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The 411 on Fleas!
Fleas are insects which feed on animals, can bite humans and are capable of jumping from 14 to 16 inches. Female fleas begin laying eggs within 48 hours of their first meal and can lay as many as 200 eggs in a matter of days. Fleas typically prefer temperatures of 65 to 85 degrees and humidity levels of 75-85 percent. Therefore, those of us in Southwest Missouri are quite familiar with these biting little creatures.

The life cycle of a flea can range anywhere from several weeks to several months. The flea's cycle starts as eggs, which fall off the animal and into bedding, carpet, floor cracks and yards. The larvae can survive for quite a while until optimal conditions are reached to mature. The then mature adult flea can jump from host to host until the life cycle is complete.

Fleas, when attached to an animal, will bite the animal causing them to scratch and in severe cases can cause loss of hair, anemia and even death. Another problem caused by fleas is they can often carry tapeworms which travel into the animal's digestive system and can cause weight loss and extensive damage to the animal.

There are many different types of flea control products on the market today. TAME asked a local vet a question about flea products. We have also provided a chart comparing different flea medications.

We asked a local vet -
"What has your experience been with flea products and client satisfaction?"

"Overall, I would have to say that client satisfaction with current flea preventative products is quite good. With that being said, there are occasional complaints, or what would be on the surface, product failures. Usually though, after thoroughly investigating the client's usage of the product, number of pets they have, questioning the environment they are using the product in and other factors, one can usually detect gaps in flea prevention somewhere.

When we get concerns from owners we usually try to cover some of the gaps where product usage may not be correct or complete. Or, we might try using a different product. There is some thought that, as fleas eventually begin to gain resistance to one product, we switch to a different product that the flea has not built a resistance to yet."

Douglas Hardy DVM
James River Animal Hospital