subject: Choosing Rapid Solutions For Frontline Plus [print this page] At times they appear to be taking over the world. These bloodsucking pests not only are irritating to man and beast alike, nonetheless can also cause severe skin problems in both dogs & cats. Worse yet, as fleas grow to be increasingly resistant to the synthetic chemicals science has produced for their control, pesticide manufacturers are making their items increasingly more robust & more risky in an try to keep pace with the parasites.
As a result of this unhealthy race, household pets are suffering twice: They're chewed on by fleas, & they're used as a battleground for the chemical warfare being waged by their well-meaning owners. In reality, I've commonly encountered circumstances of severe poisoning in dogs & cats as a result of the overzealous application of synthetic-chemical flea treatments. And quite a few of those poisoned animals nonetheless have fleas!
Luckily, there are efficient nontoxic ways to do battle with fleas andwin. Nonetheless before we can try to control these pests without harming our pets, we need to realize the tiny monsters' life cycle & purpose in the natural scheme of things.
The adult dog flea (either Ctenocephalides felis or C. canis) is a wingless insect equipped with a set of powerful hind legs that allow it to jump nine inches straight up or five feet sideways. Like vampires, older fleas feed only on blood.
Nevertheless the most important thing to know and don't forget concerning the flea is that the majority of its life is spent away from the host animal. Fleas invade our pets only when they want a transfusion.
The female flea prefers to lay her eggs not on your dog or cat, though in dark, damp places such as cracks in the floor or a corner of the basement. (Most of the few eggs that do get laid on host animals soon fall off.) The flea lays up to 20 eggs at a setting and could deposit as countless as 400 in the course of her lifetime.
Most flea eggs are laid when humidity is high and temperatures are moderate (65 to 85F). It takes only about a week for the eggs to hatch into little, white, toothy-mouthed worms. This larval form feeds on feces, debris, hair & vegetation. Its growth cycle, dependent on environmental conditions, takes from ten to 200 days. Each larva then spins a cocoon and pupates for a period that may range from 7 days to a year.
Hence, one pair of older fleas can trigger the 3 stages of offspring egg, larva, & mature to be present inside your home for nearly 2 years! Blend this with the fact that many commercial pesticides kill only older fleas, leaving wholesome deposits of eggs scattered around your home, & it becomes straightforward to grasp how it's that you could "kill every flea in the house" 1 week & be greeted by a complete new generation of the miniature Count Draculas the incredibly next.
