[Technically Speaking] Flea management a thing of the past — not so fast!

The idea that history repeats itself seems to occur frequently in our industry. Most recently we have discussed the exponential growth in bed bug problems; our major cities being overrun with rats; and cockroaches resistant to baits. These problems shouldn’t occur because we have universities, government agencies and pesticide manufacturers that expend countless hours and money trying to anticipate and prevent such problems. Yet they do occur.

When I started out in this industry many, many years ago, fleas were one of the major pest problems, but they were relatively easy to kill with organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. As these products were phased out, insect growth regulators (IGRs) were being developed, adding a new dimension to pest management, controlling the growth and development of insects. The most recent products developed for flea control were the feed-throughs and spot-on products that killed the fleas on the animal either through feeding activity or contact.

During the past year I have noticed more pest management professionals talking about flea problems and trying to find out what’s working. My question is always slightly different — why now? This article will examine potential causes for rebounding flea problems and recommendations on their management.

The following are some of the causes of flea management failures:

INSECTICIDE RESISTANCE. This is a subject that’s not well understood; however, considering the facts that fleas have been exposed to almost every class of pesticide since the development of modern insecticides and their high reproductive potential, resistance is a distinct possibility. The continuous exposure of fleas to flea collar and spot-on insecticides such as permethrin, fipronil, cythioate, fenthion and imidacloprid increases the likelihood of resistance problems.

PET OWNER AND/OR HOMEOWNER COOPERATION. Never trust them to tell you the full story – investigate every situation thoroughly.  I can recall at least two instances that despite asking all the right questions led to unnecessary treatments and extra service calls because we weren’t given all the information needed to solve the problem.

Case #1:  A homeowner kept reporting a low incidence of fleas (verified by inspection) yet they hadn’t  had pets for years and there was no animal in the chimney or in the house ( as reported by the homeowner and verified by our inspection). Exterior inspections revealed no evident animal activity on the property. The place of employment was investigated and still no evidence of a flea problem. After several months of questioning and occasional treatments the neighbor’s cat was sighted by the technician lying at the front door of our customer’s house.  Upon further questioning the customer indicated that the cat slept on their front porch daily.  The area around the front porch was treated and the neighbor was asked to address the cat’s flea problem – bingo, no more flea problem.

Case #2:  A homeowner with a persistent flea problem indicated that bites primarily occurred in the downstairs family room.The house was treated two times and the entire backyard where the dog spent most of its time was treated during the second visit. The customer insisted that the dog was treated by the vet. I performed a follow-up inspection after a third callback and found no activity at the time of the visit. No one was ever allowed into the master bedroom. I made a fourth visit just before the holidays with the customer in a panic and insisting that the house be treated again before guests arrived. After thoroughly treating the downstairs furniture and the living room rugs and furniture I asked the child caretaker if I could inspect the bedrooms. There it was — the dog’s bed; it was so heavily coated with flea eggs and adults jumping on my pant legs that I had no trouble seeing them, even with my aging eyesight.  We treated the room and the bed (which was thrown outside). Problem solved.

TECHNICIAN FAILURE. Improper and/or inadequate treatments performed by service technicians can result in flea management failure. This begins with failure to properly inspect and verify that fleas are actually the problem. 

I was an expert witness in a lawsuit where the service technician accepted the customer’s identification of fleas and treated when in fact the problem was springtails; the case centered on a label violation and misapplication.  Furthermore, as indicated in Case #1 and Case #2, determining the source and locations of the infestations is essential if treatment is to be successful.

Treatments must be thorough and directed at the sites of infestation. I have found that the most successful treatment protocol involves a three-product approach: the use of an IGR and residual product for long-term control and an aerosol containing a quick knockdown product such as pyrethrin for immediate control of adults. A follow-up treatment typically is required two weeks after initial treatment to kill newly emerged adults.

Exterior applications must be made where the domestic animal spends most of its time.  If there is any reported wildlife, then applications should be made wherever these animals are noted spending time. Cat and dog fleas survive and thrive very well on wildlife commonly found around the home.

CONCLUSION. As history has demonstrated with bed bugs we should not consider any pest management problem a thing of the past. The common pests we deal with have successfully lived around humans and domestic animals for millions of years, they are highly adaptable, and despite our best efforts they will survive whatever we throw at them.

The author is president of Innovative Pest Management, Brookeville, Md.