Some people think that fleas are just a summer problem but you would be wrong to relax! Now is the time of year when it is particularly important to guard against the re-emergence of fleas – especially with the central heating on. It might be cold outside but your warm home makes an ideal breeding ground for fleas – the risk to your pet never goes away. Wild rabbits, foxes and hedgehogs are just a few examples of permanent reservoirs of infection the whole year round.

Few parasites are as difficult to control as fleas. They make pets' lives miserable, and humans begin to itch just at the thought of them. Adult fleas are permanent ectoparasites. In other words, once they have landed on a pet, they'll stay there until they're removed by grooming or die. That's logical. After all, if you're already sitting in the best restaurant in town, why move? Traditionally, many people have tried to tackle them with products that purely deal with the fleas they see on their pet, such as spot-ons, collars, sprays, powders and shampoos.

This approach is utterly flawed by the fact that so few fleas actually live on the pet at any one time. The triangle in the picture below shows the problem. Only the adult fleas at the top of the triangle live on the animal. But they lay huge numbers of eggs, which promptly fall off the pet. So the rest of that triangle is living all around your home!

You'd think the answer would be to treat the house with a spray. But even these methods aren't reliable, largely because fleas spend much of their lives protected from insecticides within a cocoon.

So what is the solution? Actually, it's quite simple. But first, it is absolutely essential that you have a basic understanding of the flea life cycle.

EGG STAGE             A female lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime. In one day, a single female flea can lay up to 50 eggs. The eggs are not sticky and they usually fall off of the animal into the carpet, bedding, floorboards, and soil. In two to five days, the eggs hatch. Seen with the naked eye, flea eggs look like large grains of salt. 

LARVAL STAGE       After hatching, the larvae head toward dark places around your home and feed on "flea dirt" – excrement of the partially digested blood of your pet – and other organic debris. The larvae grow, moult twice, then spin cocoons, where they grow to pupae.

PUPA STAGE                       Pupae are usually found at the base of carpet fibres, making them difficult to dislodge with vacuuming. However, vacuuming is recommended because the vibration may stimulate the hatching process (after which, flea control measures can take effect). Inside the cocoon, fleas are almost impervious to insecticides. In fact, about the only thing that will get them during this stage of their life cycle is a blowtorch! The adult flea can emerge from the cocoon after as few as 3 to 5 days, or it can stay in the cocoon for a year or more, waiting for the right time to emerge. Stimuli such as warm ambient temperatures, high humidity, even the vibrations and carbon dioxide emitted from a passing animal will cause the flea to emerge from the cocoon faster.

ADULT STAGE         Full-grown adults detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon dioxide from inside their cocoons, telling them a host is nearby. The adults leave their cocoons, hop onto a host, find a mate and begin the life cycle all over again. Fleas thrive in warm, moist environments and climates and their diet consists of blood meals courtesy of the host animal. Flea saliva contains an ingredient that softens, or "digests" the host's skin for easier penetration and feeding. The saliva of fleas is irritating and allergenic -- the cause of all the itching, scratching, and other signs seen with Flea Allergy Dermatitis. Fleas primarily live on mammals.

The total flea life cycle can be as short as two weeks or as long as two years, depending on environmental conditions.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as an effective flea repellent. Fleas are not repelled by garlic, citronella or brewers yeast. There is no clinical data to support the theory of sonic flea control devices.

Too often in the zeal to kill fleas people will use many products at once -- a shampoo, then a flea collar and a spot-on treatment after that! Shampoos work well to kill the fleas on the animal, but do not provide any lasting protection. Conventional pet-shop insecticides applied on the pet (such as collars, spot-ons and sprays) are designed to last longer but are rarely powerful enough to kill every flea, or kill them before they lay eggs. If just one survives, you could have several hundred more eggs around the house in days! Please speak to your vet about the proper use of products: when to use them, what can be used together, and so on. This is one clear instance of 'You get what you Pay for'. If your pet has any signs of parasites, skin inflammation, or is scratching/biting/licking their skin to the point of irritation,  an appointment with your vet will afford your pet fast relief and prevent the problem from becoming worse and more expensive to treat in the long run. The modern products carried by your vet are fast, effective and can be safely used to provide continuous year-round protection. Regular grooming and checking for parasites is essential to monitor effectiveness.

Flea Facts - All You Wanted to Know About Fleas and More

You know that fleas can "bug" you and your pet. But did you know fleas have quite a unique history and lifestyle too? Come along as we explore the "flea" facts about the number one pest "bugging" your pet..... brought to you by the flea's number one enemy……

·   Flea fossils date back to the Lower Cretaceous period, meaning fleas have been around for about 100 million years. At that time, their neighbours might have been a Tyrannosaurus Rex or Triceratops!

·   Fleas are usually one eighth of an inch long and copper coloured. Certain species of flea can be black or dark brown.

·   Some fleas can jump 150 times their own length. That compares to a human jumping 1,000 feet. One flea broke a record with a four-foot vertical jump.

·   Undisturbed and without a blood meal, a flea can live more than 100 days.

·   The female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood daily.

·    If you happen to see one flea, there may be more than 200 offspring or adults looming nearby in furniture, corners, cracks, carpeting or on your pet.

·   The cat flea, which infests both cats and dogs, is a tropical insect and cannot tolerate freezing temperatures for long periods of time. However, they are well adapted to indoor living.

·    While there are more than 2,000 known species and subspecies of fleas, only one flea species -- the cat flea -- accounts for the majority of all the fleas found on cats and dogs.

·    The largest recorded flea is the North American Hystrichopsylla schefferi, measuring 12mm in length - almost 1/2-inch!