WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CONTROL CAT FLEAS?
Cat fleas spend most of their lifetime off your cat. They go through a lifecycle that includes egg and cocoon stages. While adult cat fleas are relatively easy to kill using both chemical and organic insecticides, the egg and cocoon stages are very resistant. The adult flea must dine on your cat's blood to survive. Successful flea control must be directed at both the pet and the environment. In order to get rid of cat fleas, always coordinate treatments to break the lifecycle of the cat fleas and to treat the environment and the cat at the same time.
Within two days of laying the eggs, larvae hatch from the eggs. Larvae lack eyes and legs and are covered with some hairs. They possess a dark gut that is visible through their translucent exoskeleton. Larvae feed on almost any organic debris, but their main dietary component is dried adult cat flea fecal matter. The larvae prefer to develop in areas protected from rainfall, irrigation, sunlight, and where the relative humidity is at least 75 percent and the temperature is 70 to 90° F.
Cat fleas can jump as much as thirty inches. When trying get rid of fleas, their environment must be considered as well. Keeping the fleas contained so that they cannot jump and flee is paramount in the control and treatment of cat fleas. Some special double sided sticky tape can be purchased to trap fleas near the cat's sleeping area. Often when you use a treatment of some sort, the fleas will leave the cat and migrate to another cat. The double sided sticky tape captures them so that you may kill the fleas.
Cat flea eggs are laid at the rate of about one egg per hour and are about a sixteenth of an inch in size. Due to their dry, smooth surface, the eggs easily fall out of the animal’s hair. Though otherwise visible, the white eggs are nearly impossible to see against surfaces such as carpet, bedding, and grass. This is where the eggs remain until the larvae emerge.
Before becoming adults, the larvae spin silk cocoons in which they will develop as pupae. Because of the sticky outer surface of the cocoons, dirt and debris are attracted to them and provide camouflage. The pupae remain in the cocoons until they have fully developed into adults. Adult cat fleas are reddish-brown to black in color, and are wingless. They possess powerful hind legs which allow for running and jumping through hair and fur. Adult cat fleas require fresh blood to produce eggs. This is the only stage in the cat flea lifecycle when the fleas actually live on the cat.
