- What do eggs and larvae of parasites look like?
- Flea development
- Do fleas fly or not, do they have wings?
- Methods for killing parasites
- Traditional methods of getting rid of fleas
In the process of fighting fleas in the house, it is important to destroy not only adult insects, but also their larvae. If this is not done, the parasites will soon restore their numbers and continue to annoy people and pets. Flea larvae do not die when premises are treated with insecticidal aerosols. To destroy them, other methods and drugs are used.
What do eggs and larvae of parasites look like?
The flea lays many eggs, but does not do so in a specific place. She forcefully throws the eggs out of her abdomen, and they scatter in all directions. If a female lays a clutch on a dog or cat, the eggs roll off their fur. Therefore, flea larvae are found in animal litter and habitats.
Insect eggs are small, less than 1 mm in size, and difficult to see with the naked eye. They become noticeable if several pieces accumulate in one place. They are oval in shape, smooth, and white.
After 1-2 weeks, the eggs hatch into larvae - pale translucent worms up to 5 mm long, which have no legs. They are similar to maggot flies, but much more mobile. The larval body has 13 segments and is covered with hairs.
Inside it you can see the esophagus, where the food eaten is digested. Parasites lack eyes, but are highly sensitive to light, so they hide in the dark.
Flea larvae of different types look the same, they cannot be distinguished without special equipment. Their distinctive feature is a head with powerful jaws capable of surviving tough food.
Unlike adult insects, the larva does not feed on blood. Its food consists of organic debris, rotting plants and the excrement of adult fleas, which contain undigested blood.
After hatching from the egg, the larva hides in a secluded place where food is available. In apartments, their colonies are found in bedding or cages of pets, near trash cans.
On the street they are found near garbage heaps or under rotting straw. If there are a lot of fleas in the apartment, then the larvae are found in the most unexpected places. Some specimens were even found in flower vases.
Appearance
You should immediately understand that fleas are insects that are parasites on the skin and hair of animals living near you. They are used to sucking the blood of rabbits, cats, dogs, chickens, parrots, hamsters and rats.
However, the worst thing is that these small creatures are capable of causing harm directly to humans . Using a special piercing-sucking apparatus, the flea pierces an inconspicuous hole on the surface of the skin of its owner and is saturated with his blood.
The signs by which you can recognize an insect are a smooth body, which has a narrow texture and is somewhat flattened on the sides . It is also worth paying attention to the bristles and small spines that are located throughout the body and serve to ensure that the flea is able to move and stay on the fur of its victim.
The insect's head and chest are covered with so-called serrated combs or ctendia . As for the size of an adult, it ranges from 1 to 5 millimeters. And females that have had enough time sometimes reach 10 millimeters in length.
The flea's head is equipped with special antennas, which, when not needed, hide in antennae pits, and when the insects go hunting, they reappear in order to detect the most vulnerable spot.
How many legs does a flea have? The flea makes its jumps with the help of three pairs of fairly strong paws , which are located on the belly. The sensory organ, which is located on the back of the body, is designed to instantly capture air vibrations in the environment.
Today there are about 1000 species of these insects. Another interesting fact is that representatives of this family often lack vision or have the simplest manifestations of it .
Read more about such types as: human, earthen, bed, herbal.
Studying the life activity of fleas and the characteristics of their body is possible only with the help of a microscope. The largest collection of specimens is in the British Museum. It was collected in Tring by scientists N. Rothschild and K. Jordan.
Flea development
At the larval stage, the flea goes through three moults, after which it envelops itself in a cocoon and turns into a pupa. She can stay in this state for a long time. In warm conditions, if there is food nearby, the insect emerges from the pupa after a week, but under unfavorable conditions this occurs after several months.
Larvae, unlike adult insects, do not bite warm-blooded animals, so they cannot be detected in animal fur. Those of them that hatched from eggs accidentally stuck in the wool die from lack of food.
Sometimes dog owners ask how long the larvae will live if the animal is removed from the house. They hope that the insects will die of starvation. But since the parasites do not need blood, they are able to stay alive for a long time and wait for the dog to return.
Lifestyle
Adults differ from many other insects in having a fairly active lifestyle , which is marked by periodic settlements on the body of the prey in order to receive nutrition for further life activity.
What do fleas eat? These parasites drink blood. It is worth noting that when they are full, they most often leave the object and look for a new owner, which makes these insects potential carriers of various diseases .
for fleas to get enough food once a day , but if this process is interrupted for some reason, then they are forced to look for another source of nutrition.
How long can fleas live without food? If it is not possible to find a source of food, then a flea can survive without food for a week, or even a month . As for the host, these parasites are quite unpretentious .
Individuals that live on cats can consume the blood of a dog or human without much embarrassment. However, it is fair to note that fleas that live on chiropterans will never jump onto mammals .
Read more about the dangers of fleas for pets and people here.
Do fleas fly or not, do they have wings?
Many people who have seen how quickly and far fleas move in space have a logical question: can these insects fly.
The structural features of the insect are such that it does not have wings. But the long hind legs and the dense shield on the front of the body made of protein matter deserve special attention.
The locomotor system of the parasite is designed like a tiny catapult: when the legs are bent, the shield is pulled back, and when unbent, the flea seems to shoot into the air. The remaining two pairs of legs help the parasite when jumping and landing. In a calm state, the insect collects its limbs in the shape of an accordion so as not to interfere with feeding.
Even the very shape of the bloodsucker’s body – flattened on the sides – gives the parasite ergonomics and additional advantages when moving.
The body length of the blood-sucking insect is no more than 2–3 mm, but the flea jumps over distances up to 100 times greater. In one jump, the pest covers 20 cm in length and up to 35 cm in height.
Thus, fleas do not fly, but they jump high and far, which is why it often seems to a person that the insect moves exclusively in flight.
Methods for killing parasites
Although the larvae do not pose a danger to people and animals, they are exterminated, as they later turn into aggressive insects.
Not all drugs that are used to kill adult insects can rid an apartment of their offspring. Aerosols quickly cease to be effective after application and are therefore of little use for combating larvae.
To exterminate them, they use species equipped with attachments to penetrate hard-to-reach places. Strong-smelling plants such as wormwood repel adult fleas but have no effect on larvae.
Insecticidal flea dusts work flawlessly. They mix with the food that the parasites eat and enter the body, causing them to die. But with their help it is difficult to exterminate the larvae that have bred under the floor. Microencapsulated preparations Get, concentrated preparations Tetrix, Karbofos, Cucaracha are also suitable for killing parasites.
Are they dangerous for humans?
Fleas and their larvae can be carriers of various serious diseases that pose a threat to human life:
- Bubonic plague;
- encephalitis;
- anthrax;
- trypanosomiasis;
- tularemia;
- typhus and relapsing fever, etc.
The likelihood of a threat may not be the norm, but a certain percentage remains. This is the most terrible threat to human health and life.
In addition, if you eat food without washing the eggs with your bare hands, you can become infected with various types of worms.
Traditional methods of getting rid of fleas
Chemical treatment is used if the parasites have proliferated greatly. Usually, to get rid of larvae, it is enough to regularly shake out and wash pet bedding, treat carpets and upholstered furniture with a soda solution (1 tablespoon dissolved in a liter of water). Soda does not kill the larvae, but it weakens them, and they are easy to shake off and sweep with a broom.
The larvae are sensitive to temperature: they die when it drops below -15 ºC or rises above +45 ºC. To get rid of parasites, the infected carpet or bedding is taken out into the cold. Direct sunlight on a hot day and washing in hot water also work.
Kerosene, vinegar, and turpentine have a negative effect on larvae. To get rid of fleas at all stages of development, use a steam generator. Such equipment is available from organizations that professionally remove parasites.
Flea larvae do not attack people or animals, but they produce dangerous and aggressive parasites. To prevent the larvae from breeding, you should keep your home clean and regularly clean the bedding of cats and dogs.
What pathogens are transmitted?
In addition to the fact that the bites of all representatives of this order are painful, they also pose a more serious danger. Despite their small size, these pests transmit a lot of different diseases. Here are just some of the pathogens that fleas carry:
- Thousands of bacteria, including the causative agents of salmonella and tularemia.
- Several types of viruses, including those that cause infections such as hepatitis B and C, as well as encephalitis.
- Eggs of dangerous helminths.
- The causative agent of the plague that wiped out a third of Europe in the Middle Ages. And today the plague periodically resurfaces in some regions of the world.
- The causative agent of typhoid fever, which at the beginning of the century was a very common disease.
A massive attack of puppies, kittens or children by blood-sucking reptiles is dangerous because it can lead to the development of anemia.
Neighborhood with fleas is extremely undesirable, as they transmit deadly diseases. If they are detected in the house, on animals or people, it is necessary to take action as quickly as possible.
