Flea Control Kent
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Pest Control Kent & blood sucking parasites.
The original name for the flea ‘Siphonaptera’ is derived from the Greek word ‘siphon,’ meaning ‘tube’ or ‘pipe,’ which is exactly the same as its meaning in English. This is an entirely fitting name when describing this blood sucking insect we now know as the flea, as it uses a tube-shaped pipe to suck the victim’s blood into its gut.
Carrying out pest control for fleas can be a tricky process, and care must be taken to ensure the work is done safe.
Anatomy
The flea is an agile creature that lives off the blood of others. The anatomy of the flea is quite intricate. Its mouth is perfect for piercing skin and sucking blood. It has several mouthpieces, each of which has its role to play.
Mouthpieces of the flea & what they do
- Laciniae. This part of its jaw will cut the skin of its host and also create a saliva channel.
- Epipharynx. This needle like part of its mouth will be surrounded by the laciniae (jaw), creating a puncturing instrument called the stylet.
- Labium. This supports the stylet.
The flea pierces the skin and sucks the blood of the host into its gut. This takes a lot of force on the part of the flea.
The flea has no wings, but it can jump as far as 13 inches with its long back legs. It has six legs altogether, but the hind ones are longer for jumping. Its mouth is tube shaped, enabling it to suck blood out of anything it lands on.
It has a hard exterior allowing it to be knocked about, bitten or even thrown on the floor without being harmed. For this reason, it can survive most things. The flea’s jumping habits prevent him from being caught and if you do manage to catch one. It then proves hard to squash, because although the flea is small, it has hard plates called sclerites on its outer body. Even squeezing the flea between two fingers proves impossible at times. That is one good reason to call a reputable company like Flea Control Kent.
The flea is not a shy insect, and its parasitic personality makes him focus on the job in hand, that of sucking blood. You can even see fleas jumping on your pet, and all the scratching in the world proves useless.
The flea cannot see very well, but that doesn’t prevent him from sensing that a host is nearby for him to leap onto.
The flea is tiny, recognisable and flat. Its skin is smooth from one angle, but has little hairs all over that act as Velcro when attaching itself to the host. It effortlessly travels all over its host using its Velcro-like hair to attach itself to the fur like hooks, not allowing anyone to remove it.
Many of the calls we receive ask do we provide a pest control for fleas service, and of course they are happy when we expalin we do have options for flea treaments in the home.
Behaviour
The flea spends his life jumping from one host to another. Its survival depends on finding a suitable host to live in, so once it finds one, it is near on impossible getting it to leave. Flea Control Kent, however, can break through this impossible task.
Although the flea can’t see very well, it responds excellently to movement and as soon as it feels a host nearby then it’s ready to pounce. Their jump is equivalent to a human being jumping as high as 600ft or 182.8 meters. That is 100 times its body weight.
Life cycle
There are 4 different changes in its cycle.
- EGG. After the female has a blood meal, it will then begin to lay its eggs. Blood is needed in order for this process to happen. The eggs are tiny, smaller than a grain of sand. She can lay up to 50 eggs in one day.
- LARVA. The eggs hatch and become larva. The larvae are blind and hate the light. This is another reason why we can’t spot them, as they are hiding in the dark.
- PUPA. After 5 to 20 days the larvae spins the cocoon into pupa.
- ADULT. The cocoon releases the adult flea when the humidity is good enough for the flea to live in. If the humidity isn’t right, the pupa will hold on to the flea. They can keep hold of the adult flea for months if they have to.
- The adult flea then waits for its host and will detect your pet walking by. Then it will transfer itself from the cocoon to the host, whoever that may be.
You can find out more regarding the life cycle of the flea on our site @ Pest Control Kent, Flea Control Kent. We are sure that you will enjoy our regular up-to-date Pest Control Kent blog posts.
The adult flea
Once the flea has reached adulthood, it is essential that it finds blood to feed on. If the flea doesn’t find a host, it will die within one week. If it does succeed in finding a blood meal, it can live for a few months, and in rare cases even up to a year, depending on temperature and humidity.
Pest Control Whitstable talks INDIVIDUALITY
There are many different kinds of fleas; cat fleas, dog fleas, human fleas, rabbit fleas and so forth. Pest Control Kent will discuss a few habits of some individual fleas. Any Pest control for fleas treatment should be done by a fully qualified pest control operator. As we are Local pest controllers we have local knowledge and years of experience.
We have Flea Control Kent experts on hand seven days a week. Guaranteed the best prices in Kent
Fleas in house
When most of us think about fleas, we tend to think of them on our pets. That is true, it is extremely common for our cats, dogs or rabbits to have fleas. But did you know that fleas can reside alongside you in your house, whether you have a pet or not? One telling sign that you may have a flea infestation is constant itching from flea bites. Please call Flea Control Kent if you are not too sure. We are happy to give you some advice on the phone or face to face. If you would like to know how to identify a flea infestation, Flea control Kent are happy to help.
Fleas in house & how to rid them
The best time to kill a flea is when they’re at the larvae or pupa stage, and yet this is the hardest time to spot them.
They can stay in the pupa stage for a couple of months, (depending on the temperature of the environment) and when they detect traffic, (your dog or any other hosts walking by) they break out of their cocoons, and jump directly onto the animal or even you.
Killing them before this has had time to happen disrupts the life cycle of the flea thus preventing a flea infestation. You can pick up some powder for killing fleas at your local DIY store or ask Flea Control Kent to provide you with some; better still, we are excellent at getting rid of fleas, why not give us a call and save yourself the stress?
Rabbit flea (spilopsyllus cuniculi)
When the rabbit flea is on its host, it can detect as soon as their host becomes pregnant. The female flea will then lay eggs of its own so that as soon as the rabbit gives birth, the young fleas will jump immediately on to the baby rabbits (kittens.)
Human flea (pulex irritans)
Even though this flea likes to use human beings as its host, it will quite happily live and bite all sorts of mammals. It loves dogs, cats, monkeys, chickens, rats, wild rodents, pigs, and even bats. Every type of flea differs in appearance to each other, and the human flea is no exception to this rule. Unfortunately, this flea like most of them, is hugely difficult for the naked eye to see. It is not so difficult for Flea Control Kent though; we can detect them, and love getting rid of fleas. It is all in a day’s work for our team of pest controllers. The human flea has long hidden legs the same as its cousins, enabling it to jump from host to host.
Cat flea (ctenocephalides felis)
The cat flea is the most common flea in the world. The cat flea is very flat and lies hidden beneath the surface of the fur. The cat flea can also bite other mammals, including humans.
Dog flea (ctenocephalides canis)
The dog flea can be difficult to identify, as it is very like the cat flea and likes to use cats as well as other creatures as its host. Unlike other fleas, the dog flea can survive for months without a blood meal, although the female will not be able to lay eggs until she has been fed. You can soon see if your dog has fleas, as it always scratches and bites itself, particularly around the neck and head. Getting rid of fleas on your dog is necessary, as they can spread infections and tapeworm. Flea Control Kent advises a visit to your vet, and then to call us for fleas that are in your home.
Environment
Fleas can be found all year round, but in the UK they are happier in the spring and summer months. They like living on hosts, but if there are no hosts around, they will still happily live in your home.
Flea Control Kent
If you have a flea infestation, do not feel embarrassed to call Flea Control Kent There is nothing we haven’t seen before in this line of work, and having fleas is not a sign of dirt. It is very common for householders to be attacked with flea infestations of this kind. You can be confident that Pest Control Whitstable will eradicate your problem and you will be able to sleep at night once more.
Pest Control Kent is a family run business that covers the whole of Kent. We are available 24/7, 365 days a year. PLEASE CALL US NOW IF YOU NEED A VISIT.
If you need a Flea exterminator Kent based company, Maidstone,Medway,Canterbury,Margate,Ramsgate, Dover,Deal,Folkestone,Whitstable,Faversham,Herne Bay or any other town in Kent call us today
OTHER SERVICES
Kent Pest Control services specialize in controlling and eliminating; rats, mice, moles bedbugs, wasps, fleas, squirrels, moths, flies, Pigeons, Seagulls the list goes on. Below is our top services.
The Pest Control Kent team are happy to help with any queries you have reagrding our services.
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