Fleas and Flea Management - Urban Insect Pests: Sustainable Management Strategies - page 94

Treatment of the host's habitat

fl oorboards and wall-fl oor junctions.
Residents and pets should not be allowed
back into treated areas until the spray has
dried, typically 1-3 h after treatment. In
warmer countries, where fl eas may also be
living in outdoor areas such as gardens,
terraces, dog runs or crawlspaces (Kern et
al. , 1999), only products approved for use
in these areas should be applied.
A wide range of residual insecticides is
used for control of both larval and adult
fl eas within the home. The principal ones
are the organophosphates, carbamates and
synthetic pyrethroids, although the organo-
phosphates have been withdrawn from this
use now in some countries. These neuro-
toxic insecticide classes are reasonably fast,
acting on both adults and larvae, provided a
good contact is achieved (Rust and Reierson,
1988) but have limited effi cacy on pre-
emerged adults within the cocoon (Rust and
Reierson, 1989). To improve activity, particu-
larly against the immature stages, IGRs such
as methoprene, pyriproxyfen or fenoxycarb
are sometimes included in the products at
manufacture, or added as a tank mix if
approved. These do not have an immediate
lethal effect but disrupt the moulting and
maturation of the larvae or cause the pupa
to die within the cocoon, effectively pre-
venting the emergence of viable adults
(Chamberlain et al. , 1988).

In addition to treating the pet itself, it is
important to eliminate the reservoir of fl eas
that are living and maturing in the house
and yard. Non-chemical approaches to fl ea
control within the home have been reviewed
by Hinkle et al. (1997) but none seems to be
suffi ciently effective when used in isolation.
None the less, before any insecticide
treatment is carried out a thorough cleaning
of all indoor fl oor surfaces by sweeping,
mopping and/or vacuuming is essential.
Particular attention should be paid to areas
frequented by the pets, especially the
sleeping and resting areas, because these
areas will contain many immature stages of
the fl ea (Robinson, 1995). This physical
cleaning removes a signifi cant proportion of
adult and immature fl ea stages (Hink and
Needham, 2007). Sweepings and vacuum
cleaner bag contents should be tightly
bagged and disposed of properly so as not to
start a new infestation. In addition, pet beds
should be thoroughly cleaned, and pet
bedding laundered in a high temperature
wash, to ensure that all fl ea stages are killed
(MacDonald, 1995).
Insecticide space treatment products,
such as pyrotechnic smoke generators, total
release aerosols or ultra low volume (ULV)
sprayers, are sometimes used for fl ea
control. They are useful when treating voids
such as roof spaces or service ducts, where
access is very limited and where residual
treatments may be diffi cult to apply. Within
the living areas of buildings, however,
residual treatments targeted at the preferred
habitats of the immature fl eas are in general
more likely to be effective.
Residual insecticides are typically
applied with a compression sprayer fi tted
with a fl at fan nozzle (Byron and Robinson,
1987), and used following label directions.
The pet's preferred resting areas, as
identifi ed by the householder during a
survey, should be thoroughly treated
(Robinson, 1995) Additionally, the spray
should be applied to all areas of fl ooring
within the home, particularly to areas that
provide a suitable micro-habitat for the
larvae, such as carpeting, cracks between

Sand fl ea control

The female sand fl ea ( T. penetrans ) becomes
permanently embedded within the skin of
its host and can cause debilitating secondary
infection. There have been attempts to
reduce infection rates through widespread
insecticide use (Pilger et al. , 2008) but these
have not been very successful. Reduction in
infection rates seems to be better achieved
through wearing shoes and the use of insect
repellents (Pampiglione et al. , 2009).

Control of fl eas during plague outbreaks

This is a specialized form of fl ea control,
which is organized and conducted very