FLEAS, LICE, MITE, AND TICKS

FACT ABOUT FLEAS

•  Fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, biting adult. 

•  Fleas feed on the blood of their host -- humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic animals.

•  The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.

•  A flea can live more than 100 days without a blood meal.

•  The female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood daily.

•  A flea can jump up to 8 inches high, or approximately 150 times its own height. That's like if you    could leap over tall buildings in a single bound.

•  Pets with fleas may develop anemia, tapeworms or intense bouts of itching (pruritus).

•  Some pets may develop an allergy to flea saliva, which causes severe irritation and itchiness.

•  The best way to check for fleas is with a flea comb.

•  Even though there are more than 2,000 known species and subspecies of fleas, one flea species the cat flea accounts for most of the dog and cat flea cases found in the U.S.

DISEASE CAUSE FLEA

ALSO PLAGUE DISEASE

HOW TO CONTROL

• Use botanical dust mixed with a borate powder or boric acid.
• Fill shallow bowls of water with dish detergent.
• Use a lemon solution in affected areas.
• Use cedar chips in affected areas.
• Spread salt over the surface of your carpet.
• Purchase flea traps.
• Spray floors and bedding with an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR).

LICE

Lice are parasitic insects that can be found on people's heads, and bodies, including the pubic area. Human lice survive by feeding on human blood. Lice found on each area of the body are different from each other. The three types of lice that live on humans are:

• Pediculus humanus capitis (head louse),
• Pediculus humanus corporis (body louse, clothes louse), and
• Pthirus pubis ("crab" louse, pubic louse).

Only the body louse is known to spread disease.

Lice infestations (pediculosis and pthiriasis) are spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for treatment of lice infestations.

HEAD LOUSE

Adult head lice are roughly 2–3 mm long. Head lice infest the head and neck and attach their eggs to the base of the hair shaft. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly.

Head lice infestation, or pediculosis, is spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice.

Both over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for treatment of head lice infestations.

BODY LOUSE OR CLOTHES LOUSE

Adult body lice are 2.3–3.6 mm in length. Body lice live and lay eggs on clothing and only move to the skin to feed.

Body lice are known to spread disease.

Body lice infestations (pediculosis) are spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact but are generally limited to persons who live under conditions of crowding and poor hygiene (for example, the homeless, refugees, etc.). Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice.

Improved hygiene and access to regular changes of clean clothes is the only treatment needed for body lice infestations.

CRAB LOUSE

Adult pubic lice are 1.1–1.8 mm in length. Pubic lice typically are found attached to hair in the pubic area but sometimes are found on coarse hair elsewhere on the body (for example, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, mustache, chest, armpits, etc.).

Pubic lice infestations (pthiriasis) are usually spread through sexual contact. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice.

Both over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for treatment of pubic lice infestations.

LICE CYCLE 

Steps that can be taken to help prevent and control the spread of head lice:

• Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
• Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes.
• Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfest combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water (at least 130°F) for 5–10 minutes.
• Do not lie on beds, couches, pillows, carpets, or stuffed animals that have recently been in contact with an infested person.
• Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that an infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry-cleaned OR sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
• Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay. However, spending much time and money on housecleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
• Do not use fumigant sprays or fogs; they are not necessary to control head lice and can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

MITE

Mites should be sampled about 40m into the field – not on the field edge.  Mite sampling is often carried out as the checker is walking into or out of the field after a normal crop inspection and can be combined with sampling for aphids and whitefly.

Leaves inspected are from the third, fourth or fifth main-stem node below the terminal.  This is a random selection until you have inspected 50 leaves.  If the plant has less than three leaves, sample the oldest.

Leaves are scored as infested if any stage of mites (eggs or motiles) is present on the underside of the leaf.   A hand lens may be needed to see mite eggs. 

Depending on the size of the field, 4-6 sites are needed to obtain a good estimate of mite abundance.  For further information about mite sampling refer to the IPM guidelines.

MITE LIFE CYCLE

Behavior, Diet & Habits

Beginning as eggs, these arachnids develop through larval and pupal stages prior to full maturation. They can survive on land and in water. Although most mites are not harmful to animals, some species are parasitic in nature.

Parasitic mites that attack animal hosts can cause severe skin irritation known as mange. Bird mites are similarly bothersome to poultry, while spider mites are destructive to crops. Some parasitic species are more dangerous than others, as they reside within the respiratory tracts of their hosts. Others, such as chiggers, can transfer dangerous diseases.

What can I do to prevent being bitten?

If you see brown and crusty edges on oak tree leaves, be aware that mite activity is possible. Don’t sit under oak trees or on nearby lawns.

If you are in an area where itch mite associated rashes are occurring, or nearby oak trees have brown and crusty edges:

When weather permits, keep windows shut from August through October when “mite-showers” can occur.

Remove clothing items each day and launder them. Take a warm, soapy shower after coming indoors, especially after gardening, raking leaves or performing other outdoor activities.

TICKS

1. Ticks are arachnids. Meaning, they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than insects.

2. Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva (infant), nymph (immature), and adult (mature).

3. There about 850 tick species, some of which are capable of transmitting diseases such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

4. Ticks feed on the blood of their host -- humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic mammals.

5. Ticks may appear as a small dark speck on your pet's fur.

6. Tick infestations are more common in dogs than cats.

7. Ticks are generally not born with disease agents. They acquire them during feeding and pass them along onto other animals during subsequent feedings.

8. Pets may contract multiple diseases from a single tick bite.

9. The brown dog tick and the American dog tick are the most common carriers of disease among dogs.

10. Never remove a tick with your bare hand. Instead, using tweezers, grasp the tick close to the skin and pull gently.

TICKS LIFE CYCLE

There are several diseases that can be caught from a tick bite in Britain. Three examples are

• Lyme borreliosis [bore-EL-ee-OH-sis]
• Babesiosis [bab-EE-see-OH-sis]
• Ehrlichiosis [air-LICK-ee-O

Find and Remove Ticks from Your Body

1. Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors (preferably within two hours) to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you.
2. Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas. Parents should check their children for ticks under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, between the legs, around the waist, and especially in their hair.
3. Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs.
4. Tumble clothes in a dryer on high heat for an hour to kill remaining ticks. (Some research suggests that shorter drying times may also be effective, particularly if the clothing is not wet.) 

To reduce the chances that a tick will transmit disease to you or your pets:

• Check your pets for ticks daily, especially after they spend time outdoors.
• If you find a tick on your dog, remove it right away.
• Ask your veterinarian to conduct a tick check at each exam.
• Talk to your veterinarian about tickborne diseases in your area.
• Reduce tick habitat in your yard.
• Talk with your veterinarian about using tick preventives on your pet.