Katdazzle, the queen of her domain

My dog has fleas. Shit! Now what? We didn't think he did because we never saw any on him, but he's been scratching like crazy for months. The vet checked him and said it must be allergies because he couldn't find any fleas either. But he acts like he has fleas. He looks at a spot and dives on it with his teeth.
We were ready to give up on him and just figure he was crazy. But then I said, "When we get to the beach house let's not let Tucker in. Lets roll up our pants legs and see if any hungry fleas jump on us. So we did and they did. Mystery solved there really were fleas, they were just really tricky fleas!
So now I am trying to figure out what to do about it. We threw out his bed. It was covered with fleas. We sprayed, we fogged, we gave Tuck a freezing cold flea bath. But he is still itching like crazy.

Here's what I've learned about fleas:
from Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet

Medication - Relief from itching can be obtained by applying carbolated vaseline, menthol, camphor, calamine lotion or ice.

• Fleas are excellent jumpers, leaping vertically up to seven inches and horizontally thirteen inches. (An equivalent hop for a human would be 250 feet vertically and 450 feet horizontally.)
• Although bites are rarely felt, it is the resulting irritation caused by the flea salivary secretions that varies among individuals. Some may witness a severe reaction (general rash or inflammation) resulting in secondary infections caused by scratching the irritated skin area. Others may show no reaction or irritation acquired after repeated bites over several weeks or months. Most bites usually found on the ankles and legs may cause pain lasting a few minutes, hours or days depending on one's sensitivity. The typical reaction to the bite is the formation of a small, hard, red, slightly-raised (swollen) itching spot. There is a single puncture point in the center of each spot.
• Fleas pass through a complete life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult. A typical flea population consists of 50 percent eggs, 35 percent larvae, 10 percent pupae and 5 percent adults. Completion of the life cycle from egg to adult varies from two weeks to eight months depending on the temperature, humidity, food, and species. Normally after a blood meal, the female flea lays about 15 to 20 eggs per day up to 600 in a lifetime usually on the host.
• Eggs loosely laid in the hair coat, drop out most anywhere especially where the host rests, sleeps or nests (rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, cat or dog boxes, kennels, sand boxes, etc.). Eggs hatch in two days to two weeks into larvae found indoors in floor cracks & crevices, along baseboards, under rug edges and in furniture or beds. Outdoor development occurs in sandy gravel soils (moist sand boxes, dirt crawlspace under the house, under shrubs, etc.) where the pet may rest or sleep. Sand and gravel are very suitable for larval development which is the reason fleas are erroneously called "sand fleas."
• Larvae are blind, avoid light, pass through three larval instars and take a week to several months to develop. Their food consists of digested blood from adult flea feces, dead skin, hair, feathers, and other organic debris. (Larvae do not suck blood.) Pupa mature to adulthood within a silken cocoon woven by the larva to which pet hair, carpet fiber, dust, grass cuttings, and other debris adheres. In about five to fourteen days, adult fleas emerge or may remain resting in the cocoon until the detection of vibration (pet and people movement), pressure (host animal lying down on them), heat, noise, or carbon dioxide (meaning a potential blood source is near). Most fleas overwinter in the larval or pupal stage with survival and growth best during warm, moist winters and spring.
• Adult fleas cannot survive or lay eggs without a blood meal, but may live from two months to one year without feeding. There is often a desperate need for flea control after a family has returned from a long vacation. The house has been empty with no cat or dog around for fleas to feed on. When the family and pets are gone, flea eggs hatch and larvae pupate. The adult fleas fully developed inside the pupal cocoon remains in a kind of "limbo" for a long time until a blood source is near. The family returning from vacation is immediately attacked by waiting hungry hordes of fleas. (In just 30 days, 10 female fleas under ideal conditions can multiply to over a quarter million different life stages.)
• Newly emerged adult fleas live only about one week if a blood meal is not obtained. However, completely developed adult fleas can live for several months without eating, so long as they do not emerge from their puparia. Optimum temperatures for the flea's life cycle are 70°F to 85°F and optimum humidity is 70 percent.
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Control Measures

• Quick List: Precor,Nylor, Archer,Precor,Safrotin,Flea-stop, Demize,Knockout, Baygon,Vectrin,Bio Flea Halt,Drione, Tri-Die,Ficam, Answer, Organic Plus,Conquer,Demize,Flea-Stop.Fleabuster, Flea Halt, Diatomaceous Earth,Fleanix®,Happy Jack, Zemaflea trap, balsam, lavender oil, calendula, comfrey, tea tree oil and yucca
• One can monitor flea populations by placing a shallow pan of water with a little dish detergent (acts as a wetting agent which breaks water surface tension) on the floor. Position a gooseneck lamp with the light on about five to six inches above the liquid surface. Adult fleas will leap toward the light at night, fall into the detergent solution and drown. The Happy Jack and pulvex (Zema) flea trap is a commercial apparatus based on the same principle. Also, an ultralight flea trap with a green light attracts fleas into a sticky tray, this is the most effective trap.
  
• Vacuuming must be performed on a regular basis every other day to be effective. Flea larvae do not move far from the site of hatching when there is adequate food (dried blood feces from adults). Research indicates larvae spend 83 percent of the time deep in the carpet at the base of fibers frequently becoming entwined within the carpet.Only about 20 percent of the larvae might be removed when vacuuming since they wrap themselves around the bottom strands of carpeting. At pupation, the larva move up the carpet fiber spinning a camouflaging cocoon around itself. Vacuum especially where lint and pet hairs accumulate along baseboards, around carpet edges, on ventilators, around heat registers, in floor cracks, and under and in furniture where the pet sleeps. After vacuuming, place the vacuum bag in a large plastic garbage bag and discard in an outdoor trash container. Try gently vacuuming your animal's coat to remove adult fleas. Who can afford a new vaccum bag everyday?
• Use an insect growth regulator (IGR), which is a hormone to prevent eggs from hatching and larvae from pupating into biting adults. The IGRs methoprene (Precor) and pyriproxyfen (Nylor, Archer) are odorless and nonstaining on carpets or fabrics. Methoprene usually will reduce flea populations up to 95 percent in just 14 days while pyriproxyfen, due to its photostability, lasts in carpets for many months controlling fleas. IGRs do not kill pupa or adults and are more effective when mixed with an adulticide. Ohio Pest Control operators report few homeowner callbacks when using a water-based spray mixture of methoprene (Precor) and propetamphos (Safrotin). Recent research shows the new IGR pyriproxyfen mixed with permethrin will often give 90 day control. IGRs are considered biodegradable and are not known to accumulate in the food chain. Methoprene, approved by the World Health Organization (WHO), is used in drinking water in some countries for mosquito larva control. IGRs are of negligible hazard to humans, pets, and the environment.
• Automatic aerosol foggers, available in a canister, will give good knockdown and kill many biting adult fleas. Insecticides include methoprene + permethrin, pyriproxyfen + permethrin, resmethrin, allethrin, pyrethrins, tetramethrin, rotenone and propoxur (Baygon).
• A coarse spray (40 psi) of diazinon (Knox Out 2 FM), propoxur (Baygon) and resmethrin (Vectrin) applied to cracks and crevices of floors, moldings and baseboards up to a height of one foot usually gives good results. Other flea killers include tetramethrin (Bio Flea Halt), amorphus silica gel (Drione, Tri-Die), bendiocarb (Ficam), diatomaceous earth (Answer, Organic Plus), esfenvalerate (Conquer), linalool (Demize) and d-limonene (Flea-Stop).
• Since there is no flea resistance to borates, many homeowners try switching to boric acid and disodium octaborate tetrahydrate. Boric Acid (Fleabuster, Flea Halt) is a stomach poison killing fleas in the larva stage. Apply directly on vacuumed, cleaned carpets where pets frequently travel or sleep. Work powder deeply into fibers with a broom or rug rake. For upholstery, remove loose cushions, apply along creases and into corner, not to exposed fabric. Any powder visible after application must be brushed in cracks or removed. Borates are environmentally safe, odorless and used in homes with children and pets. Fleanix® carpet treatment can control fleas in carpeting for up to a year. Mix the powder with water in a rug shampooing machine with or without detergent. During shampooing, borate binds to carpet fibers and cannot be vacuumed up.
• Diatomaceous Earth- gets into them and cuts them up and they die.Wear a dust mask and goggles and avoid getting dust in your pet's eyes.You sprinkle it on the carpets, and the vacuum it up later. The tiny bits get in the breathing pores of the bugs and suffocate them.
• Borax (drug store), and sift it lightly on your entire carpeted area. It dehydrates the flees. Leave it on 24 hours then vacum. You will need to repeat this operation when the new eggs hatch. Found this one on Berkley Parents website
  
• Additional highly effective insecticides available to the licensed commercial and pest control operator include bendiocarb + pyrethrins (Ficam Plus), cyfluthrin (Tempo), cypermethrin (Cynoff), deltamethrin (Delta Gard, Suspend), propetamphos (Catalyst, Safrotin) and tralomethrin (Saga). Water-based sprays are generally used for treating all carpeting and upholstered furniture.

• Botanicals - Pyrethrins, derived from the flowers of chrysanthemum, and rotenone from the roots of derris, cube and cracca plants, are good contact insecticides. Linalool (Demize), a citrus peel extract, is a natural, fast-acting flea killer, giving short residual control. Other botanicals include d-Limonene (Flea-Stop), balsam, lavender oil, calendula, comfrey, tea tree oil and yucca.

  WHAT DOESN'T WORK:

• Ultrasonic collars and machines are not effective.

• Flea collars don't work.

• Feeding pets garlic, brewer's yeast or B vitamins has not been shown to be effective against fleas. Also, pennyroyal, eucalyptus, rosemary, tea leaves and citronella have not provided effective control. In fact, overdosing of garlic or onion can be irritating or toxic to pets.

Veterinary-Prescribed Products

• Quick List:Program,Frontline Top Spot,Proban, Pro-Spot, Advantage, Nylor, Archer, Knock Out
• Lufenuron (Program), a non-pesticide, is a product of Novartis Corporation. A dog is given one tablet once a month with a normal meal.It breaks the flea's life cycle by preventing eggs and larvae from developing. Nearly 100 percent of eggs laid by treated fleas do not develop. There is no effect on the adult flea. Tiny immature flea eggs, larvae and pupae may be hidden in carpets and upholstery or yard and dog houses, so it may take a few weeks to see how effective lufenuron works. Help by vacuuming your carpet and bathing your pet. Prevent fleas by giving lufenuron tablets once a month, year-round without interruption.
• Fipronil (Frontline Top Spot), a pesticide, is a product of Rhone Merieux, Inc. that kills adult fleas up to three months on dogs. Ticks are killed for a month or more on dogs. A pre-measured dosage in a plastic pipette is applied in a spot between the pet's shoulder blades. Be sure to part the fur and squeeze the tube to apply entire contents to the skin surface. For best results, do not bathe the pet two days before or after treatment. It remains effective after bathing or swimming. Fipronil dissolves in oils on the skin and, within 24 hours after application, spreads over the entire pet (translocation). Fipronil collects in the hair follicles and oil-producing glands of the skin where it slowly wicks out of the follicles covering the skin and fur for up to three months. Topline is also available for application in a metered spray pump. (Fleas do not have to bite pet.)
• Cythioate (Proban), a pesticide, is a product of Bayer. Fleas are killed (90 to 100 percent) by ingesting the drug from the body fluids during the first week. Additional treatments for several weeks are needed.
• Fenthion (Pro-Spot), a pesticide, is a product of Bayer, that controls fleas on dogs at the time of treatment and has good residual activity against many of the fleas that may reinfest the dog after treatment. Treatments should not be repeated more often than once every two weeks. Do not use with flea or tick collars. This topically applied organophosphate, with good systemic activity
• Imidacloprid (Advantage), a pesticide, is a product of Bayer, kills adult fleas on contact on dogs before they can lay eggs and the flea life cycle is broken. About 98 to 100 percent of adult fleas are killed on the pet within 24 hours by a topical spot application on the back of the neck on cats and between the shoulder blades on dogs. A single dose works for at least four weeks.
• Pyriproxyfen (Nylor, Archer), a non-pesticide, is a product of Virbac that is a new 3rd generation Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) - Juvenile hormone mimic. Pyriproxyfen (a non-pesticide) + permethrin (a pesticide)(Knockout) kills adult fleas and ticks plus kills flea eggs for dogs. Also Knockout* is formulated as a room and area fogger, killing adult and preadult fleas for seven months plus ticks, cockroaches and spiders.

Treating The Dog:

• Powders or dusts are preferred over sprays. Put on rubber gloves and apply the dust thoroughly into the hair coat according to label directions.
• Flea collars don't work. Amitraz collars labeled for dogs only are effective on ticks. After 24 hours, 95 percent of attached ticks become detached.
• Flea-B-Gone which is an ezymatic method to get rid of fleas. It was recommended by Dr. Marion Moses, an expert in occupational health medicine, particularly pesticides.
• The following is from Contra Costa Central Sanitary District
• Comb your pet with a metal flea comb, available at pet stores. Focus around the neck and base of the tail. Keep a wide container of soapy water nearby to drown captured fleas
• Bathe dogs in soap and water to drown fleas. Increase effectiveness by using a flea comb while the pet is lathered. It is not necessary to use soap with insecticide.
• Use washable pet bedding that can be gathered up easily by the four corners and laundered frequently. Soapy water destroys all flea stages.

If you log onto Contra Costa Central Sanitary District, the sewage folks, you will find a menu for non-toxic pest controls for alternatives for gardens and homes. Click on the one for flea control. Also you can find great integrative pest management (safer alternatives to spraying pesticides first) advice on Biointegral Resource Center 's publications you can order, and the UC statewide IPM program website.
Go to the Pesticide Education Center website to get more info.

# posted by Kat Dazzle @ 2:56 AM