Flea Control

CASE #4. One service technician was found to have an unusual number of callbacks. The service invoices for his customers were examined to check on chemical usage. Not once did the technician use more than 1 gallon of insecticide to treat a single home. The supervisor spent a day with the technician to observe his application techniques. The technician was very thorough, treating all the necessary areas. He did, however, move very quickly while treating and did not overlap his spray pattern on the carpet. The technician simply was not applying the prescribed amount of insecticide, resulting in control failures. Further training by the supervisor corrected the technician’s bad habits.

Lesson learned: Using the proper amount of insecticide is a must! Proper application techniques for flea treatments are learned through practice. Service technicians must be observed actually performing flea treatments in order to develop the proper technique. (DowElanco’s Flea Rodeo video provides instructions for presenting an excellent class to train service technicians in proper flea treatment techniques.)

CASE #5. A customer without pets employed a pest control service to eliminate her flea problem. The home was treated, but the fleas persisted. The fleas were found only in the living room in front of the fireplace, and an inspection of the hearth revealed flea larvae, pupae and adults.

Obviously an animal was living in the chimney and flea eggs were falling off it into the fireplace. The animal turned out to be a raccoon. Steps were taken to exclude the raccoon. The fireplace was vacuumed and cleaned thoroughly with soap and water, thereby solving the problem.

Lesson learned: Fleas do no always come from cats and dogs. Other animals might be present and serve as the source of the infestation. Sometimes it is necessary to have adult fleas identified by an entomologist to see if there are something other than cat fleas. Even so, cat fleas will live on wild animals such as raccoons and opossums. Don’t assume anything when dealing with hard-to-solve flea problems.

CASE #6. An apartment complex manager reported a recently vacated apartment was infested with fleas. The technician, who found the apartment to be heavily infested, treated the premises thoroughly. Several days later the manager of the complex called, reporting that his cleaning crew was being bitten by fleas as they attempted to clean the apartment. The technician returned to retreat the apartment. He did not find a single live adult flea but retreated anyway. The next day, the manager called again, stating that the cleaning crew as attacked a second time by fleas. The technician returned late that afternoon but could find no live adult fleas and decided not to retreat the premises. Two days later the complex called again reporting the same problem. The situation was then brought to the attention of the staff entomologist.

The entomologist surmised that because the apartment was vacant, very little stimuli were present to prompt adult fleas to emerge from their cocoons. Because the infestation was very heavy before treatment, this meant that a large number of fleas remained which had yet to emerge. When the cleaning people entered the apartment, their movement stimulated adult fleas to emerge within an hour or two. These adult fleas being ravenously hungry, readily attacked the workers. By the time the service technician arrived for service, the emerged adult fleas had died after exposure to the insecticide applied to the carpet. When the cleaning people returned again, new adult fleas emerged, starting the process over again. The problem was resolved by repeated vacuuming of the carpet over several days. This encouraged most of the adult fleas to emerge where they could contact the insecticide.

Lesson learned: Vacant homes and apartments can be difficult to treat because of unemerged adult fleas waiting in their cocoons. The customer must be instructed to vacuum vigorously as often as possible after the treatment to stimulate these adult fleas to emerge where they can contact the insecticide.

The customer should understand this is important because of the fleas’ life cycle.

CASE #7. A customer whose home was treated for fleas continued to see active adults on one particular couch. The customer’s dog and cat both liked to rest on the couch so the service technician retreated inside and under the couch during each of the three retreatments. The staff entomologist was called to inspect the home. A recessed overhead light fixture was noticed directly above the couch and an inspection of the area around that light fixture in the attic revealed hundreds of fleas. Squirrels had made a nest near the area which was the source of the problem. The nest appeared recently abandoned as the squirrels were nowhere to be found, with the adult fleas entering the living area below by crawling through the cracks around the overhead light fixture. Steps were taken to exclude the squirrels, remove the nest and treat the area both on top of and under the insulation.

Lesson learned: Do not always assume the fleas are at ground level. It is not uncommon for adult fleas to enter structures from an attic or crawl space. This occurs when other animals live in these areas.

CASE #8. A customer was having a continual flea problem which the service technician had not been able to solve. The fleas were seen downstairs on hardwood flooring. An inspection revealed flea larvae, pupae and adults inside the wells of two floor registers used in the heating and cooling system. Upon questioning, the customer stated her cat like to lie on the registers to keep cool. A thorough vacuuming and cleaning of the registers with soap and water solved the problem.

Lesson learned: Again, the service technician must find out where the pet(s) like to rest.

CASE #9. A customer had a flea infestation in her home, primarily on the first floor and in the basement. She kept her two dogs in the basement, allowing them to come up to the first floor when she was home. The basement was unfinished with a bare concrete floor. The technician treated the entire home, discovering the basement had not been cleaned because the customer had not been instructed to do so. The technician informed the customer that because the floor was dusty, any treatment would only provide temporary relief because the dirt would interfere with insecticide efficacy. The customer agreed to sweep and wash the floor so it could be treated the next day. The technician treated the basement, but several days later the customer called to report fleas were still present in the basement. The technician sought help with the situation. When asked, the service technician stated he had applied an emulsifiable concentrate insecticide. Because the floor to be treated was bare, unsealed concrete, the technician was instructed to apply a microencapsulated insecticide. Application of the microencapsulated insecticide solved the problem.

Lesson learned: Bare concrete is a porous surface which will absorb an emulsifiable concentrate formulation. A microencapsulated insecticide works better for flea control on bare concrete floors in basements and garages. Note: These areas should not need treatment unless fleas are present or the pet(s) spend some time in the area. Concrete floors also are not as prone to flea problems if the floor has been sealed with a floor paint or clear floor sealant.

CASE #10. A customer’s home was treated twice for fleas, but they were still being seen in one area. A subsequent inspection revealed the fleas were seen only near the closet where the vacuum cleaner was stored. The customer had vacuumed thoroughly as instructed but did not dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag outside in the trash (she had not been instructed to do so). The vacuum cleaner bag was thrown out and the flea problem disappeared.

Lesson learned: Explain to the customer all steps which are necessary to prepare for a flea service. This is where a written checklist provided to the customer can help prevent unnecessary, costly retreatments.

COOPERATION IS ESSENTIAL. Solving a customer’s flea problem is really not that difficult. An effort, however, must be made to get the customer’s full cooperation in preparing the premises for treatment, taking the time to treat all areas which require treatment and to apply the proper amount of insecticide.

 

Stoy Hedges, a Registered Professional entomologist, is a frequent contributor to PCT Magazine