Fleas bites are annoying to your pet and to you, but they can also cause health problems. In kittens, fleas can cause anemia. Adult cats are often allergic to flea bites, and can develop a nasty skin irritation called flea-bite dermatitis. A single bite can set off intense itching that can result in a secondary bacterial infection. Many people are also highly allergic to flea bites. Fleas that are swallowed by cats can transmit tapeworms.
Don’t assume that if your pet is scratching a little that it has fleas. Animals scratch, just like humans do. Every time we scratch, we don’t assume we have fleas. But scratching is the obvious sign. To be sure it’s fleas, place your pet on a white towel and give it a good rub. If dark specs fall off, and they turn red when you kit them with a drop of water, your pet has fleas.
TOXIC FLEA CONTROLS
There are many flea control products on the market, most of them extremely toxic. Their warning labels speak for themselves:
Impregnated flea collars:
“CAUTION: Do not allow children to play with this collar. Dust will form on this collar during storage. Do not get dust or collar in mouth, harmful if swallowed. Do not get dust in eyes, will cause temporary pupillary constriction. In case of contact, flush eyes with water. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling collar. The dust released by this collar is a cholinesterase inhibitor.”
Insecticidal powders and shampoos:
“WARNING: Causes eye irritation. Do not get in eyes. Harmful if swallowed. While washing pets, avoid getting shampoo in animal’s eyes. Do not use on kittens or puppies under six weeks of age.”
Aerosol flea bombs:
“CAUTION: USE ONLY WHEN AREA TO BE TREATED IS VACATED BY HUMANS AND PETS. Harmful if swallowed or absorbed through skin. Avoid breathing vapors or spray mist. Avoid contact with skin and eyes. Do not apply directly to food. In the home, all food-processing surfaces should be covered during treatment and thoroughly washed before use. Remove pets and cover fish aquariums and delicate plants before spraying. Remove all motor vehicles before use in garages.”
Active ingredients include pesticides DDVP, propoxur, diazinon, and carbaryl, nerve poisons that are toxic to pets and humans and may cause long-term health problems.
Some flea collars and powders can cause severe conditions such as contact dermatitis on the skin of your pets. Pets breathe the vapors given off by these products, cats lick the material from their fur when they clean themselves, and powders can fall off onto kitchen counters and other surfaces where food is prepared of eaten. Children who pet dogs and cats may pick up the chemicals on their hands.
Flea bombs are particularly dangerous, as they fill your entire house with a poisonous, flammable cloud. In one case reported in the Seattle area, a woman forgot to turn off the pilot light in her stove before using over a dozen flea bombs. The bombs ignited, blowing out all the windows and shifting the roof -- yet the fleas survived.
New topical flea products that can be applied monthly make flea control less labor intensive but still have their problems. These products are lauded for their effectiveness by the pet industry -- killing 96% of adult fleas within 2 hours of application, and all adult fleas within 24 hours –- and their safety “even for kittens.” I found them being sold on a pesticide site, however, where they gave the following instructions:
Wear household latex gloves…Do not get this product in your pet's eye's or mouth.
Vets rarely see problems with these products, though some animals have skin reactions or act unwell for a few days after treatment. But they also warn that flea resistance to these products appears to be occurring, as often happens with pesticides, so natural flea control is still the better method.
FLEA CONTROL TABLETS
These work by sterilizing the female flea with a hormone, so that when she lays eggs, they will not hatch. This breaks the cycle of fleas at the beginning. While this is much safer for pets than toxic pesticides, it is still “unnatural,” but can be helpful while you are getting your environment under control.
ESTABLISH A FLEA CONTROL PROTOCOL
Flea control is on ongoing process. It is best to make a plan and follow it, to be sure you cover all the steps.
In order to control fleas, it is necessary to understand their life cycle:
——> ADULT When you see fleas on your cat or dog they are in the adult stage. The average life span of an adult flea is about 6 weeks, but they can live up to a year under certain conditions. The adult flea spends almost all of its time on your dog or cat and will not leave voluntarily unless their population becomes excessively large (and then they are happy to jump on humans). If you want fleas to leave their natural environment (your pet), you have to kill or remove them yourself.
——> EGG A female flea can lay 20 to 28 eggs a day and may lay several hundred eggs over her lifetime. These eggs fall off the pet and develop where they land, such as your carpet and sofa and even in cracks in wood floors and other small crevices.
——> LARVA A larvae hatches from the flea egg.
——> PUPA The larva forms a pupae and waits for the right time to hatch. It can take as few as 9 days to as long as 200 days to go through its growth stages. This is the real problem stage because the pupa is resistant to just about everything. Even when you kill all the adults, eggs and larvae, you will have fleas again in about two weeks when the pupae hatch.
——> ADULT When the pupae hatch, out come the adults, who lay eggs and the cycle starts again.
Fleas reproduce faster than kittens or bunnies -- in one month, ten females can generate over 267,000 offspring. They are tough and tenacious and know how to survive. “Flea season” is when the temperature is between their preferred 65 and 80 degrees and the humidity is 75 to 85 per cent. For some areas of the country, this is all year, and in others, the flea season is relatively short.
It is estimated that for every adult flea found on the pet, there are about 10 developing fleas in the pet's environment. To entirely solve your flea problem, you must eliminate all stages of the flea life cycle on your pet, in your home, and in your garden. Even if you kill all the adult fleas, there are still flea larvae waiting to hatch, so they are sure to return unless you are vigilant and follow a maintenance system all season long.
DE-FLEA YOUR PET
1. Use a flea comb. If you suspect your pet has fleas, race down to the pet store immediately and get a flea comb. It is good to have a flea comb on hand anyway. Pets like to be combed and if you catch fleas right away, then they are easier to control before they begin to multiply.
Flea combs are sold in all pet stores. They come in all sizes and have teeth that are very close together to trap the fleas.
Here’s how to use a flea comb. Put your pet in a comfortable position and have a bowl of soapy water nearby. Comb through your pet’s fur, making sure you include all areas, then drop the fleas in the soapy water (flush down the toilet when you’re through). By using a flea comb you are not only removing the adult fleas, but any larvae and eggs that are still on your pet as well. This process may take some time, but use it as an opportunity to communicate love and care to your pet and enjoy giving. Comb your pet daily until you see there are no more fleas.
2. Keep your pet clean. Fleas prefer unhealthy, sour-smelling, foul, dirty animals, so you can prevent their presence by keeping your pet clean with weekly baths.
You can use an herbal shampoo with flea-killing and –repelling properties, however, fleas will die if they are simply immersed in the soap from sudsing up your pet, so you can use any shampoo that is safe for pets. Look for these ingredients that destroy or repel fleas: orange oil—kills both larvae and adult fleas essential oils of citronella, cedar, eucalyptus, and bay—effective insect repellants pyrethrum (crushed chrysanthemum blossoms)—a natural pesticide.
3. Use a flea repellant. Between baths you should treat your pet with a powder or spray.
Herbal flea powders -- dried, pulverized leaves of wormwood, rosemary, bay, mint, lavender, lemongrass and rue -- are effective at deterring or repelling insects. You may need to apply these coat treatments every day or two during flea season.
Herbal flea collars contain safe, natural oils such as citronella, eucalyptus, cedar, and bay.
4. Establish one regular sleeping area for your pet. Choose an area that can be cleaned easily and regularly. Fleas tend to accumulate where animals sleep, so this will make it easier for you to collect them. Bedding materials such as blankets or rugs should be removed and washed frequently.
5. Keep your pet healthy. This is the cornerstone of long-term flea control. Healthy pets don’t have flea problems. Only animals that are sick or weak will have trouble with fleas. Fleas are drawn to animals via a natural electromagnetic signal that announces their vulnerability. When the animal is healthy, it does not "taste" or "smell" good to the fleas and therefore will not attract them. If your animal gets fleas, take it as a sign that something is out of balance – their diet needs to be changed, or hygiene improved – rather than simply getting rid of nature’s signal that something is amiss.
DE-FLEA YOUR HOUSE
1. Bake fleas out of your house. This is the quickest way I know of to destroy fleas. Their preferred temperature is only up to 80 degrees, so you only have to heat your house to about 90 degrees to kill them. Remove children, plants and pets, close up your house, and turn up the heat to the highest setting. Go on an outing for the day; when you return, the fleas will be killed.
2. Use a dehumidifier. Alternatively, or in addition to heat, use a dehumidifier to reduce humidity to a level where they can’t survive. Get the humidity down to less than 70 percent, the fleas will leave and you’ll be more comfortable, too.
3. Vacuum several times each week. Use a strong canister-type machine, and vacuum all areas to which your pet has access. Use a crevice tool for corners and out-of-the-way places and vacuum thoroughly—not just rugs, but floors, upholstered furniture, and pillows. Seal the vacuum bag in a plastic bag immediately, and discard it away from the house. Severe flea infestations may require an initial shampooing or steam cleaning of rugs and upholstered furniture.
4. Apply repellants. Natural pyrethrum powders are very effective and can be used safely indoors. Apply powder on floors, along baseboards, under pet sleeping areas. Use pyrethrum indoors only, as it breaks down quickly (and harmlessly) when exposed to sunlight.
You can also a special form of borax that lasts for up to one year in your carpet and upholstery, which results in treating for fleas every day with little work on your part.
On the more fragrant side, you can sprinkle two ounces of any repellant essential oils (such as lavender, citronella, pine, rose, and others) over two quarts of rock salt. Let the salt sit to absorb the oil, then sprinkle it under dressers, couches and rugs, and in other areas that don’t move a lot. You can also mix any of these oils with water in a spray bottle and spray infested areas. These will not kill fleas, but will make the environment less inviting.
DE-FLEA YOUR GARDEN
1. Spray beneficial nematodes. Look for beneficial nematode products that available that, when applied to the soil, will specifically control flea larvae. In addition, it will control many other types of pests that have part of their life cycle in the soil. Check with your local nursery.
2. Block entrances to the house. Close off pathways fleas can use to get inside, Make sure that any doors and windows that are usually left open have secure screens.
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