Dog Fleas- Know Your Enemy!
Folks, in order to win this battle, we need to know our enemy! Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about fleas.
I used to think that fleas were a problem during the hot, summer months and when it got cold out, they just died. Nope. The common kinds of fleas that we usually have the displeasure of dealing with actually breed all year long. Flea infestation is a year-round fun fest if you don’t take steps to alleviate the problem. First, we need to understand how fleas breed, grow, eat and live.
These wingless buggers are part of the insect order Siphonaptera. There’s many different species of fleas that will feed primarily on one type of mammal (example: cat fleas vs. dog fleas), but the truth is these nasty creatures are equal opportunity offenders. Really, they’ll just take the blood from wherever they can get it.
While they’re not feeding on the blood of your unsuspecting pet, child or yourself, they are basically just laying in wait. Their favorite hiding places are places that are frequented by the host. This would include, but is not limited to: your pet’s bed, your bed, the carpet, the yard, the car, and on and on and on. They’re just waiting for the next meal to come along. Is your skin crawling yet?
Stage 1: Egg
After feeding and mating the female flea lays her eggs. She can lay hundreds of eggs in her relatively short lifetime. Flea eggs look like little specks of dandruff on your dog or his bedding. A proper run-through with a flea comb might show white specks (eggs) and some black “dirt”. This dirt is dried blood that the flea has defecated. EEW! When you see the flea dirt and the eggs, consider the place infested. Back to the eggs…they hatch within 2 weeks.
Stage 2: Larvae
The next phase of a flea’s life cycle is the larvae stage. Flea larvae depend on the adult fleas droppings to live and grow. They get nourishment from the digested dried blood. Because of this dependency on the adults waste, they typically do not live in areas of your yard where your pet doesn’t go. It takes anywhere from one week to a few months for dog fleas to move on to the next stage.
Stage 3: Pupa
In the pupa stage, a pre-adult flea is wrapped in a cocoon that is covered in debris. They will stay in this stage from a week to several months, depending on whether or not it detects a host. Here’s where it gets pretty gross…Vibrations from the movement of the host or say, carbon dioxide being released through normal breathing will result in this pupa stage of flea to spontaneously emerge from the cocoon and attack it’s “host”.
Stage 4: The Adult
We’re all familiar with this stage. The biting, feeding flea. They usually feed a few times a day. They can go for long periods of time without eating, however, if you take away it’s food supply. And of course, if your dog’s away, you’ll do. Once a dog flea becomes an adult, it feeds, breeds, lays eggs and the whole cycle begins again.
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