Flea Control

Eric Ronning

Identification

Cat fleas and dog fleas are treated in the same manner. Both species have a length of about ⅛ of an inch, are dark colored, narrow bodied, and wingless, and have piercing mouthparts for taking blood meals. Both can be found on cats, dogs, humans, coons, skunks, squirrels, and other rodents.

Cat flea

Dog flea

Random flea

After a flea has taken a blood meal, a small, red, itchy bump emerges at the bite site. This is usually the worst thing that happens. If an animal is allergic, it will usually lose hair and develop hotspots or flea allergy dermatitis around the site. To make matters worse, fleas often carry tapeworm. Granted, an infected flea must be ingested for transfer to occur, but since animals frequently groom themselves, it's not uncommon. Humans can get this tapeworm, too, so be careful not to accidentally eat a flea. In cases of very severe flea infestations, especially with young animals, severe blood loss, anemia, and even death can occur. Finally, fleas can carry the plague. It is extremely rare (about a dozen cases a year in the U.S.), but it happens.

Cat warning! Most cats (dogs are fine) are allergic to pyrethrins and pyrethroids (common ingredients in flea control products). There is, however, a pyrethroid called etofenprox that works well and is safe for killing fleas on cats.

Killing Fleas On Your Pet and In Your House

Control fleas with spot-on flea treatments. In my opinion, spot-on flea control products are the best flea control products available. In general, these products are applied directly to your pet's skin for cat flea control or dog flea control. Application for most brands goes like this: the fur is parted and the product is applied between the shoulder blades and along the spine to the base of the tail. Simple. It is then carried over your pet's entire skin surface with natural skin oil, is absorbed into the oil glands, and is slowly exuded for long-term flea protection. Look for brands like Frontline Plus, Frontline Top Spot, Bio Spot, K9 Advantix, Advantage, or Zodiac. Most contain both an adulticide and an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) for optimal flea-killing prowess.

Treat fleas with an oral flea control product or with flea control spray. A few of the more notable oral flea stoppers are Capstar flea control, Program Flavor Tabs, and Sentinel Flavor Tabs. Capstar kills fleas with an adulticide called nitenpyram, and Program and Sentinel kill fleas with lufenuron, an Insect Development Inhibitor (IDI) that disrupts reproduction and chitin production. If you want to kill fleas using a flea control spray directly on your pet, consider brands like Bio Spot Flea and Tick Spray, Adam's Flea & Tick Mist, or Zodiac Flea & Tick Spray.

Control flea populations with the vacuum. The vacuum is one of the best weapons you have for flea pest control. With it, you can suck up adult fleas, flea eggs, cocoons, and even some of the larval fleas. The vibrations made by the vacuum cleaner can even coax young adult fleas out of their cocoons so they, too, can be sucked up. Vacuuming also reduces "flea dirt." Flea dirt is the name given to the partially digested blood that fleas poop out for their larvae to eat. Vacuum at least once a day to rapidly and dramatically reduce the size of your flea infestation. Vacuum carpets, hardwoods, closets, behind baseboards, vents, furniture, under furniture, linoleum, and anywhere else you can stick a vacuum or a vacuum hose. Be sure to change the bag or empty the canister of the vacuum promptly, or risk creating sublime breeding conditions.

Exterminate fleas in the house with sprays and powders. If you want to know how to kill fleas properly, let me let you in on a little secret: treating the animal is not enough. If you have a flea infestation, I promise you they, their eggs, and their larvae are also on your floors, in your carpet, and on your furniture. Look for sprays like Precor, Ultracide, or Zodiac FleaTrol that contain active ingredients like the IGR's methoprene, pyriproxyen, or malathion. The IGRs in these flea sprays, powders, and dusts are frequently coupled with a pyrethrin or pyrethroid or with linalool or limonene.

Control fleas with a flea comb. Whether you have fleas on dogs or fleas on cats, a good flea comb is essential for getting rid of fleas. The only difference between a flea comb and a regular comb is that the teeth on a flea comb are much closer together. Close enough, in fact, that it is impossible for fleas to fit between them and escape back into your pet's fur when combing. Comb your pet everyday, grab fleas that are collected by the comb, and drop them into a bowl of soapy water to drown them. Not only is this good for reducing a flea infestation, it's also a good way for you to monitor your flea extermination progress.

Heat is an effective flea killer. Hot steam works well for killing adult fleas, larval fleas, and even some flea eggs. Go to the hardware store, grocery store, rental store, or anywhere else that rents steam cleaners, rent one, and let the flea extermination party begin. You should also be washing all bedding (pet and human) at least two times a week in hot water and, if it won't harm the bedding, dried in a hot dryer.

Kill fleas by lowering indoor humidity. Fleas are quite susceptible to desiccation. Take advantage of this, if you can, by lowering the relative humidity of your home to below 50 percent. In some areas, this is just not possible. In others, it can be done fairly easily. Get a few dehumidifiers, run the air conditioners, fix any leaky pipes or drippy faucets, and make sure there are no drafts coming in around doors and windows.

Avoid Future Flea Infestations

Continue with topical/oral pet flea treatments.
Continue with floor/carpet flea control treatments.
Exterminate fleas with sprays and powders designed for use in the yard (not on your pet).
Apply appropriate beneficial nematodes to your yard for flea control.
Quit luring unwelcome flea bags to your yard by leaving pet food and garbage out overnight.
Start controlling fleas by keeping your lawn cut short.
Water your lawn sparingly or not at all.

Natural Flea Control

Control fleas with flea traps. Flea traps, whether you make your own or purchase one, work quite well for reducing flea populations. Since fleas are attracted to heat, that's what flea traps use for bait. Most flea traps are outfitted with a small lightbulb situated over something sticky. If you don't want to purchase a flea trap, make your own by suspending a low watt lightbulb six to eight inches above a shallow dish/pan filled with soapy water.

Exterminate fleas with boric acid. Boric acid has long been used as a natural flea treatment. It comes from the mineral borate and acts as both a desiccant and as a mild stomach poison. Kill fleas by sprinkling it all over the floors. Use a light dusting for hard floors and a moderate dusting for carpeted. With carpet, use a push broom to work it down in so it can take out the flea larvae. Vacuum the floors between 2 and 24 hours later.

Kill fleas with diatomaceous earth. DE, made from the ground up fossilized remains of diatoms, is my number one choice for an organic flea powder. DE kills fleas by inflicting them with enough little cuts to dry them out. DE is safe enough to be rubbed directly into your pet's coat. It should also be used all over the floors and furniture. When sprinkling DE around, get it everywhere or it won't work. This includes carpets, cracks in hardwood, on and under furniture, in closets, and, well, everywhere. While DE is quite safe, you should still where a mask when spreading.