Science term "bed fleas"unknown. It is rather a collective image that includes several varieties of a flea family living in residential premises. It is: doggy, feline, rat, earthen and others.
Bed fleece owes its name to man. It is unlikely that each of us will be engaged in accurately determining the type and kind of flea using a microscope, finding it in our home. They look almost all the same, their behavior and lifestyle are similar.
Therefore, in order not to overly bother his head with scientific definitions, a person classifies flea parasites according to their habitat. They live in carpets - carpets, in linen - linen, climbed into bed - bedding, fell down from cat fur - cat's.
No matter how the flea is called, the appearance of its nondescript calf in different parts of the apartment is always an unpleasant surprise for the one who discovered it. Indeed, in addition to the painful bites that cause severe skin reactions, these small insects are able to endure dangerous infectious diseases (hepatitis, tularemia, typhus, plague).
Do not forget that the fleas are very tenacious and breed with great speed. Therefore, at the first detection of an adult individual, measures should be taken immediately to destroy the parasites until they have filled the whole house.
And so let's see who is called bedding and linen fleas.
Portrait of bed flea
The bed (household) flea has very small body size. It is very difficult to examine the separate parts of the body of the insect with the naked eye, unless it can be done under a microscope. The body of the parasite is rounded, slightly compressed on the sides. The cover of the body is hard chitin, performs a protective function, crush this shell with your fingers is not easy. The length of the flea is only 2-4 mm.
The color of young individuals is black, in adults it varies from yellow to dark brown. Wings are missing. There are three pairs of paws. The rear ones are more powerful - with their help the flea pushes off, making the jump. A flea bird jumps high (about half a meter) and far (meter and a half). This method of transportation is very convenient for finding a victim, on which the bloodsucker can easily jump. The bristles, which densely cover their small body, help the fleas to hold onto any surface during the meal.
The insect is oriented in space with the help of antennae-antennas, catching all sorts of sounds and smells. The oral apparatus of a flea is piercing-sucking type and is a proboscis. Anesthetic enzyme in flea saliva is absent, which is why their bites are very painful compared to mosquitoes or bugs.
How to understand that there are fleas in your apartment and not to confuse them with other harmful insects?
- appearance of bites on your households. Unlike bedbugs, attacking humans only at night, fleas attack around the clock;
- characteristic bites. Flea parasites bite very painfully, often by the legs, while the clothes louse affects the scalp and groin;
- flea excrement on bedding. Black sand on the sheets will indicate that a flea family has settled in your house;
- adults. At the first suspicion of the appearance of parasites in the house should put a piece of white paper on the bed. Periodically appearing and immediately disappearing dark points (fleas) will confirm your guesses;
- high insect activity. Fleas are very difficult to catch and destroy, they very quickly (by jumps) move from place to place without giving up.
Next you will see a photo of bedding (linen) fleas, as well as a photo of bites:
What are the reasons why fleas infest in bed?
This is a temporary phenomenon. Usually, these malicious insects prefer fluffy carpets, animal bedding, crevices in the floor and behind baseboards. It is in these places that fleas rest after a delicious meal, lay eggs and just hide. A flea can be attracted to a bed by a long-washed laundry or a little ventilated bed with accumulated dust in all crevices, since moist heat and dirt are ideal conditions for living small bloodsuckers.
What are the dangerous bed fleas? What do their bites look like?
The symptoms of a flea bite are quite specific, they are difficult to confuse with any skin damage:
- painful red swelling with a dark puncture point in the middle;
- allergic rash reaction on bites, itching;
- multiple damage. On a sleeping person, a flea can calmly become saturated for a long time and leave a few bites closely spaced from each other (but not in the form of a walkway, such as in bedbugs).
The danger of bed fleas
In addition to severe allergic reactions (most often they are affected by children with their thin and delicate skin), fleas can cause nervous system disorders in humans. In addition, fleas are carriers of serious infectious diseases (more than 200 species, many are fatal) and worms eggs (constant contact with animals).
Methods of dealing with bed fleas
Before you bother with the problem of finding the most effective way to get rid of the brown plague, you should do a few important things:
- to wash all the bedding in boiling water (even one in which no fleas were seen) or freeze it on the street (if fleas decide to stay in your house in the winter);
- carry your pet (if the apartment has a pet) to the vet. The specialist will advise you on anti-flea drugs (powder, shampoos, drops) effective in eliminating parasites and least harmful to the pet's health;
- general cleaning (in the water for washing it is desirable to add a solution of household soap), clean and scrape all corners, knock out carpets (it is even better to carry them to dry cleaning), process soft furniture and toys by special means;
- close all air vents fine mesh.
Once you have successfully completed all of the above activities, you can proceed to the main stage of the destruction of the army flea. The fight must be comprehensive. It is advisable to use both grandmother's methods and modern chemical insecticides at the same time:
- insecticidal drugs: "Cucaracha", "Tsiper", "Delta Zone", "Cyfox", other.
These funds are diluted with water in a spray bottle, they spray all surfaces where insects can be found (soft furniture, floors, plinths, toys, animal bedding).
Work carried out in protective gloves and a mask. After disinsection it is undesirable to enter the premises within a few hours. After a certain time it is good to air all the rooms and do a wet cleaning.
- flea aerosols: "Combat", "Raid".
Suitable for processing specific items (bed, sofa). These tools are low-toxic, with a pleasant smell and harmless to humans.
- "grannies"methods.
After insecticidal treatment, it is necessary to spread out the bouquets of dry grass (sagebrush, lavender, tansy). Essential oils contained in these plants scare away uninvited guests and discourage them from any kind of settlement hunt. It is good to help forever reject bloodsucking bags filled with pine sawdust (this fragrance is also not to the liking of fleas).
There is another easiest way to defeat a flea plague quickly and without any problems. One has only to contact a professional disinfestation service. After that, the chance of survival among insects will definitely not remain.
In conclusion, we offer you a video on how to deal with fleas in the apartment:
