How to eliminate fleas in your home?

The number 1 enemy of our pets, external parasites and principally fleas live in part on the pets and the rest of the time in their immediate environment. This point is important for successful pest control.

External parasites that affect our pets, and mainly fleas, perform part of their life cycle on our pets and another part in the environment. This particular biology explains that, to be effective, the external pest control must take into account their living areas to prevent re-infestations.

Studies have shown that infestations are rarely linked to a parasitized pet but that the contamination comes from environmental reservoirs.

Continuous treatment of your pet will not prevent re-infestations that may last several months after the start of treatment if the environment is highly contaminated.

This environmental contamination is explained by the flea’s life cycle.

These parasites evolve in the coat and feed very quickly. Females lay around 50 eggs per day in 24 to 36 hours. These fall to the floor, where the animal sleeps. The eggs develop in 1.5 to 10 days depending on the temperature.

From these eggs hatch larvae that feed essentially on the faeces of adult fleas. After 3 larval stages, they form a cocoon (the pupa), from which adult fleas emerge.

The cycle duration depends on climatic conditions. The optimal conditions for the realisation of the biological cycle of a flea are a temperature between 20° and 30°C and a humidity relative of 70 to 85%.

But protected by its cocoon, the flea is capable of waiting up to 6 months for favourable development conditions and therefore of persisting in the environment.

To avoid the maintenance of these environmental contamination sources, it is necessary to treat the environment in parallel with your pet.

Specific and adapted pest control products exist for this purpose. Some animal pest control agents are effective against the immature stages of fleas and therefore show environmental effectiveness.

In parallel, mechanical measures, such as the regular passing of the vacuum cleaner, are effective.

The life cycle of a flea takes place mainly on the pet but also in his environment. In houses, this life cycle lasts around 1 month and takes place mostly ‘outside’ the dog.