Flea Control in Odessa, TX

Why Fleas Keep Coming Back

Most people see the adult flea and think that is the whole problem. It is only a small part. AgriLife explains the cycle like this:

• Eggs. Fleas lay eggs while they are on your pet. The eggs fall off into carpet, pet beds, furniture and the floor.
• Larvae. After a few days, the eggs hatch into tiny, legless larvae. They feed on dried blood that falls from the pet as flea droppings.
• Pupae. Larvae spin a cocoon. AgriLife says this stage usually lasts 7 to 14 days but can last much longer. The pupa is well protected and very hard to kill with sprays.
• Adults. New adults jump onto the next warm body that walks by, which is often your ankle.

That pupa stage is why you can treat once, feel relief, and then see fleas again two weeks later. The cocoons were waiting.

How Your Technician Treats Fleas

1. Inspect

   Your technician will ask where your pets sleep and spend time, then check carpet, furniture, pet beds and the shady parts of the yard. Flea dirt, which looks like black pepper, shows where fleas breed.

2. Get the house ready

   Before the visit, you will vacuum every floor, under furniture and along walls. You will wash pet bedding in hot water. AgriLife says a good vacuum can pull out 30 to 60 percent of flea eggs and 15 to 30 percent of larvae from carpet. Vacuuming also lifts carpet fibers so treatment reaches deeper.

3. Treat the house

   Your technician will apply a flea treatment for house use that includes an insect growth regulator, or IGR. AgriLife calls IGRs among the safest flea products. They stop eggs and larvae from growing into biting adults. The treatment goes on carpet, under furniture and along baseboards.

4. Treat the yard

   Your technician will treat shady outdoor areas where pets rest and fleas breed. Open, sunny lawn usually needs little or no treatment.

5. Follow up

   Pupae that were safe in their cocoons will hatch over the next few weeks. Your technician will schedule a follow up visit to catch them. Keep vacuuming daily during this time, since the vibration helps coax new adults out of the cocoon and into contact with the treatment.

Ticks

Ticks show up in Odessa yards too, mostly on dogs. Some ticks can live and breed indoors, in kennels, cracks around baseboards and under furniture. Others hang on tall grass and brush along the edge of a property and wait for a passing animal.

Your technician will check dog runs, kennels, fence lines and brushy areas. Treatment goes into cracks and crevices indoors and onto the grass and brush where ticks wait. Keep grass mowed and brush cleared to give them fewer places to hide.

Check pets and kids after time in tall grass or brush. Remove an attached tick with fine tweezers by pulling straight out. Ticks can spread disease to people and pets, so call your doctor or vet if a fever or rash follows a bite.

Safe Around Pets and Kids

Every product your technician uses follows its EPA label. Plan to keep people and pets out of treated rooms until the carpet is dry. Fish tanks should be covered and pumps turned off. Birds and other small pets should leave the house during treatment. Ask your technician for the exact wait time for your treatment.