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To implement an effective flea control programme, it is important to understand the flea life cycle. After a flea takes a blood meal from a pet, mating and egg production occurs within two to three days. The small, white eggs produced are laid on the host but fall to the ground where they hatch to larvae. Insect development inhibitors may act on eggs for a period after laying, and insecticides can affect hatchability.
To implement an effective flea control programme, it is important to understand the flea life cycle. After a flea takes a blood meal from a pet, mating and egg production occurs within two to three days. The small, white eggs produced are laid on the host but fall to the ground where they hatch to larvae. Insect development inhibitors may act on eggs for a period after laying, and insecticides can affect hatchability.
Hatching normally occurs within three weeks of laying depending on environmental temperature and humidity. Flea larvae feed on the faeces of adult fleas, and undergo two moults before pupating. Generally, the pupal stage lasts around ten days, but it is possible for the pupa to survive for up to a year within its cocoon. This cocoon is resistant to parasitacidal agents, as well as dessication and freezing. Warmth, vibrations and carbon dioxide indicate the presence of a suitable host to the pupated flea, stimulating the emergence of the adult. The adult flea is then drawn to the host by heat and carbon dioxide, as well as the individual "attractiveness" of the host.
Hatching normally occurs within three weeks of laying depending on environmental temperature and humidity. Flea larvae feed on the faeces of adult fleas, and undergo two moults before pupating. Generally, the pupal stage lasts around ten days, but it is possible for the pupa to survive for up to a year within its cocoon. This cocoon is resistant to parasitacidal agents, as well as dessication and freezing. Warmth, vibrations and carbon dioxide indicate the presence of a suitable host to the pupated flea, stimulating the emergence of the adult. The adult flea is then drawn to the host by heat and carbon dioxide, as well as the individual "attractiveness" of the host.
There are therfore two main aims of effective flea control:
# To kill adult fleas from the affected animal, and
# To eliminate the reservoir of eggs and immature fleas in the environment, this preventing re-infestation.
==Prognosis==
==Prognosis==