And lately, a smattering of exterminators and veterinarian offices on the Coast and Louisiana say it seems like this summer was an exceptional season for fleas.
One reason the Coast sees fleas year ‘round, says Dr. Jennifer Hendrick, with Live Oak Animal Hospital in Pass Christian, is the lack of a hard freeze to kill the eggs.
“The eggs are powerful. They need three days of freezing to kill them off,” said Hendrick. “We have three hours at most.”
Flea eggs are resilient, she explains. They can live in the cracks of hardwood floors for a year or more, through mopping and vacuuming. They’ll live in an empty apartment.
“Body warmth and noise will wake them up,” Hendrick said. “Carbon monoxide triggers them open too — talking and breathing.”
These things signal the eggs that there is a host available.
And the bad news, Hendrick said, is that one female can lay 50 eggs a day.
“So if you see two or three fleas on your pet,” she said. “It’s never two or three fleas. You have hundreds that you’re not aware of on you dog, in your carpet and in your yard.”
When infestations get bad, some veterinarians recommend a three-fold approach until the situation is under control — applying a topical flea killer to the animal for the month, give a short-range flea killer by mouth and treat the yard and house.
Once an infestation is under control, monthly doses applied to the dog or cat’s coat will keep the pests at bay.
Hendrick said that through the years customers complain that the topical flea killers they apply to their animals stop working. She said the companies that produce them run extensive tests and tell her that’s a myth.
Still, they are coming up with newer and better products, so it’s worth checking with a vet to see what’s available. For example, one product that contains selamectin, will in one monthly dose take care of fleas, ear mites, heart worms and intestinal parasites in cats.
Veterinarians and their staff are quick to explain that the topical products must be applied correctly in order to work and that the brands containing fipronil, lufenuron, spinosad, imidacloprid and selamectin are the ones that do the best job.
Cheaper products sold at department stores appear to be less effective.
“Every summer I hear, ‘This year’s the worst,’” said Sophie Mack with Northwood Hills Animal Hospital in Gulfport. “There’s no scientific way to measure, but we have had more clients coming in saying what they’re doing doesn’t work.”
She stresses that there are many variables on how to apply topical flea control to cats and dogs – not after a bath, the right product for the animal’s skin type and the right amount for the size of the animal, applied in the right location.
Southern Pest Control deals with yards and houses and has thousands of clients along the Coast and in Mobile.
Owner Karen Gregory said she thought early June was the worst for fleas because of the dry spell. Dry means flea-killing chemicals evaporate quickly.
The office manager for Roberts Small Animal Clinic in Moss Point said it appears that now, with all the rain, the flea problem is worse.
Another thing that effects the flea population is the economy, she said.
Even though fleas lead to problems that wind up costing in the long run, “there are so many dogs that aren’t being treated for fleas,” she said. “Your neighbor’s dogs. That’s the economy.
“But fighting the flea problem is not an option,” she said. “In the long run, I don’t think you can afford not to treat.”