Did you know…
• Fleas spend only 10% of their time on your animal
• An average fleas' life span can be up to 2-3 years
• One female flea can lay up to 1 million eggs during its life
• Eggs can live unhatched in your carpet for a year until the right environment for hatching occurs
• Bark dust, wood piles and ivy are great places for fleas to survive the winter months
• The flea is the second oldest insect (the cockroach is the first) because of its excellent survival mechanisms
The Flea Life Cycle
Adult cat and dog fleas prefer to feed on pets rather than people. The pets are closer to the ground and have warmer body temperatures than humans. Second choice would be children -- especially infants and toddlers. Female fleas will probe and bite and average of seven times in a "grouping" before locating a blood vessel in the skin. The saliva they leave with each bite can cause a localized allergic reaction (flea allergy dermatitis or FAD as we call it in the veterinary world.) After feeding on large amounts of blood, the female flea deposits her eggs and droppings (flea dirt) which consists mostly of undigested blood. Both the eggs (which are white and about the size of a grain of salt) and the droppings (which are black and appear like ground pepper, often in the shape of a comma) drop off the animal's coat and spread all over the environment.
Here's a quick home-test to see if your pet has fleas: Lay out a white piece of butcher paper and groom your pet for a few minutes as they stand on the paper. Do you see any black, comma-looking things against the white paper? If so, put a drop of water on it. If it's flea dirt, the water will turn pink.
Flea eggs remain in the environment for variable amounts of time and are not destroyed by extremes in temperature or by pesticides. When proper conditions exist, the eggs hatch and release tiny white larvae. These larvae are not able to get around and must rely on the undigested blood left in the droppings for their food source. Larvae are very susceptible to extremes in environment, pesticides, and insect growth regulators.
Within several days the larvae spin a protective cocoon called a pupae around themselves. The pupae are very resistant to all but steam cleaning and can lie dormant for many months to years. The pupae is the primary stage that over-winters in the environment. When conditions are favorable (warm and moist), the pupae release young adult fleas and the cycle is complete.
The length of the flea life cycle can vary from a little as one month to as long as two or three years.
Flea Control Products
There are many products available to eliminate fleas. They differ in effectiveness, application, safety, convenience, odor of the product, and duration of effectiveness. Sounds pretty complicated, right? It is. It's actually a chemical nightmare.
AN EFFECTIVE FLEA CONTROL PROGRAM MUST INCLUDE ALL ANIMALS IN THE HOUSEHOLD AND THE ENTIRE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE ANIMALS LIVE (INCLUDING YOUR CAR.)
Many people only use one product at a time, which is NOT effective. You must treat the animal, the house, and the yard all at one time to get this challenge under control.
Control of fleas on the pet: You have your choice of powders, sprays, dips, spot-ons or oral growth regulators.
Flea Powder: Manufacturers of these products say flea powder is safe to use every 3-4 days on dogs and cats older than 8 weeks of age. The active ingredient, (pyrethrins being the safest and most natural ingredient) takes about 15 minutes to kill fleas when first applied. By the end of 5-7 days, if not reapplied, flea powder works only as a residual, taking up to 12 hours to kill the flea. There is no growth regulator in this product so it only kills the adults.
Note: Powder should be diluted to half strength with talcum powder when used on puppies and kittens.
Disadvantages of flea powder: Flea powder can make the coat feel rough and dirty. So, if your pet is already uncomfortable from the fleas and now you are alienating them by not giving them the affection you used to when their coats were cleaner and softer, this makes the problem worse. The animals do not enjoy flea powder and it may make asthma worse.
Flea Sprays: Sprays can vary somewhat. Most are alcohol-based and some are more organic than others. The alcohol is for quick kill of the adult and pre-adult stages. Some flea sprays contain an insect growth regulator that will kill flea eggs as well. Make sure you get one with this in it. Pets run when they see you come to them with that bottle after a few applications.
The only time I use flea spray is when I'm treating a cat for ear mites (I spray some on a Kleenex and wipe their head down after I clean their ears and put medication down both ear canals.) I also use it to spray my pant legs when I take walks in the woods during tick season.
So, could you use rubbing alcohol or vodka to kill the adults? Yes, but using rubbing alcohol can be toxic. Rubbing alcohol contains a bit of methanol, which can cause blindness when ingested. Cats groom themselves and will ingest this. If you want to use alcohol, stick with vodka or Everclear, but it's really not very effective.
Aromatherapy: Herbal insecticides include pennyroyal (very toxic), clove, citronella, and eucalyptus oils (diluted of course.) These can be mixed in with shampoos or applied to a material flea collar. They can be very irritating when applied directly to the skin. They should not be put directly onto the coat either because when the animal grooms himself or herself they will ingest it. In general, pets hate this type of flea control and only submit to it in a learned helplessness type of situation.
Flea collars are only minimally effective in the control of fleas. Most collars contain dichlorvos, which is released as a vapor. They are sold under several trade names. Dichlorvos is toxic to animals and people and can cause severe reactions occasionally. Remember, flea and tick collars don't work well for animals over 20 pounds.
Note: Collars are especially harmful to Persian cats. They may also cause localized reactions around the neck.
Ultrasonic collars are ineffective and may cause hearing loss in your pet. Ultrasonic collars are an expensive gimmick. Don't fall for this.
Dips which kill fleas and mites for several days or weeks are highly toxic and should not be used for routine flea control. One study found that more than 3 dips per year led to an increased incidence of cancer. Wear gloves if you decide on this method of flea control (although I have no idea why you would.) Try to pick a non-organophosphate (OGP) type with a growth inhibitor in it.
Pour-on and Spot-on products containing organophosphates are also very toxic. Organophosphate spot-on kills the fleas only after it bites the pet and sucks its blood. These products are also dangerous where infants are concerned. Do not let a small child be exposed to the pet for at least 24 hours after these products are used. I have heard of instances where the parent found a dead infant the day after putting this on the family dog that slept with the child. They are applied once every two weeks. A good rule of thumb is "if a little is good, a lot is NOT necessarily better." Use only the dose specified on the bottle. Make sure you know the weight of the animal before you dose them. Make note of the next paragraph.
Common side effects to flea products may include hypersalivation, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some animals appear to foam at the mouth, others stagger about. Their pupils dilate and they seem disoriented. The best treatment is to remove the product from the animal's skin or body. Bathe your pet immediately—with a mild shampoo NOT containing flea control. Some animals may need to be treated by a veterinarian with atropine or steroids to help the animal deal with the toxicity and in some instances to save their lives. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to call your vet.
One product on the market seems to be working quite well and is minimally toxic. It is called Advantage. Advantage is a spot-on with a growth inhibitor, which works for 3-4 weeks. It permeates the fatty layer of the skin. It should be applied after the bath because bathing leeches the product from the skin. Advantix is a formula that is used for those who are in a tick area. It is also fairly safe.
For dogs that swim regularly, this product may not work as well as others such as Program. If Advantage is not working for you, you are most likely not following a total flea control program of treating all animals in your house, premise spraying the house, the car and treating the yard as well.
Occasionally I have seen Advantage react locally with the skin causing the hair in that area to fall out, but this is rare.
Program is an oral product that contains growth inhibitor. It is given once a month and literally sterilizes the adult fleas so they cannot produce any eggs. It is very safe for both the animal and owners. The animals don't mind the taste in most cases and it is very effective when used with environmental control. Some forms of Program also include a heartworm preventative and monthly roundwormer (pyrantel pamoate). This product is especially recommended for flea problems of a larger magnitude and for long term maintenance. It's not a good product for the flea allergic pet, however because the flea still needs to bite the pet to ingest the growth inhibitor.
I am often asked about Frontline products. I will have to say that I have never muscle-tested this product to be safe for any pet. It sure is popular and sells like crazy (I don't carry it.) I don't know why, but Advantage and Program seem to be the safest products with the fewest chance for side effects.
Flea Shampoos provide no protection once they are rinsed off. They can provide temporary relief (a few hours with severe infestation of the environment) and will kill the fleas on the animal at the time of the bath. They are good in getting rid of the flea dirt on the skin, but they also dry the skin out and are not good for dogs with dry/flaky or oily/greasy skin. It's better to choose the correct medicated shampoo for your pet in these cases.
Apply flea spray, powder, or Advantage to the pet after the bath for longer lasting results. Any animal having skin disease along with the flea problem should see your veterinarian for proper treatment and recommendations regarding diet, shampoo and treatments.
I'm sorry to say that B-Vitamins, Brewer's Yeast, Garlic, Cedar Chips and Herbal Flea Collars will not kill fleas. They do, however, make the skin smell bad to the flea and will deter them. Scientific studies show a decrease of only 20% in the flea numbers with the use of these products.
Note: Cedar chips and shavings can be harmful to your pet's skin. The slivers off the chips can embed into the skin and cause tumors (that goes for rats too!). The essential oil of the wood is also very toxic and has been known to cause cancer.
Avon Skin-So-Soft is used by itself as a flea deterrent and is in Duo-Cide products. To use this product, add 2 tablespoons Skin-So-Soft per pint water in a pint spray bottle. Shake well just before using each time--it is an oil/water interface. Skin-So-Soft may make the coat oily and you may have to wash the pet more often as the dust will stick to this oil more readily. If your pet has allergies, this would not be a good choice. The goal is to reduce allergen exposure on the coat for allergic pets. This product would help the pollens to adhere to your pet causing more problems.
Flea combs are highly recommended for animals that cannot tolerate flea products. The challenge is to get the owners to use the comb as often as necessary to help the animal--every day. Grooming can be biweekly after you comb off no more fleas for several days in a row. Continue to use the flea comb daily for those flea-allergic pets. Fleas need to be crushed with a thumbnail as they have very hard exoskeletons.
Some fleas combs are better than others. Try to purchase one that will rake off the adult fleas, eggs, and flea dirt all at once. These combs are also excellent in the prevention of hairballs in cats (and will comb out lice in a child's hair very effectively). Fleas combs won't comb through the longer coats very easily--the tines bend and break. I like the kind imported from England. They have a great handle you can palm and metal tines that can really take a beating (or grooming.) I also use my flea comb to comb out the winter coats on my pets. They cost about $7.00.
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