Fleas

Small blood-sucking insects that parasitize mammals, birds and humans. By feeding on the blood of various animals (cats, dogs, etc.), fleas can receive from them pathogens of a number of dangerous diseases (plague, rat typhus, etc.) and then transmit them to humans. Flea saliva is irritating.

The body structure of fleas is well adapted for active movement in the fur or feathers of the host - it is flattened on the sides, the hind pair of legs is especially strongly developed and is used for jumping. Body color ranges from pale yellow to dark brown.

Some types of fleas parasitize only a certain type of animal, others can feed on the blood of different types of animals and easily spread to animals that come into contact with their owner. Some types of fleas are capable of lying in wait for their prey.

Over 1000 species of fleas are known.

The species of fleas that live in human homes and attack them are of greatest epidemiological importance. This is a human flea, a cat flea, a dog flea, a rat flea (Fig.). Indoors, fleas live and breed in dry dust and debris, floor cracks, on animal bedding, etc. In these places, females lay eggs, from which adults develop.

The lifespan of fleas reaches 1000 days in some species; the total number of eggs laid, for example, by a dog flea, reaches 450 pieces.

The fight against fleas should be reduced to creating conditions that prevent the reproduction of these insects and destroying them in places where they accumulate and on animals. To do this, the premises must be kept clean and inaccessible to rodents.

To kill fleas on pets, the latter should be periodically washed with zoo shampoo, SL-7 soap or pyrethrum (1-2 g per 1 kg of animal weight). Fleas are destroyed with pyrethrum powder (at the rate of 5-25 g per 1 m2 of area), various types of DDT preparations, as well as chlorophos, karbofos and other insecticides (see Disinsection). To repel fleas in rooms, wormwood is laid out in the corners; You can use a wormwood broom to sweep the floor.

Individual protection against fleas involves the use of repellents.