If you do see fleas and they are moving slow enough to catch – success – they are busy dying!
The active ingredient in FRONTLINE (fipronil) kills fleas by affecting their nervous system, making them hyperactive before dying. These dying fleas often rise to the top of your pet's haircoat, so the presence of visible fleas after treating your pet, is a sign that the product is working.
Treated fleas become more active before they die – making them more visible. Solving a flea problem can be much more difficult than many people expect. In the case of a severe flea infestation it can take several months of diligent treatment of both your animals and your home to get on top of the problem.
Once they reach a certain point, they'll advance to the pupae stage, surviving inside their cocoon for lengthy periods of time. During this time, you might think the infestation has stopped. However, it's simply on hold. The clever pupae will wait until the time is right before emerging and latching on to a host.
Adult fleas will be killed within a few days but the floor should not be vacuumed, swept or washed for at least two weeks after treatment because there will still be eggs which will continue to hatch.
It is often in these hard to get areas that your pets love the most and infest with fleas. Continue vacuuming daily after the pest control visit for several days. Vacuuming will do a few things to help the flea treatment. It will help remove flea eggs, larvae, bits of debris and fecal matter that flea larvae feed on.
The most common way for fleas to enter your home is when a cat or dog attracts fleas and brings them into your house. But, fleas can also enter another way. They may come through with an old piece of furniture, or clothing and skin of a person who already has been infested.
Without a host like a cat or a dog, fleas can live anywhere between a few days and two weeks, but they can lay eggs that make the infestation last longer.
You might be asking yourself will fleas eventually go away? While some could last 2 – 3 weeks, they could also live for up to 12 months on the host it finds, so it is unlikely they will go away on their own. Fleas can also reproduce very quickly by laying eggs in carpet, bedding, or garden prolonging the infestation.
Summer is one of the most active times for fleas and ticks, with some of the worst season being fall, in September, October, and November. Research has shown that the number of fleas on cats and dogs is 70% in the fall when compared to the spring season.
Most flea treatments just kill adult fleas, but fleas can continue to emerge for months after you think an infestation has ended. When a newly emerged female flea finds a host, she can lay eggs within one day. Regular treatment is the key to keeping fleas at bay, but bathing your pet does nothing to prevent fleas.
It's not uncommon for a flea problem to seem worse before it gets better, and this could be related to numbers of new adults hatching out. So, if you're still seeing adult fleas, or you're being bitten, don't panic!
Most fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa (in a cocoon), and adult. This diagram shows the typical lifecycle of fleas. The lifecycle of fleas can be very quick or last many months to years depending on the environmental conditions throughout the life stages.
No, fleas don't jump off after treatment. Instead, they rise to the top of your pet, die, and fall off the skin. However, you may feel that the treatment is not working because new fleas will keep appearing on your dog's fur.
Steam cleaning your carpets, furniture and pet beds is a brilliant idea if you have a flea infestation. Thanks to the combination of high heat and soap, the fleas will be gone in no time.
Answer: You should not have to wash any clothes that were in the closets and drawers. More information on treating for fleas in the home.
Can fleas live in your bedding? Fleas can live in beds for about one to two weeks, and they like to burrow under sheets. Fleas need blood to survive, though, so they won't stay in one place for too long if there is no food source.
According to extensive studies conducted at Ohio State University, vacuuming is indeed an effective way of getting rid of fleas! Through these studies, scientists discovered that vacuuming killed 96% of adult fleas from carpets and 100% of the flea pupae and larvae.
Fleas have flattened bodies so they can move through the fur of their hosts easily. They also have very strong exoskeletons, making them very hard to crush. They also leap out of danger quickly and are very small, so if they do get away they are hard to find again.
In just 30 days, 10 female fleas can multiply to over a quarter million new fleas in different life stages. Female fleas start producing eggs within 24 to 48 hours after taking their first blood meal and can lay up to 50 eggs per day.
Capstar (nitenpyram) is a fast-acting flea treatment tablet for use in dogs and cats that starts killing fleas in only 30 minutes. A single dose of Capstar kills 90% of adult fleas within 4 hours for dogs and 6 hours for cats, ridding your pet of these pesky parasites.
Just One Flea Can Be a Sign of a Problem
As few as 20 fleas might mean your pet is infested, while the most could be between 200 to 300. Ignoring a few fleas can quickly lead to an infestation on your dog and in your home,2 because two adult fleas could lead to hundreds of eggs and pupae.
Covering skin with long-sleeve clothing and pants will minimize exposure to bites. Flea bites often occur on the lower legs and feet, protect these areas with long socks and pants. Treat clothing and gear with products containing 0.5% permethrin.