If you ever lived in California then you have had to deal with fleas at least once. The most common is called the “Cat” flea. This flea will feed on the blood of most warm-blooded animals, including us as humans. It is ironic that the most prevalent please bugs are dogs is called the “Cat” flea, yet that is what it is called. And the places most infected, besides the yard, are the dog beds.

Fleas are parasites and they feed on blood before she can lay her eggs. The eggs fall from the host animal and collect on the surfaces below. The waste material from the adult flea’s digested blood meals will be found in the pet’s bed. Here it becomes a ready food supply for the larvae of hatched eggs.

The flea’s lifecycle is complete in about 2 weeks when the conditions are right. Once the eggs hatch they feed on the dead skin from your pet as well as any dried blood waste that is left. Then they will go into a cocoon stage and will emerge in about a week.

You need to attack the indoor as well as outdoor fleas by performing a thorough spraying with plenty of water and a pest treatment such as Talstar PL Granule or Talstar One Insecticide or Tengard SFR One-Shot Liquid Termiticide/Insecticide. These chemicals not only kill fleas but they also kill ticks, ants, roaches, spiders and most any other bug. You need to make sure that you spray the dog bed as well as any other place your dog sleeps or rests. You should also pay close attention to any doghouses or dog crates you may have as well as area around them.

The combination of cleanliness and pesticide applications is the best way to control fleets. Although, shampooing your pet with flea shampoo will remove the dried blood and much of the dried skin as well as kill fleas. It does not kill the eggs or the larva. So it is important to thoroughly clean all pet beds and resting areas to get rid of any eggs, larva or food sources to prevent a repopulation of fleas. Applying pest control products to areas where the pets spend much of their time will provide immediate reduction in flea populations. It is usually good to apply an insect growth regulator to impede the development of new flea larvae. I would recommend that you use Precor IGR as the growth regulator.

One key to long-term control of fleas is cleanliness. It becomes even more important when you have more than one pet if you want to keep your home “flea-free”. Even weekly or monthly pet grooming could be a good weapon against fleas.

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Tags: dog beds, dog crates, Pest control products, pest treatment, pet beds, termite control

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