Nov 11, 2011 – Lingering Fleas
QUESTION:
We did a treatment for a severe flea and tick problem three days ago. The customer called on the second day after the treatment that he still has a lot of fleas. What is the correct time span before a re-treatment is done?
ANSWER:
I listened to a wonderful presentation on fleas and flea management some years ago, presented by a flea expert and researcher from Florida. Many of his observations and comments really stuck in my mind, so I will pass them along to you. The first important thing is to understand the biology of fleas, which have the 4 stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult flea. It is only the adult flea that feeds on blood. The larvae feed on various bits of organic junk they find in the carpet or whatever substrate they are living on, but in addition to this general feeding they also MUST feed on some dried blood, available in the form of dried fecal spots from the adult fleas. These fall off the pet and onto that substrate, and without this in their diet the flea larvae appear unable to move along to the next stage. In addition, it is important to recognize that the pupa is enclosed within a silk case that repels insecticides, so according to this expert our insecticide treatments will NOT kill the pupa. There is your trouble stage.
It is very important to prepare the infested home and the customer prior to the arrival of the technician on that very first day. By preparation I mean that the customer must be told what needs to be done before YOU get there, and that is to vacuum as thoroughly as possible every square inch of carpet, to remove everything from under beds and in closets to expose the carpeting for treatment, to have the pets dealt with so their fleas are eliminated, and to wash any pet bedding and throw it in the dryer. If they do not do all of this you will get there and only be able to do an inadequate job. Either that or YOU end up clearing the floor and vacuuming for them, and better get paid for the time. The vacuuming is absolutely vital, and it also should be done again the next day after you treat and for every day they can stand it for the next couple of weeks. Here is why.
A typical flea life cycle takes about 10 to 14 days from that egg dropping on the floor to a new adult flea emerging from its pupa/cocoon, but there is a small percentage of the fleas that just will not emerge until something physically "stimulates" them to pop out of that pupa. This may be physical touching and pressure or just strong vibration, and those "pre-adult" fleas can sit there in that pupa for up to 6 months. However, once stimulated they emerge within seconds and, according to the expert, may bite within a few seconds more. Any of those pupa hanging around may then change to adult fleas when someone walks in the room, and this is probably your source of this continued presence of fleas. Of course, it's also very possible that you missed some hot spots in the home with your treatment, so you need to reinspect and evaluate where the flea larvae are living and be certain those places are treated. On the other hand, it would not make much sense to add insecticide back on top of insecticide you already sprayed, so retreating the same old surfaces may not be justified.
Part of "setting up" the job in advance is educating the customer to know what to expect, and they must expect to see some fleas for the next 2 weeks, because you are not going to kill the pupa with your sprays and activity in the home and constant vacuuming will eventually push all the pre-adult fleas out of that difficult stage. By the way, your competitors cannot kill flea pupa that are within their cocoons either, so no one has the magic wand. Advise the customer that their daily vacuuming is going to speed up this process and eliminate the fleas that much faster, getting them out of their pupae and exposed to your residual insecticide. If there really are a lot of adult fleas then a light misting of pyrethrum would kill them and provide the relief. In addition, your initial treatment really should include an IGR, as this will last for many months to prevent eggs from hatching and prevent flea larvae from developing to adult fleas.
My direct answer is that the correct time span, if possible, would be 2 weeks. The customer can shorten this by cooperating and vacuuming daily and keeping the pets and pet bedding free of fleas. If you do go back it should be to evaluate where you may have missed some spots where the flea larvae are developing, and this would need to be treated.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
We did a treatment for a severe flea and tick problem three days ago. The customer called on the second day after the treatment that he still has a lot of fleas. What is the correct time span before a re-treatment is done?
ANSWER:
I listened to a wonderful presentation on fleas and flea management some years ago, presented by a flea expert and researcher from Florida. Many of his observations and comments really stuck in my mind, so I will pass them along to you. The first important thing is to understand the biology of fleas, which have the 4 stages of egg, larva, pupa, and adult flea. It is only the adult flea that feeds on blood. The larvae feed on various bits of organic junk they find in the carpet or whatever substrate they are living on, but in addition to this general feeding they also MUST feed on some dried blood, available in the form of dried fecal spots from the adult fleas. These fall off the pet and onto that substrate, and without this in their diet the flea larvae appear unable to move along to the next stage. In addition, it is important to recognize that the pupa is enclosed within a silk case that repels insecticides, so according to this expert our insecticide treatments will NOT kill the pupa. There is your trouble stage.
It is very important to prepare the infested home and the customer prior to the arrival of the technician on that very first day. By preparation I mean that the customer must be told what needs to be done before YOU get there, and that is to vacuum as thoroughly as possible every square inch of carpet, to remove everything from under beds and in closets to expose the carpeting for treatment, to have the pets dealt with so their fleas are eliminated, and to wash any pet bedding and throw it in the dryer. If they do not do all of this you will get there and only be able to do an inadequate job. Either that or YOU end up clearing the floor and vacuuming for them, and better get paid for the time. The vacuuming is absolutely vital, and it also should be done again the next day after you treat and for every day they can stand it for the next couple of weeks. Here is why.
A typical flea life cycle takes about 10 to 14 days from that egg dropping on the floor to a new adult flea emerging from its pupa/cocoon, but there is a small percentage of the fleas that just will not emerge until something physically "stimulates" them to pop out of that pupa. This may be physical touching and pressure or just strong vibration, and those "pre-adult" fleas can sit there in that pupa for up to 6 months. However, once stimulated they emerge within seconds and, according to the expert, may bite within a few seconds more. Any of those pupa hanging around may then change to adult fleas when someone walks in the room, and this is probably your source of this continued presence of fleas. Of course, it's also very possible that you missed some hot spots in the home with your treatment, so you need to reinspect and evaluate where the flea larvae are living and be certain those places are treated. On the other hand, it would not make much sense to add insecticide back on top of insecticide you already sprayed, so retreating the same old surfaces may not be justified.
Part of "setting up" the job in advance is educating the customer to know what to expect, and they must expect to see some fleas for the next 2 weeks, because you are not going to kill the pupa with your sprays and activity in the home and constant vacuuming will eventually push all the pre-adult fleas out of that difficult stage. By the way, your competitors cannot kill flea pupa that are within their cocoons either, so no one has the magic wand. Advise the customer that their daily vacuuming is going to speed up this process and eliminate the fleas that much faster, getting them out of their pupae and exposed to your residual insecticide. If there really are a lot of adult fleas then a light misting of pyrethrum would kill them and provide the relief. In addition, your initial treatment really should include an IGR, as this will last for many months to prevent eggs from hatching and prevent flea larvae from developing to adult fleas.
My direct answer is that the correct time span, if possible, would be 2 weeks. The customer can shorten this by cooperating and vacuuming daily and keeping the pets and pet bedding free of fleas. If you do go back it should be to evaluate where you may have missed some spots where the flea larvae are developing, and this would need to be treated.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
