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Get Rid Of Fleas and Ticks :
How To Kill Fleas and Ticks


Flea and Tick pictures, Flea and Tick identification, Flea and Tick control, Flea and Tick step by step treatment

picture of flea
Cat Flea

Flea Life Cycle  |  What You Need To Do Before A Flea Treatment  |  After Flea and Tick Treatment
How To Get Rid Of Fleas - 5 Step Treatment Guide  |  Flea Control On Animals  |  Get Rid Of Ticks
 


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Flea Life Cycle
If fleas or ticks are a problem you need to do more than buy a new flea collar. If fleas are on your pet, you can be sure they are in your house. In fact, while adult fleas spend most of their time on animals, the eggs, larvae and pupae stages live in your carpeting, rugs, favorite chair, along baseboards, in floor cracks and other areas of the house and yard. They can be found wherever your pet goes.

To control fleas - and keep them from constantly re-infecting your pet and affecting your family - you must get rid of them on your pet and eliminate the fleas in your house and the outdoor areas your pets frequent.

The Flea Life Cycle flea life cycle picture

The female flea lays a few eggs daily that total up to 300 to 400 in its lifetime. The eggs are laid on the pet and most drop off where pets spend most of their time. Pet bedding, floor crevices, carpeting, along baseboards and areas near their favorite sleeping and napping sites are especially likely places where eggs will be found.  These eggs hatch into legless larvae. The larvae spin a cocoon and, depending on environmental conditions, emerge as adults in as few as five days. The adult fleas then mate (after a blood meal from your pet) and then lay eggs. The life cycle is then repeated - until control measures break the cycle.  The total life cycle can last from 25 days to several months. Un-hatched flea eggs have even been frozen with liquid nitrogen and brought back to life !

Adult fleas are extremely hard to kill.  Their little body is like a coat of armor. Like most insects, they have an "antifreeze protein" that protects them from the cold.  Their body is like piece of wax paper.  It sheds and repels sprays and chemicals, especially water based sprays resulting in very little control of the adults. This is why overnight control of fleas is impossible. You have to control the fleas life and egg cycle and that can take at a minimum - 3 - 4 weeks with the right pest control products.

The most important thing to remember when starting a flea control treatment, is that fleas only feed on 1 food source.  Blood.  That's it.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Adult fleas feed on blood through their piercing sucking mouthparts, and immature fleas feed on the dried blood feces of the adults.  Blood feces from the adult flea can be found where immature fleas are found and that is where the problem originates.  Solve the problem with adult fleas, kill the immature fleas and try to prevent the outbreak of a new infestation and your flea problems will be greatly diminished.  This can only be obtained through a complete and thorough treatment. 

Fleas can also transmit diseases. Typhoid fever and bubonic plague are the worst of them (and thank goodness there's not too much of that around to transmit). But they can also transmit tapeworms to dogs, cats, and even small children !

What you do is critical for a successful flea control program. When you decide to perform this treatment, there are important things you need to do immediately before and after you treat your home.


What You Need To Do Before A Flea Treatment
       
Before Treatment

  1. Observe where pets spend time -inside and outside the home.  The areas where your pet spends the majority of its time sleeping is where the majority of the adult fleas and immature fleas will be found.  If you have a doghouse, pillow or cage, then these areas need thorough cleaning and sanitizing.
     
  2. Take your pets to a veterinarian to be checked and treated for fleas. To help avoid re-infestation don't let freshly treated pets back into your house or yard until it has been treated.
  3. Vacuum carpets, floors, rugs, drapes, upholstered furniture, mattresses and cushions. Use a vacuum with a disposable bag and dispose of it by incineration or sealing in a plastic bag.
  4. Wash or destroy all pet bedding.
  5. Clean or vacuum wood and tile floors with special attention to grooves, cracks and baseboards.
  6. Sweep porches, steps and decks.
  7. Cut the lawn and remove debris and clutter prior to yard spraying.
  8. All unwrapped food should be covered or placed in cabinets or the refrigerator. Food preparation surfaces and utensils should be covered.

After Flea and Tick Treatment

Once your home and yard have been treated, there are important things you need to do.
  1. All occupants and animals should stay off treated surfaces until they are dry.
  2. Vacuum carpets every day for 10 days and remove the vacuum bag outdoors and dispose of it properly. Don't be alarmed if you see adult fleas when you are vacuuming. These fleas were in the pupa and egg stages which aren't killed by the insecticide application. However, there is enough residual control to last up to four weeks. That's enough time to kill adults as they emerge and give good control in most situations.
  3. Wash food preparation surfaces and utensils that might have come in contact with the insecticide.
  4. Do not allow flea infested pets in your home. If this happens, the house may get re-infested and re-treatment will be necessary.
  5. Put your pet on either Advantage or Program oral treatments available from your veterinarian for long term control of fleas.  An application of Petcor will aid in repelling fleas from your pet when taking it on walks or places away from your flea free home !  Some of the newer flea control products that only require a single application for flea control on pets may make your pet sick. Be sure to talk with your Veterinarian before using single dose flea treatments on your animals.


How To Get Rid Of Fleas - 5 Step Treatment Guide

Flea Control Indoors
-

1.    Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum!  Fleas will live under furniture, rugs, near windows, under cushions on sofas, chairs, and any place animals sleep. It is very important to vacuum and treat the areas where animals sleep or rest. A good thorough vacuuming of all floor surfaces (carpet or hardwood floor) will help to pickup adult fleas and eggs.  It is best to dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag after vacuuming before the first treatment as fleas can live inside the bag.

2.  Spray all Floors and Under Furniture  After vacuuming, a thorough treatment of all floor surfaces with Ultracide will kill the adult fleas and leave an IGR (insect growth regulator) that will stop the flea life cycle process.  IGR's kill flea larvae and stop flea eggs from hatching.  One can of Ultracide will cover approximately 1800 sq. feet of floor areas.  Additional can's may be necessary if you want to treat or spray furniture, rugs, etc.  Ultracide is the #1 flea control product used by pest control professionals.  If spraying the carpets does not appeal to you and you want a more organic approach, RX For Fleas can be used instead.  RX For Fleas is a boric acid type product that can be applied to carpets and then brushed or raked in.  It will provide 6 or more months of protection on treated carpets but cannot be applied to bare floors, wood floors or furniture.

3.  Fog The Inside Areas of To Kill Adult Fleas  Foggers will help to give you quick knockdown of adult fleas, but they should only be used in combination with a residual chemical such as the previously mentioned Ultracide. Never depend on foggers alone to kill your fleas.  Foggers do not leave any residual and only kill the fleas that they contact.  If you need a fast knockdown of fleas then use the combination of Ultracide and the V Clear Out Fogger.  One V Clear Out will treat up to 500 sq. feet.  The average home will require 3 foggers for adequate coverage. 

4.  Flea Control Outdoors - Spray The Yard and Lawn
   Fleas usually live in cool shaded areas close to moisture, under shrubs, trees, bare areas of ground, etc. They normally don't live in open grassy areas. A thorough spraying with a chemical such as Talstar or Demon WP does a good job outdoors. These products are also very effective against killing ticks, ants, roaches, spiders and most common bugs.

A growth regulator that causes the immature fleas to die and kills the eggs and is used indoors and outdoors combined with your sprays for the fleas is crucial to your outdoor flea or tick control program.  Ultracide (Indoor spray) contains a growth regulator (IGR), but outdoors Talstar or Demon WP need to be mixed with Precor (IGR). Demon WP will kill the adult fleas and Precor will control the immature fleas and stop the egg hatching process. If you have treated in the past and if you have not used a growth regulator (IGR), then that is probably why you still have fleas. You simply mix Precor with Demon WP and spray your lawn with a light mist using an ordinary hand pump sprayer. Spray inside the dog house if you have one.

5.  Flea Control On Animals - Treat The Animals  Dogs and cats are the most important part of the battle. Without them, the fleas cannot survive. We recommend daily spraying of your dog or cat with PetcorPetcor contains a flea killer and a growth regulator. Dips and shampoos usually don't provide good control - and normally only work when they are wet. When they dry, the killing action is usually reduced or gone.

Vacuuming again 24-48 hours after treatment will help to pick up dead fleas and eggs. (There could be thousands of eggs).  This treatment strategy may need to be repeated every few weeks to get 100% control of fleas.

Spray the yard and the house every week until control is obtained. In order to kill the adult fleas you have to overcome the flea life cycle. Several applications may be needed before the adult fleas are killed.

You need professional quality products, to obtain the best flea control.  Forget miracle over the counter items such as flea collars, flea traps, foggers, etc, as  they seldom work.  The products that we carry are not available in hardware stores and very few veterinarians.  They are only available from a specialty pesticide distributor such as ePestSupply.com.


Get Rid Of Ticks

Tick Control Indoors - Controlling ticks is almost exactly the same as controlling fleas.  The only difference is that indoors, ticks are not usually difficult to deal with as they do not infest carpets.  Many pest companies will not treat carpets for indoor tick control, but will spray the baseboards and under furniture.  Our opinion is that tick control should be dealt with exactly like flea control.  Ticks are parasites of animals and humans and can potentially spread disease organisms. Follow the recommended indoor flea control procedures and you will get control of ticks.

Tick Control Outdoors - Talstar or Demon WP are the recommended products of choice.  A thorough spraying of all outdoor areas especially under shrubs, trees, decks, and other cool moist areas is essential in tick control.  If you are treating a large area, then an overall treatment may not be practical.  In this case, treating an area the size of an average yard around the perimeter of the home will be easier and should give satisfactory control.  It also helps to spray the trunks of trees and the exterior walls of the house or building as ticks are good climbers and may attempt to climb away from your spray.

Tick Control On Animals - Dogs and cats are the most important part of the battle. Without them, ticks cannot survive. We recommend daily spraying of your dog or cat with PetcorPetcor contains a tick killer and a growth regulator. Dips and shampoos usually don't provide good control - and normally only work when they are wet. When they dry, the killing action is usually reduced or gone.


Flea and Tick Control Recommended Products:

Complete Indoor and Outdoor Flea Kit
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Kills
- Fleas Inside And Outside

Designed For
Homes, Apartments, Condominiums,
Offices, & Small Businesses.
(Not For Food Handling Establishments)

Number of Treatments - 2**

picture of flea control kit
QTY PKG PRODUCT AMT
1 20 oz Ultracide -  Inside Spray $ 18.95
1 4 Pk Demon WP $ 14.75
1 16 oz Petcor Flea Spray - Animals $ 17.95
3 6 oz Pro Control Foggers        ($7.25 each) $ 21.75
1 1 oz Precor Flea Growth Regulator $ 6.95
FREE UPS Shipping ($7.95 value) N/C
Individual Item Total Cost $ 88.30
Your Total Cost $ 64.95
You Save $ 23.35

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** Average number of treatments based on structure less than 2000 sq. ft.. Larger structures may require 2 or more kits.  Petcor Flea Spray will treat your animal up to 10 times. Pro Control Foggers are for one 1 use.  Precor is for 1 use.   Ultracide is for 2 uses.  Demon WP is for outdoor use only and is for 2 uses on average size lawn.  Email us for specific quantities that you may need. Some products can be sold individually based on amount used in treatment. Please include type of pest that you are treating for and size of structure in Square feet or number of rooms.
 

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