Flea control methods in the home

A huge variety of different types of insects can harm humans in one way or another. Certain species “settle” in the house and become their full-fledged inhabitants. In this article you will find the answer to the following question: "Where do fleas come from in the house and how to get rid of them?"

Flea description

The body of a flea varies from 1 to 5 millimeters, females of some species in size can reach up to 1 centimeter during the period of intensive feeding. The fertilized female is 1.5 centimeters long.

The body of a flea is covered with a chitinous cover, which makes it difficult to crush it, has a small head and abdomen, the body has a flattened shape, such a structure allows you to hide and easily move in the wool, feathers of the host and folds of clothing.

The color of a flea can be either yellow, reddish, dark brown, or black.

Fleas cannot fly, they can only jump, covering long distances for the insect.

The presence on the body and on the head of various thorns, bristles, toothed combs protect the flea, it clings tightly to the wool and it is impossible to remove it, crush it only with the help of the nail plate.

On the insect's head are eyes and "antennae", with the help of which the males hold the fleas of the females during mating, when mating does not occur, the "antennae" are drawn in.

The insect bites through the skin with a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus, the saliva which it releases does not allow blood to coagulate, the flea, making its way to the blood vessel, begins to suck blood, during which its abdomen can expand.

A unique feature is that the flea has a sensory apparatus that reacts to all changes in the environment, this warns the insect of danger.

As for the reproductive organs: females have oviducts, ovaries and seminal receptacles, and males have a genital claw.

Flea species

The insect differs in species, each of which has its own characteristics and name:

1. Human flea. The most common type of brownish body is 1.6-3.2 millimeters long. It makes high jumps up to 30 centimeters, and up to 50 centimeters long. Unlike other flea species, it does not have head and pectoral teeth. It can settle in both animals and humans, is a carrier of diseases such as plague and pulicosis.
2. Cat flea. It lives not only on the body of cats, but also on the body of dogs, rodents and humans. Transfers plague and brucellosis. The size of a cat flea can vary from 0.75 to 5 millimeters.
3. The canine flea is the same common species, it can settle in the same place as the human and feline. Transfers flatworms, plague, leprosy bacillus, Marseilles fever and other pathogens and parasites.
4. The southern rat flea, in addition to plague, can carry mouse and rat tapeworm. Inhabits countries with warm climates. The length of the female can reach from 1.8 to 2.7 millimeters, and the length of the male from 1.4 to 2 millimeters.Color - light brown or dark brown.
5. Alakurt or Tien Shan flea. Fertilized females, unlike other flea species, expand not in width, but in length. Color - black, during the "settlement" on the body of the animal change their color to white. They are active in winter, attacking livestock, the one that was abundantly covered with alakurt in winter will not live up to spring.
6. Sandy flea. This species is common in Haiti, Brazil, Guiana, Africa, India, Pakistan. The body of the flea is only 1 mm, the unfertilized female is red-brown in color with a white spot in the middle, the fertilized female changes its color to white and swells up to 1 centimeter in diameter. They bite through the skin of the legs of animals, and make their way under the nails on the toes and hands of a person. Are the causative agents of tetanus, the bite can cause gangrene, which will lead to amputation, and also leads to sarcopsillosis.
7. Flea Glaciopsyllus antarcticus. Lives only in Antarctica. The body length of females reaches 4 millimeters, and males 3. They parasitize on Antarctic birds, and live in their nests.
8. Malacopsylla grossiventris. Inhabits South America on mammals such as armadillos, rodents and many others. They differ from other flea species in that this species lays the most eggs.

The reasons for the appearance of fleas in the house

Where are fleas in the apartment and how to get rid of them. They can appear in the home for a variety of reasons, and one of the most common are animals. You can also highlight the following:

• Human. The insect easily clings to clothes or hair, moves around the city and thus gets into the apartment;
• On one's own. The ability of a flea to travel long distances allows it to quickly reach its goal and find a new owner, most often fleas fall into those rooms that are on the ground floors, because in the basement of the building there are many different rodents that can be their carriers;

In the apartment they choose the most comfortable environment for life, namely, they settle in beddings, houses for pets, in the pile of a carpet, in the hair of an animal and a person. They also live in baseboards, cracks in walls, window sills until they find an owner for themselves, as soon as an animal or a person is nearby, an insect will reach it in one jump.

Fleas feed on human or pet blood.

The place of egg deposition can differ from the flea belonging to a particular species, if we are talking about a cat and dog flea, then in the bedding and wool of the owner, if about the southern rat, then in the nests of rats and gerbils, and the flea Glaciopsyllus antarcticus lays its eggs in the nests.

How to get rid of fleas in an apartment

How to get rid of fleas in the house quickly? This question worries all those who have suffered this fate. There are many methods and means, but not all are effective and efficient. It is important to remember that the likelihood that you will get rid of the parasite in one go is low. Perhaps the following means and methods will have to be applied at regular intervals, combining them.

Traditional methods

The most traditional method will be to carry out a general cleaning of the house and an insecticide treatment. There are two main conditions: wipe off all dust, including hard-to-reach, and wash the floor with ammonia, its smell is quite specific for an insect.

A variety of sprays that can be purchased at any hardware store will also help get fleas out of the apartment, but they must be applied carefully, in accordance with the requirements stated on the packaging.

You can get a good result by combining these two methods:

• remove animals from the apartment;
• cover or hide food and dishes tightly;
• wash all textiles at high temperatures and hide, and bedding for animals, if they are very dirty, it is better to throw away;
• move furniture away from the walls;
• close all windows;
• think about PPE (personal protective equipment), this will be needed when using chemical sprays;
• carry out a thorough cleaning;
• treat the room with insecticides.

Folk methods and means

To get rid of fleas, folk methods are also used, because such a problem has always been, and the appearance of insecticides on the market is a relatively recent event.

How did the people get rid of fleas in the apartment, premises on their own?

The simplest and most effortless way to destroy pests is temperature exposure. In winter, it is necessary to ventilate the room for a day, and in summer, take out all textiles and upholstered furniture for two days under the scorching sun.

The following methods can also be effective:

• dilute salt with water in a glass of water and spray on furniture, such a solution will corrode the body of a flea, but will not harm either an adult or a child;
• mix garlic and brewer's yeast, spread the cooked gruel around the house, the disadvantage will be that the smell is unpleasant for humans;
• pine sawdust - they need to be put on a bed for animals and changed periodically;
• citruses have a pleasant aroma for people, but insects will not like it at all, use essential oils;
• washing floors with bleach or vinegar, do not forget about gloves, otherwise there is a possibility of damage to the skin;
• the smell of blue wormwood is also specific to the insect and will scare it away.

Are flea bites dangerous for humans?

As mentioned above, the insect is a rather dangerous pest, since it is a carrier of all kinds of diseases and parasites. A flea bite is extremely dangerous for humans and will lead to unpleasant consequences, for example, amputation of a limb if rotting was caused by the bite.

Fleas carry:

• plague;
• anthrax;
• tularemia;
• dermatological and allergic diseases;
• worms;
• encephalitis;
• hepatitis B, C.

A person can contract typhus, fever, and many other illnesses.

Therefore, watch out for skin rashes, especially if there is a possibility that you have been bitten by a flea. The reaction to a bite can range from simple redness and itching to allergic reactions, mouth ulcers and symptoms of insect-borne diseases.

Ways to prevent fleas from entering your home

The probability of preventing fleas in an apartment still exists, but for this it is necessary to comply with certain requirements and rules:

1. It is necessary to track whether there are rats, mice and other parasites in the house, otherwise the fleas will return if they have already been got rid of, or may appear soon;
2. Observe the supervision of children, because they can come into contact with street animals, after a walk, you should bathe the child and wash his clothes thoroughly at high temperatures;
3. Keep an eye on your pets, it is better for them to purchase a special flea collar or drops.
4. Maintaining cleanliness in the house will be important: timely cleaning and regular airing of the room.

Thus, an exhaustive answer to the question "Fleas in the apartment - where and how to get rid of?" It was given. But you always need to be on your guard: do not forget about simple precautions and pay attention to the behavior of pets, reacting quickly to any changes, because it is always easier to get rid of a problem at the stage of its "formation".

VIDEO: How to effectively deal with fleas in an apartment.