Small jumping insects in the apartment, especially if you meet them even during daylight hours, and biting humans and pets are fleas. None of the blood-sucking parasites that penetrate human housing is able to jump anymore. Conversely, other jumping insects do not bite humans.
In nature, there are about 1000 different types of fleas. Most of them parasitize certain types of animals, but if necessary, they easily change their host (for example, a cat flea can easily parasitize dogs, and a dog flea can easily parasitize cats). Cat, dog and rat fleas are so illegible in the choice of their prey that they "very willingly" bite a person.
Flea bites are quite painful and can cause serious allergic reactions. In addition, constantly changing host, this jumping blood-sucking insect can carry pathogens that are deadly to humans and animals.
On a note
Fleas are on the animal's body only during feeding, while the rest of their lives are spent in warm secluded places. In homes, such places are animal bedding, corners and cracks in the floor, where dust and hair accumulate, forming an ideal environment for the development of their eggs and larvae.
Appearance and structure of fleas
Small jumping bloodsuckers have a fairly characteristic appearance, and even despite their small size, they are easily distinguished from other insects. They have a narrow, laterally flattened body 2-5 mm long. Its color is brown, almost black, the surface of the chitinous shell is smooth and shiny. Under a microscope on the body of a flea, you can see individual spines and hairs:
The legs of the last, posterior pair are greatly enlarged and have powerful muscles. Thanks to them, these small insects are able to jump far, as a result of which they easily move between shelters in an apartment, and in case of danger they jump so quickly that the jump itself is not noticed by the human eye.
It is interesting
Fleas are the champions of the world of insects in jumping ability. An average individual with a body length of 3 mm can jump a distance of 30 cm, that is, 100 times its length. If people had such abilities, it would be normal for a person to jump 160 meters in length.
The eyes of fleas are simple, almost non-functional. Fleas receive basic information about the environment using small antennas and a special sensory organ that can detect air vibrations.
Generally speaking, fleas are winged insects, and their lack of wings is an adaptation to a parasitic lifestyle. Without wings, it is easier for them to move in wool and elude the teeth of their victims.
Who and how do fleas suck blood
Fleas are able to feed on a wide variety of hosts, from birds and bats to humans and cattle. Unlike other blood-sucking parasites, fleas do not have a strict specialization and easily pass from one host to another.
Moreover, a flea that bit a person today could feed on a rat or dog a few days ago. And on her body, in her mouth apparatus or intestines, there may be viruses and bacteria that she collects from all her food sources.
The oral apparatus of fleas is of a piercing-sucking type, it is equipped with special bristles, with which the insect easily pierces the skin. However, due to the relatively small size of the jaws, the flea is forced to literally plunge its head into the skin in order to reach the blood vessel:
Fleas feed mainly during the day, so in an apartment they can be easily seen jumping during daylight hours. When attacked, the insect usually makes several bites at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. Usually their traces line up in a chain, which is why flea bites can sometimes be confused with bedbug bites.
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What are dangerous jumping bloodsuckers
During the bite, a small jumping bloodsucker pierces the skin, simultaneously injecting secretions of the salivary glands under the skin, which causes irritation and itching on the victim's body. In some cases, irritation can reach the size of an allergic reaction and is called pulicosis. In this case, the mucous membranes (the appearance of ulcers and abscesses), the lymphatic (swelling of the lymph nodes) and even the nervous system are involved in the affected area.
However, the biggest danger lies in the ability of fleas to carry pathogens of various diseases. Plague, encephalitis, tularemia, erysipeloid, pseudotuberculosis, brucellosis, melioidosis, pasteurellosis, anthrax, typhus - this is only a short list of diseases that a jumping blood-sucking insect can reward a person with.
Means for removing fleas
Means for the destruction of fleas are divided into two types. The former are intended for the treatment of animals and usually contain low concentrations of insecticides. With the help of the latter, premises are processed for the complete destruction of fleas, and most of these preparations contain insecticides in sufficiently high concentrations, therefore, they are not suitable for baiting fleas on pets.
Preparations for the treatment of animals are produced mainly in the following forms:
- drops at the withers - the most famous of them are Stronghold, Hartz, Bars, Frontline
- flea sprays - Hartz, Blochnet, Advantix, Bayer
- anti-flea collars - Kiltix, Bars, Bolfo, Hartz
- flea shampoos - Lugovoi, Phytoelita, Rolf Club.
To get rid of fleas in animals with normal hair, sprays or drops on the withers are usually used. Shampoos are well suited for pets with very sensitive skin and long hair. Collars are used more often not to kill insects on an already infected pet, but to protect the animal from their attack (parasites can easily jump on a cat or dog that is not protected by a collar, for example, on the street).
The composition of means for processing rooms mainly includes organophosphorus insecticides and pyrethroids. When used correctly, they cause the death of all insects in the room, but if handled carelessly, they can cause allergies and poisoning in humans and pets.
The most effective and affordable of these tools are Get, Lambda Zone, Delta Zone, Executioner, Cucaracha, Chlorpirimak, Forsyth, Tetrix, Karbofos, etc.
Review
“In the summer at the dacha, the child bit everything. I arrived, I look, my arms and legs are all swollen. Yes, and I was bitten, especially when I slept during the day. The sister immediately identified the fleas, as they jump. Urgently rushed to handle the cats. Washed, collars put on - nothing. Fleas no less, even more began to jump around the house. I had to process the whole house with Karbofos. They opened the basement, and there is generally horror. In general, we got tired, but at least the last month of the summer had a normal rest.
Elena Anatolyevna, Cheboksary
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What to do if parasites jump in the apartment
If jumping blood-sucking insects are found in the apartment, the following sequence of actions should be followed:
- first establish the source of infection;
- then carry out the processing of animals;
- then process the entire room.
There are usually two main sources of infection: fleas are either brought from the street by pets or family members (on clothes), or fleas themselves enter the apartment from basements and attics, where they initially parasitize rats or, less often, birds.
Treatment of pets must be carried out in accordance with their age and state of health. For cubs, as well as animals weakened by the disease, specialized preparations of mild, slightly toxic action should be used.
Wherein:
- Shampoo gets rid of existing fleas, but does not protect against the appearance of new ones, so after bathing, you should use a flea collar.
- The use of sprays involves a 2-3 hour exposure after treatment, then the animal must be thoroughly washed. The residual effect of the spray eliminates the need for collars.
- Drops are applied pointwise, at the withers, less often along the spine. They may not be washed off for several days and continue to act for a long time.
After processing the animal, the main thing is to ensure its protection from fleas that are in the room. Otherwise, some of the jumping parasites will still be on the wool, and after the extermination of insects in the apartment, some of them can survive on the animal.
Dog and cat litter is subject to mandatory processing and ventilation: a large number of adults and flea eggs are concentrated in them. You can even meet developing larvae - legless worm-like, translucent creatures of yellowish-brown color up to 4 mm in length:
The flea settlement area covers the floor and walls at the waist level. Beds, wall and floor carpets, soft toys fall into the risk zone. Insects feel at ease in warm and damp crevices, under the floor, behind the baseboard - in those places where dust accumulates the most. Under these conditions, the eggs develop rapidly, and the parasites successfully pass through all stages of development.
The very same treatment of the apartment from jumping insects occurs in the following sequence
- All inhabitants, including pets, are removed from the house.
- Soft items should be thoroughly vacuumed to remove dust before processing.
- The surface of the floor also needs to be vacuumed and wet cleaned.
- According to the instructions, spray the drug itself.
- Leave the room in this state for several hours to consolidate the result.
- Before returning people and animals to the house, the apartment should be thoroughly ventilated, if necessary, wash the treated surfaces.
If there are a lot of fleas in the apartment, one treatment may not be enough. In this case, after 2 weeks, the treatment must be repeated.
Basement fleas: danger and specifics of the fight
The so-called basement fleas, which often penetrate apartments on the first floors, are the most dangerous. Often they parasitize on rats and can carry pathogens of serious human diseases.
On a note
It was rat fleas that caused the deadly epidemics of bubonic plague in medieval Europe. Because of them, according to various estimates, up to 60 million people died in a few years.
If fleas come to the apartment from the basement, then even high-quality processing of the living quarters will only give a temporary effect. You need to remove parasites first of all where they are most - in the basement. Processing the basement on your own, especially in an apartment building, can be quite difficult, and it is more rational to call in special pest control services to destroy parasites.
And finally: the most reliable protection against fleas is prevention. The main preventive measure is to protect pets from fleas on the street. Pets should not be allowed near stray dogs and cats, after a walk in the field they should be carefully combed out, and in the summer they should be put on collars.
To protect the premises from fleas penetrating here on their own, it is necessary to regularly carry out wet cleaning with the addition of wormwood decoction to the water, and hang insect repellent sections near windows and entrance doors.This will greatly reduce the risk of flea infestation.
An example of an invasion of fleas in apartments of a multi-storey building
Useful video: 5 main mistakes made when treating a pet for fleas
And here it is clearly shown how fleas get into the apartment and how they breed in it
