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I caught up with Dovid Davis, Director of A #1 Pest Control, yesterday. Dovid is a hard man to reach. But yesterday, his home town Baltimore was having a record snow. The snow was up to his porch and all he could do was stay inside and watch football games and eat up the food he had managed to stock up before the blizzard hit. But the phone lines were working great. And although it's still the dead of winter, Dovid thought it not a moment too soon to issue a stern warning about pests that will be coming out when the weather warms up. And specifically, he wants to draw people's attention to fleas.

Flea infestations increase in the spring because they begin to breed in earnest when the weather warms up, Fleas go through a complete metamorphosis from the egg stage to the larvae to pupa and adult. During this metamorphosis, they change from what they look like as an infant to the adult stage. And all fleas feed on blood. You can have cat fleas and you can have dog fleas. Cats can get dog fleas and dogs can get cat fleas. A female flea, during her short life cycle, will lay between 4-8 eggs a day, In her entire life she can lay between 400-800 eggs.

Now regarding their feeding cycle, Dovid painted a picture of true gluttony. When a flea bites into its blood meal, if unhindered, he will drink from the victim's blood until he is so full and heavy from the meal that he simply falls off. It is actually the weight of the blood that causes a flea to fall off his victim.

Wherever the flea falls it will stay. That can be on the carpet on the floor on the sofa in the streets, Why is this important? Because, you can get fleas even without pet ownership. Just walk past a location where a flea fell off its last victim, and it may latch onto you.

Fleas rarely bite above the knee level, and they really don't fly they don't walk, rather they hop or spring. And, they can crawl, Their hoping range is from 10-20 inches. Fleas can feast on any warm blooded animal. They can feast on rats, rabbits, rodents, wild life of any type, and man. Not only do fleas increase breeding in the spring, but with more warm blooded animals and humans walking around outside, fleas find conditions ideal for spreading from one host to another.

I asked Dovid where the fleas are hanging out right now, while the weather is still cold. Dovid said the fleas go into hibernation wherever they are. If someone had fleas in an apartment, for example, and everyone was out of town, so there was nothing for the fleas to eat, they would go into hibernation. Then, when a blood meal comes along. they are aroused from their hibernation, and attack.

I asked Dovid what are the signs of an infestation that people should look for. Dovid replied that fleas are very visible and physical You can feel them and see them. You will usually fell an itching sensation where they are feeding, and when you touch the area, the flea will spring off.

White, light and motion attracts flea, so a good flea test is to put on long white socks, walk across the floor and you will see 10-200 fleas, tiny little dark specks, on your socks. Fleas looks like flat specs and they are bigger in size after a meal. But you don't need a microscope to see them.

Well folks, if you discover that you have fleas in your house, be sure to call a licensed exterminator. Because, as Dovid mentioned, there are effective treatments to rid the home of these little itchy pests.

Thanks for reading this report, and have a pest free day!