep. After the procedure, it is important to maintain the effect of the drug on the entire surface of the flooring, refusing wet cleaning until the insects disappear. After the product expires, it is necessary to carry out general cleaning.
The products are provided with accompanying documents confirming their safety and effectiveness. The choice of the form of the product depends on many factors:
- ease of use
- object type and conditions
- number and population composition of fleas
- timing of application, aging of the product and its subsequent cleaning
- disinfestation safety requirements
For example, in houses with long-term occupancy, in which fleas have been reproducing for more than one month, as a rule, up to 95% of the population are pre-imaginal stages of fleas - worm-like larvae, pupae, eggs. In this case, biological preparations such as insect growth regulators are prescribed. Under the influence of such agents, flea larvae die during the transition to the next stage, and fleas with organic defects appear from the treated pupae and die soon after emerging from the cocoons. At first, this noticeably slows down the rate of flea reproduction, and after 1-2 months it massively reduces the number of eggs, larvae and pupae of fleas in the room.
Also, if the absence of odor is important during processing, oil-water-based preparations and microencapsulated products are prescribed. If moisture ingress during processing is undesirable, dusts are used. At facilities where the minimum period of exposure of the product is ensured (with daily washing and cleaning), acute-acting agents are used. In other places where the product retains its effect - long-acting drugs, including microencapsulated and powdered products.
If you do not plan to spend money on such services or do not trust the services, then with the right approach you can remove fleas from the apartment yourself.
How to get rid of fleas yourself
The first step is to develop an optimal and acceptable destruction strategy. To prevent the struggle from dragging on for long, take comprehensive measures:
- clean your pet, flooring and furniture from fleas using low-toxic insecticides, and also use available natural remedies at the same time.
- clean the house using chemical insecticides (if there are no animals in the house).
Where can you find parasites in an apartment?
Fleas live on the body of animals (cats, dogs, birds), but where to look for eggs and individuals that are in the larval stage.
Due to the fact that the flea lays eggs on the fur of pets, and soon the eggs begin to fall off, ending up on surfaces in the room, it is necessary to carry out complete disinfection of the premises.
Knowing what flea larvae look like, they can easily be found in secluded corners:
The larvae choose places where there is food, sometimes they are found in flower vases, flower pots, containers for storing vegetables, under the trash can.
