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Flea Control
To effectively control fleas, they must be attacked at
every part of the life cycle. Simply placing a flea
collar on your cat will doom you to failure. Unless you
live in a climate that does not support fleas, managing
rather than eliminating a flea problem is the best you
can do for your cat. Fleas can come into your home
regardless of whether your cat is indoor-outdoor.
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Management can give excellent results with only an
occasional pest on your cat.
Effective flea control mandates the use of some
insecticides. The so-called natural methods of flea
control using herbs, garlic, nutritional yeast or other
sources of B-vitamins, ultrasonic flea collars and boxes
do not work. Sprinkling boric acid powder around doesn't
work very well. It must be manufactured and applied
properly to be effective.
The use of many over-the-counter flea control products
are oftentimes dangerous and fatal. Those who are
seeking more inexpensive methods are unware that they
are actually putting pesticides on their pets when using
over-the-counter products. In order to save a buck,
unexpected vet bills and/or the death of their pet is
what they will have to contend with by "saving" a few
dollars for ineffective flea control.
All insecticides are not heinous and lethal. Some, such
as the pyrethrins derived from a certain species of
chrysanthemum, are natural botanicals, and are highly
effective in killing fleas quickly. Your veterinarian
can give you up-to-date information about flea control
products.
Safety and effectiveness also depend upon the proper
application and use of flea products. Manufacturers of
these products have detailed instructions for entire
flea control programs that include instructions for each
step and product. Some programs have a toll-free
telephone number for technical services.
Insecticides are still the backbone of all flea
programs, although they are losing ground to some newer
and more effective approches. They have a variable
degree of three properties: to kill fleas on contact, to
repell fleas, and to have residual action once they are
applied to either the cat or the environment.
Insecticides only kill adult fleas although some kill
larvae. Researchers have developed a number of hormones
called insect growth regulators that work only on fleas,
not animals or the people who handle them. These
hormones cause the eggs to dry up and not hatch. Where
insecticides fail to kill eggs, these hormones
essentially render the fleas sterile and break the flea
life cycle. It is only by breaking this life cycle that
fleas can be effectively controlled.
Of the fleas that parasitize dogs and cats, the adult
fleas live their life on the animal. The adult female
feeds by sucking blood, and mates and lays eggs on your
cat. Blood is the sole food source for the adult flea,
and because the female flea is laying enormous numbers
of eggs, she is feeding frequently. The blood meal is
digested and excreted as flea feces which looks like
little specks of black pepper in your cat's coat.
Sometimes, the is the only evidence of a flea
infestation.
The eggs hatch out tiny, translucent larvae. The larvae
feed mostly on the flea feces as well as skin scales and
other organic debris. Flea larvae will not srvive in dry
climates with a relative humidity of less than 50
percent. But even in dry climates, deep between carpet
fibers and shaded areas of the lawn and under bushes,
there can be microenvironments which support the larvae.
Flea larvae spin a sticky cocoon and enter a pupa stage.
This stage can last from a few days up to several
months. If conditions are right, the papae hatch and out
comes a new adult flea seeking a host from which to suck
a blood meal. The newly hatched adult must find another
suitable host within three or four days or it will die.
The paupae lie dormant if there is no host, such as a
cat, for the next stage to feed on.
Insecticides kill adult fleas. Some insecticides kill
the larvae, too. If the adult fleas or the eggs have
been treated with an insect growth regulator, the eggs
are not viable and will not hatch. The weak link in the
available technology for flea control is with the pupae.
There is currently no chemical or hormone capable of
killing the pupal stage. That's why a single
environmental treatment is ineffective. Even if it were
possible to kill off every adult, larvae, and egg, the
pupae will survive to hatch out a new crop of adults.
Effective flea control involves treatng the cat and the
environment. While flea baths have a quick-kill
effectiveness and can eliminate the adult fleas on your
cat, flea baths have no residual effect. Residual flea
control means using an insecticidal spray, powder, dip,
or foam after the cat is bathed. This is also where flea
collars fit in. They can help keep the population of
fleas down.
Flea combs have special teeth and trap the flea as it
runs through the fur. It is possible to remove the fleas
mechanically using a flea comb and thereby not use an
insecticide on the cat. In households with a small flea
control problem, this approach may be feasible for
removing most but probably not all of the adult fleas.
All pets in the household must be involved in your flea
control program. Most people willingly go through all
the necessary steps with the family dog, but if you let
even one member of your four-legged household slip by,
even if you never see fleas on that particular elusive
cat, that's the one that the fleas will be attracted to
first.
Environmental control means using insecticides and
insect growth regulators in areas where your cat spends
most of his time. Room foggers, aerosol or pump sprays
should be used in your cat's favorite rooms, under and
on the futniture where your cat sleeps, and along
hallways where your cat walks. If you decide to use a
flea comb to control adult fleas on your cat, you should
still treat the environment with an insecticide that
kills larvae and contrains an insect growth regulator.
It is also very important to treat your yard. Because
the pupae are resistent to all chemicals, for your
initial anti-flea campaign you should treat both yard
and home environment twice, about three weeks apart. The
first treatment will kill the newly emerged adults.
After the initial set of environmental treatments, you
will need to maintain your control by periodically
treating the environment, and regularly applying a
treatment to your cat. Failure of any flea control
program is usually due to use of ineffective products,
incorrect application, inappropriate timing of
applications, or failure to treat an area of the
environment serving as a reservoir for flea eggs,
larvae, and pupae.
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