Nowadays it is unusual for fleas to be directly associated with the spread of disease in Europe but they can still give the host mammal intensely irritating bites and there is a deep-rooted social stigma attached to flea infestations.

Treatment tends to be relatively simple and we will provide recommendations as part of our control plan to keep the chance of future infestations to a minimum.

FLEAS                                           

The Cat Flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is responsible for the majority of domestic flea problems and contrary to belief they are more suited to the nest environment provided by dog beds and wall-to-wall carpets than the presence of cat hosts.

A female flea can lay 4-8 eggs after each blood feed and a single female can lay 800-1000 eggs in a lifetime. Eggs are about 0.5mm in length, oval and white in colour.   The eggs, although laid in the fur or bedding of the host will easily be shaken or scratched off; as will the dark-coloured faeces of the adult flea.

The eggs will hatch into white thread-like larva in 4-7 days and these live in dark, humid places such as animal bedding.  The larva feed on organic debris and adult flea excrement which is a valuable source of blood which the larva require for their development.

In the correct climatic conditions the larva will moult twice in a 2-3 week period when they will then create a cocoon of around 5mm in length.  It is during this pupae stage that the flea can remain in stasis over the winter; which is why some empty houses can maintain flea populations long after the previous owners have left.  It just requires vibration and body heat from the target host to allow the adult fleas to emerge; otherwise the development cycle from egg to adult is normally 4 weeks.

We’re here to help with your flea problem.