Fleas

Fleas are ectoparasites and females require a blood meal to produce eggs.  After feeding on a host, females can produce about 30-50 eggs per day that fall off the animal and into carpeting or other areas of the home or outside in areas where the animal frequents.  Larvae feed on organic matter as well as partially digested blood excreted by the adult fleas (yes, I mean poop).  After fleas pupate, they usually hatch out of the cocoon in about 2 weeks, but they can remain dormant for up to 5 months waiting for a host.



Flea breeding habitat...debris in a windowsill.

A proper flea management program has two parts- managing fleas on any pets and managing fleas in the environment.  A veterinarian may be consulted about flea control for pets; there are numerous products on the market that work well.  Grooming the animal with a flea comb or bathing the pet can help reduce flea numbers.  When you find fleas on a pet, you most likely will need to treat the pet, inside the home and the yard.  Treatment should be targeted to areas where the pet likes to hang out.

Fleas in and around homes that do not have pets may be coming from wildlife.  The attic and crawl spaces should be inspected to see if wildlife has moved into the area, bringing fleas with them.  Wildlife should be removed with traps and the area treated with an insecticide labeled for fleas.  After wildlife is removed, the area should be sealed so that wildlife cannot move in again.

It is also possible for new homeowners with no pets to have fleas.  This usually results from previous owners having pets.  Fleas can remain dormant for several months, but become active again when they sense vibrations of new hosts.

Inside, vacuum regularly, getting under furniture and along baseboards to reduce flea eggs, larvae and pupae.  Make sure to dispose of the vacuum bag in sealed bag in an outdoor garbage can at least once a week so the fleas do not hatch out and reinfest the home.  Wash pet bedding in hot water.  Bathe pets regularly and use a flea comb to remove fleas.  Avoid walking pets in known flea infested areas.

Outside, target pesticide treatments to areas where pets frequent.  Full sun areas do not need to be treated as fleas will not remain in those areas.

When treating for fleas, you  need to treat at least two times.  The second treatment should occur 10-14 days after the initial treatment.

Kissing bugs and Chagas disease

Triatomine bugs, also known as kissing bugs, reduviid bugs and cone-nose bugs, are almost an inch long with elongated cone-shaped heads.  The body is grayish-brown with a wide abdomen that has flattened sides.  The flattened sides of the abdomen stick out beyond the wing margins and are marked with red, orange or yellow stripes.  Nymphs (immatures) look similar to adults, but lack fully developed wings.

There are other insects in Texas that look similar and can be mistaken for kissing bugs.  Many of these insects do NOT bite and do NOT transmit disease organisms.  You can find some common insects that are mistaken for kissing bugs here.

Adults are capable of flying and are attracted to lights at night.  The insects can be drawn towards the house by leaving outside lights on at night.  Once inside, they will find a host and feed at night.  After engorging themselves, they move away from the host to hide in cracks and crevices during the day.  Outside, the bugs can be found in animal bedding or nests such as doghouses, chicken coops or rodent nests.

Some Triatomine bugs carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi which can cause Chagas disease in humans, dogs and other small mammals.  T. cruzi, a protozoan, is transmitted via the insect’s feces when it is scratched into a wound or rubbed into a mucous membrane.  Immediate (acute) symptoms of Chagas may be swelling of the face (especially the area around the eye), swelling of other areas of the body, moderate to high fever, but sometimes acute symptoms never occur.  Treatment is available during the acute phase, so see a physician as soon as possible if you suspect Chagas.

To reduce the chance of Triatomine bugs entering the home, work on excluding them.  Some of the following may help to seal the home to keep the bugs outside.

• Prune trees and shrubs so they do not touch or overhang the house
• Do not stack firewood or other items against the house
• Install weather stripping around loose fitting doors and windows- if you can see daylight around a door during the day, then the weather stripping should be replaced
• Block weep holes in brick or stone façade homes with copper mesh
• Use stainless steel mesh wire to block access points in the attic (i.e. vents)
• Keep window screens in good repair
• Turn off outside lights at night.  If that is not possible, use “bug bulbs” that have a wavelength less attractive to insects

You can find more detailed information on kissing bugs, Chagas, and where to submit samples on this TAMU website.

Also, media outlets in Dallas recently ran a story on Kissing bugs and Chagas.  You can find footage of that here.