Sexual fleas - the appearance in living quarters. How genital fleas appear in apartments. How to fight the carriers of diseases and infections. Application of specialized insecticides. Using folk methods. Correct processing.
A person encounters in his life many insects that are capable of delivering quite serious problems. If we talk about those parasites that attack our apartments, these are genital fleas, which can be quite difficult to get rid of. They bite pets and do not disdain human blood. In addition to discomfort, they pose a great danger to human and domestic animal health.
Common Scripture
Fleas belong to the blood-sucking wingless. More than 2000 species of these parasites are known to science. If we talk about those who are able to settle in residential premises, then they belong to the Pulicidae family. These common fleas include 160 species. These include canine, feline, human parasites, there is a particularly dangerous species, rats, which spread a dangerous plague.
These insects look like this, they are small in size, which does not exceed 5 mm. The body itself is oval laterally compressed. They have 3 pairs of paws, with their help they jump and perfectly hold on any surface. Females do not require a special place for laying eggs, they scatter them, not all eggs survive. Survivors develop and grow into larvae after 2 weeks, and then young individuals appear.
Prophylaxis
To protect yourself and your home from carpet fleas, you need to follow simple rules. The house should be kept clean, ventilated, and free from dampness. It is possible for preventive purposes from time to time to wash the floors with a solution of wormwood. Their pets are regularly bathed with anti-flea shampoos. They strictly monitor the penetration of alien animals into the dwelling - carriers of harmful insects.
Make sure the basement is not infested with insects. If carpet fleas do live there, it is necessary to call a team of exterminators.
For owners of fleecy flooring, the question of how to get fleas out of the carpet is relevant. The problem arises if there are cats in the house. Insects enter the room on animal hair and remain on carpets. An even more difficult problem is earthen fleas. They can appear in apartments located on the first floors of residential buildings from basements.
Fleas can be identified with a light-colored cloth or paper left on the floor or carpet. You need to turn off the light for 20-30 minutes, and then turn it on abruptly. If dark jumping dots are visible on a light surface, then fleas have appeared in the house.
Why insects are dangerous
When a flea hits the body of its victim, for example, a dog, it remains alive in the fur, since it needs constant nutrition. This insect easily passes to other victims that are in the vicinity, for example, a cat and even a person. The danger is that these parasites are carriers of dangerous diseases.
Parasites can cause pulicosis, sarcopsillosis, and they can also infect nematodes, which are parasitic worms.The list of diseases spread by these small insects includes encephalitis, cholera, brucellosis, hepatitis, plague and many other dangerous diseases.
After the bite, the victim begins to itch severely. The victim may not feel the bite itself if it is done by an adult. Since when a flea bites, it secretes a special anesthetic enzyme, but young individuals do not have it, so the bite is accompanied by pain.
Another danger is that the wounds are combed after the bite, and this leads to additional infection. This causes inflammation and ulcers. If you do not make treatment, then pyoderma develops, which is quite dangerous with complications. Pets suffer from dermatitis, which requires compulsory treatment.
Features of a genital flea
The flea, like any living organism, goes through the stages of appearance, adolescence, maturity, and extinction. When bitten, a young individual does not throw in large anesthetic substances along with saliva. The bite of young animals is compared to a bee attack in terms of pain. Older individuals bite without causing pain. But this does not make a person better. The more painless bites you have, the more likely you are to have allergic symptoms. The body resists the appearance of dangerous substances in the blood and signals danger. Most often, the signal is pulicosis - the appearance of red spots that itch and cause a burning sensation. Doctors consider pulicosis to be a parasitic disease.
Bites are dangerous, these insects in their saliva "deliver" pathogens of terrible diseases:
- plague;
- trypanosomiasis;
- brucellosis;
- anthrax;
- encephalitis and so on.
It has been established that fleas living in dwellings built in hot regions of the country are carriers of bubonic plague. This fact, in particular, clearly testifies to the danger that these pests carry to humans. It is necessary to exterminate fleas by all available means. There are historical facts that claim that such a flea can bring an epidemic to individual settlements and spread over large areas.
Fact of history Medieval Europe experienced pandemics that claimed a third of the population. The culprits of the total misfortune were fleas brought in the holds of the ships.
Sexual flea bites can provoke the most dangerous diseases
Infection of residential premises
They can get to our apartment in different ways, for example, on the fur of a dog, on the shoes or clothes of residents. After they get into the apartment, they can hide in crevices, carpets, behind baseboards.
The most common reasons for the appearance in dwellings include:
- If you live on the ground floor, and pest control is carried out in the basement;
- Infection from neighbors;
- Unsanitary conditions in the apartment.
When there are mice in a dwelling, fleas also become an integral part, since they often live in rodent nests. This is an ideal habitat for them, firstly, they have constant access to food, and secondly, favorable living conditions, dampness and coolness.
How parasites appear in the house
Fleas in the house
Some people claim that bloodsuckers only appear in the home of those who keep cats or dogs. However, this opinion is not entirely true. Four-legged friends are really capable of bringing bloodsuckers into their homes. However, being able to move quickly, insects are able to penetrate housing and on their own:
- moving from basements and attics through open windows and doors;
- through the slots of the ventilation openings;
- together with rodents that got into the house;
- on clothes or shoes of a person who came from the street.
Signs of infection
To understand that fleas attack your home is quite simple, since the discomfort that they cause is very obvious. For example, when there are pets in the house, they will behave quite restlessly, constantly itching.Most often, parasites bite pets by the ears, groin, neck, and all for the reason that these destinies have less hair and are more accessible.
Residents also will not be left without the attention of these bloodsucking, because they bite people on the legs. Places that are attacked by parasites will have small red dots that itch unbearably.
You can do the following, spread white sheets of paper on the floor and observe what is happening, if there are floor fleas, you will immediately see them on the surface of the paper.
How to get rid of
Parasites can be driven out of the house once and for all, only correctly and not "carelessly" following all the instructions for their destruction... The question of how to get rid of genital fleas in an apartment, without harming the health of the pets, is asked by all the owners. It's easy, just follow the guide:
- determine the source of the insect's appearance and, if it appears due to pets, include the animals in the list of processed "objects";
- remove fleas from the skin of animals;
- treat the apartment with special solutions, such as Butox or the like;
- thoroughly clean all rooms at the end of the action of solutions against insects;
- observe preventive measures so that insects cannot restore the population or enter the house again.
On the bare floor
It is quite difficult to destroy fleas, due to the incredible reproduction rate. One of their habitats is the bare floor. There are skirting boards, microscopic cracks, shells and a constant influx of food. Fleas are jumping on the floor, which means they need to be quickly destroyed to avoid spreading.
Gaps in the floor are the main habitat of fleas
Insects are not found higher than two meters above the ground. It is important to determine the most likely places of accumulation and conduct a thorough disinfection there with the purchased products. An easy way to deal with fleas is to use a vacuum cleaner that can collect creature eggs on surfaces. After cleaning, it is necessary to process the vacuum cleaner so that no larvae remain in the dust collector.
There are a lot of disinfectants now. The simplest is dichlorvos. But before buying, you need to pay attention to the side effects of the product, indications for use and composition. Flea whiteness can also help. It is necessary to scatter the composition daily in places where insects accumulate and soon they will simply disappear, since the product dries their skin.
Use of chemicals
- During processing, toxic substances are used that have a detrimental effect on parasites. Treatment methods such as room spraying, cold and hot fog can be applied.
- With regard to such a method as fogging, it is often used by specialized services, since professional equipment is required. The processing process consists in spraying a pesticide at different temperatures. In living quarters, cold fog is used, since it has less effect on surfaces. But it is hot fog that is used for basements.
- When processing an apartment, it is necessary to pay great attention to hard-to-reach places. Surfaces are processed up to 1.5 meters in height. They process floors, baseboards, carpets, behind the refrigerator and radiator, places where pets sleep.
- Such processing requires compliance with safety measures, since pesticides are used and they can harm the health of people and animals. After the procedure, you will need to leave the room for at least 2 days. Upon return, it is necessary to thoroughly wash the surfaces and only then return to the residents. Remember that insecticides do not affect flea eggs, so after 2 weeks the procedure is repeated to kill young individuals.
The essence of the problem
Do not think that parasites only grow in those rooms where pets live. Often people who do not keep cats, dogs, or any other animals at home suffer from them.These insects are able to penetrate into a person's home not only on the body of pets or wild rodents, but also on human clothing. In addition, they can easily penetrate into the apartments of the lower floors of multi-storey buildings or into private houses on their own. Thanks to the elongated hind legs, fleas can jump from 30 to 50 cm both in length and in height. At the same time, they move so rapidly that it is almost impossible to catch them.
The life cycle of a flea lasts from 3 months to 1 year, depending on the habitat. In unfavorable conditions, this insect at the cocoon stage can remain up to 2 years. Under optimal conditions of high humidity and temperatures of + 18 ° C ... + 25 ° C, the flea becomes sexually mature by the end of the 1st month of life. To reproduce, they need to be saturated with blood. An adult female lays up to 10 eggs at a time, and in her entire life - about 500. After about 2 weeks, larvae hatch from the eggs, looking like microscopic worms about 1 mm long. They have no legs, but are mobile. They feed on organic residues and excrement of adults. Adults feed exclusively on blood, but they can do without food for several months, while maintaining their viability.
At home, genital fleas settle in carpet pile, fluffy toys, bedding, pillow and blanket fillers, in floor crevices, behind baseboards, in any secluded nooks. They are able to jump on furniture and walls to a height of 1 m.
Solutions for wet cleaning
You can purchase specialized solutions and perform wet cleaning with their use. Solutions can be sold ready-to-use or require preparation. Most often, these types of insecticides are not able to kill the entire population of fleas; they help to significantly reduce their activity.
You can also prepare the solution yourself, for this, zoo shampoos, blockers, drugs that are aimed at exterminating parasites are added to the water. When the apartment is not very contaminated, then use a solution with laundry soap, which is rubbed into water and mixed well. After the floor has been washed with soapy water, it is washed with clean water after drying. Also, instead of soap, ordinary soda is used, 5 tablespoons are added to a bucket of water.
Aerosols
Sufficiently effective means that allow you to clean the room in 2 times. The first treatment kills the adults as well as the larvae, and the second treatment gets rid of the juveniles that emerged from the eggs. These drugs include Reid, Raptor, Dichlorvos and others. Remember that this is a toxic chemical and it is dangerous for both people and animals.
Precautions for killing genital fleas
When the owners intend to treat the premises with insecticides, for the purpose of safety, people, cats and dogs, and other warm-blooded animals are temporarily removed from it. Attention is paid to home aquariums. Closed with glass, the aeration system is turned off. Window structures are tightly closed. Preparations that are diluted in proportions with water are poured into atomizers. You can simply spray:
Anything that is necessary to drive the parasites out of the object should be carefully processed. Close it for the time it takes for the preparation to absorb everything that is sprayed. Then wash the floor.
Attention! After using the drugs, some of them remain in the "reserve". They are located in closets, in other places. It is recommended to store carefully so that pets do not have free access to dusts and other insecticides. They can get foodborne or toxic food poisoning.
To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to place flea-repelling herbs along the baseboards. The list of useful herbs includes wormwood, tansy, mint, and other flea-repelling plants.
At the final stage, doors and windows are opened. The room is ventilated until the complete disappearance of microscopic aerosols of drugs in the air. All that remains is to wash your hands and start a comfortable life without fleas. Do not forget to regularly wash domestic cats, dogs. For their pleasure and your comfortable life.
Folk methods of struggle
It should be understood that folk remedies are not able to exterminate populations of parasites, they only scare them away, which significantly reduces their effectiveness. They are irreplaceable as prophylactic agents and as agents that are used in combination with insecticides.
Infusions of their herbs
Herbs are used that have a rather strong odor, it is this aroma that scares away parasites. For example, wormwood can be used in its pure form; it is enough to spread it behind the cabinets, in the corners.
Herbs such as chamomile, eucalyptus, tansy and also wormwood are taken in equal parts by 2 tablespoons and poured with boiling water in 2 liters. The infusion should be infused for 12 hours. Then it is poured into a spray bottle and the premises are treated. Remember to use a respirator and gloves, and there should be no people or animals in the room.
Rock salt
You can use regular kitchen salt, which is scattered in the corners and on the baseboards. It works as follows, the fact is that salt eats away at the shell of the parasite, which leads to death. Also, baking soda has this effect. You can use these substances together or separately.
Needles, citrus
They have a smell that sex fleas really do not like, needles and citrus fruits. They are used as follows, sprigs of needles or peels of oranges, tangerines and other citrus fruits, laid out around the apartment, paying special attention to corners and hard-to-reach places. When the smell disappears, they are replaced with new ones.
You can prepare a special citrus infusion. You need to take one citrus fruit, absolutely everything will do, chop finely and add 2 tablespoons of water. Then let it brew well for a day. Then strain and pour into a spray bottle. You can start processing the apartment.
Popular synthetic products
- The most famous and widely used drug is Raptor spray. It is absolutely safe for humans, since even accidental ingestion into the body is accompanied by the breakdown of active substances by enzymes that prevent it from entering the bloodstream. The product has a pleasant mint scent, which eliminates discomfort when inhaled. Treatment of a one-room apartment will require two cylinders of this spray.
- A well-known foreign drug produced using microencapsulation technology, a professional insecticide - Gett. Russian manufacturers have produced two analogues that are not inferior in efficiency: Empire 20 and Master 250. They are used by both individuals and professionals.
- Chlorpyrimark, an insecticide used to kill garden pests, has also been used successfully to kill genital fleas. This product should be washed off a few hours after application, otherwise stains will appear on the treated surfaces.
- Sinusan. A preparation for professional treatment used by special services for the disinfection of premises. It is rarely used, since it has a very pungent and unpleasant odor, which does not disappear for a long time, but provides reliable protection for a long time.
There are many more remedies for combating genital fleas. Everyone can make the right choice, based on the active ingredients in the preparation and the specific case.
Proper preparation of the apartment
It is necessary to prepare the living space for the upcoming procedure.It is necessary to take care that there should be no people or animals in the apartment for 2 days, it is also necessary to take out the aquarium.
Next, you need to thoroughly clean upholstered furniture, carpets. Move furniture away from the walls. Remove all dust, cobwebs. Carry out wet cleaning of the entire room. Food must be hidden in sealed packages, and dishes must also be hidden. They take off bed linen, curtains, tulles, curtains and wash. It is advisable to take the pillows outside, in winter they will be well treated with low temperatures, and in summer they will warm up from the sun.
Be sure to use protective equipment. Wear a respirator, goggles and gloves. Clothing should cover the skin as much as possible. At the end of the procedure, the clothes should be washed. Remove protective equipment, wash hands with soap, wash and leave the room.
Leave the room for 2 days, on return, ventilate well and carry out wet cleaning. Thoroughly wash all surfaces that come in contact with humans and animals.
Flea tar soap
Tar soap contains sodium salts, citric acid, table salt, thickeners and the main component is birch tar.
Tar is a thick black liquid with a pungent odor and bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and insecticidal action. Tar soap relieves itching and irritation. It is a natural folk remedy and is inexpensive.
Tar is available in the form of solid, liquid soap and shampoo. It is more convenient to treat pets with liquid products. But if you are using solid soap, then pre-soak the bar of soap in water until foam forms. Tar soap is also used for cleaning floors, treating walls and washing pet supplies from fleas.
However, using tar soap requires moderation. According to a study by the New Zealand Association for the Study of Skin Diseases, animals have an increased risk of skin cancer associated with the use of tar soap, but it does not affect humans.
Video "We bathe a cat with tar soap"
Summing up
Parasites such as genital fleas are very dangerous for people and animals, therefore, the fight against them must be started as soon as they are seen in apartments. Insects multiply very quickly, which means that if you do not take measures, then after a short period of time, there will be a large population in the apartment, which is very difficult to cope with.
Remember that folk remedies can not always bring the desired result, since they do not provide a destructive effect on fleas. They can only scare off parasites, but not exterminate. With severe infections, it is not effective and their use will only aggravate the situation, you need to fight them immediately and remove them as quickly as possible.
It is necessary to use specialized products that clean the premises, and traditional methods will help increase efficiency. Also, folk remedies will be ideal as a preventive action.
You can always contact specialized services that will perform all the necessary actions and relieve you of his problems. Do not forget to carry out preventive actions after processing, maintain cleanliness, and carry out regular wet cleaning.
Where do carpet fleas come from?
When people wonder where carpet fleas come from, the first thing they learn is that their pets are the culprit. They really can bring on themselves not only adults, but also the larvae of parasites.
But fleas in the carpet also appear in the following ways:
- jump from the entrance;
- penetrate through the ventilation hole (multi-storey buildings);
- come from basements;
- spread from unscrupulous neighbors;
- are introduced by infected rodents.
If it is not customary to carry out regular cleaning of the house, then the insects will begin to multiply dynamically.In addition, fleas actively fill rooms that are damp and humid.
Lack of sunlight and stale air are another condition for the reproduction of blood-sucking parasites.
Fleas in the carpet: what to do
Often fleas enter the house on pets after a walk or trip to the country. This happens mainly in cases where animal owners neglect preventive measures to protect animals - drops for the withers, sprays, collars, etc. Your veterinarian will help you find the right protection.
Recommended links
Fleas in puppies: why they are dangerous for dogs and what to do if they are found.
Due to their small size and extreme mobility, it can be difficult to see fleas in animal fur. As an additional and very clear sign, we can consider a situation when a dog or cat is constantly itching. In this case, you need to first wash your pet with a special shampoo, and then contact your veterinarian, who will tell you how to remove the fleas remaining in the fur, give recommendations on how to heal the bites and, if necessary, carry out the necessary tests to find out if the pet has been transmitted. or a disease.
Caution!
Pet bedding should not be treated with chemical insecticides. It is also advisable not to use products with a strong odor - aromatic oils, vinegar, herbs. After processing the beds and houses with any compounds, the animal should not have access to them until the item is considered completely cleared of the product.
If you do not have pets, but only fleas in the carpet, what to do with them you can choose from several methods of control described below.
How a flea bites
- The insect freezes on the victim's skin;
- During a flea bite, it releases an anticoagulant substance into the bloodstream;
- The suction process begins;
- After saturation, the insect grows in size.
If people arriving at a new place of residence are faced with carpet fleas, they are in for a real problem. Bloodsuckers come out from the genital crevices, instantly overwhelm things, clothes... Start bite new owners, causing discomfort.