With the recent rain we had here in Townsville, there has been an increase in people calling in with flea and tick problems. Fleas and ticks love wet conditions and it’s the usual to have an increase after rain. Areas that have been most affected: South Townsville, Kelso, Gulliver, North Shore, Mt low, Mundingburra, Kirwan, Belgian Gardens. Fleas are an external parasite that live by feeding off the blood of birds and mammals. In an urban invironment they are a particular annoyance to our family pets. (mostly cats, dogs and us humans.)
Infestations have been quiet severe of late, It is quiet common for us to see fleas climbing up our legs by the dozens as we walk onto a property. I was on a job like this last week in Railway Estate where the was the case. The problem can escalate quiet quickly from seeing the odd flea here and there to having a major infestation as the can breed very quickly. Fleas must feed on blood before they can produce eggs. They can lay up to 4000 eggs onto your pets fur which then go through four lifecycle stages (embryo, larva, pupa and imago which is an adult). The whole life cycle takes around two to three weeks depending on the temperature. The cooler it is, the longer it takes.
They don’t breed on us humans but they are a huge annoyance by means of biting us and leaving itchy red marks and can be quiet distressing when they attack our children. Ticks ,like fleas are also external parasites that feed off blood. In an urban environment they are most likely to be found on dogs but can also attach to cats and humans and can pass on various diseases. There
are 75 species of tick in Australia but the most medically important tick would be the paralysis tick which can paralyse your pet and can also cause death. The paralysis tick is found along a narrow band along the east cost of Australia. They prefer wetter areas so are quiet rare in Townsville itself but are found more commonly in the outer areas such as Harvey’s range, Toolakea beach, and Paluma. The most common ticks around Townsville are the brown dog tick and the bush tick. These species won’t paralyse your pet but can cause skin irritation or anaemia.
The good news is if you give us a call we can treat them successfully. If you have a major infestation we will need to spray all the floors on the inside and the whole yard depending on where the pets are retained to. e.g. If the animals are only ever in the back yard and never go inside or out the front, you could possibly get away with just spraying the back yard. That would be determined with further investigation when we arrived.
What you need to do.
Before the technician comes you will need to cut your grass as short as possible. This is very important. When we spray, the chemical needs to penetrate into the soil. Long grass tends to catch and hold a lot of the chemical and then drys before it gets a chance to get to the soil. You will need to remove pets away form the sprayed areas until it has completely dried. Usually around 2hrs depending on the weather.
Make sure all loose items are picked up off the floor and yard before we spray. It’s best to vacuum and mop before we spray.
Make sure all dog food and water bowls are removed before we spray.
If you are vacating a premise and need to get it sprayed for fleas and ticks for the real estate because you had a pet, it’s very important you get us in at the very end. All the cleaning and floors need to be done before we spray.
At Townsville Termite Specialist we take great pride in our work and do our upmost to deliver the best and safest job possible. If you have any other questions about this blog or any other pest related questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us call us 07 4721 4996.
Related Tag: Tick Pest Control
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