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Fleas
To keep fleas out of your home, control fleas
on your pet, and regularly clean pet sleeping areas inside and outdoors. |
On the pet:
Safe and effective products can control fleas on pets. Treatments of homes
and yards is mostly unnecessary.
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Apply spot-on formulations to the animal's coat. They provide control for
one to three months and are available from vets or over-the-counter.
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Use a vet-prescribed pill or food additive. They do not kill adult fleas,
but prevent reproduction.
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Flea collars containing methroprene or pyriproxyfen protect up to six months
on dogs and a year on cats.
Flea shampoos and soaps, powders and dusts, spray-on liquids, and dips
are less effective and more hazardous to pets, people, and the environment
than the three types of products above.
In the yard if flea numbers are high, treat outdoor areas with a spray
containing pyriproxyfen, Expose open sleeping areas to sunlight by removing
low hanging vegetation. Immature fleas are unlikely to survive in sunlit
areas.
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Inside the home:
Avoid flea build-up by regularly vacuuming and laundering areas where your
pet rests. If you have a major flea problem, treat your pet with one of
the options described above and follow the steps below.
Concentrate treatment in heavily infested areas (usually areas where the
pet rests).
Wash throw rugs and pet bedding. Vacuum upholstered furniture (cleaning under cushions and in crevices)
and vacuum carpets (especially beneath furniture). Use a hand sprayer or aerosol with an insecticide containing methoprene
or pyroproxyfen (insect growth regulators) to treat all carpets and unwashable
upholstered furniture. This treatment kills larvae but not pupae, so fleas
may continue to emerge for up to two weeks. Over the next two weeks, vacuum regularly to remove newly emerging adult
fleas, but don't reappy pesticides. Seal and discard vacuum bags so fleas don't escape.
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P.O. Box 642, Modesto, CA 95353