Rat fleas are parasitic insects that carry very dangerous diseases: plague, fever, and helminthic invasions. Not as common as dog and cat fleas, however, they are able to enter an apartment through pets and attack a person.
Description of the rat flea
Externally, rat fleas (see photo in the review) are very similar to their counterparts. Differences can be seen with a large increase in insects using an optical device. They have a dark brown flattened body (0.5 to 1 mm in length) with a clearly distinguishable head, thorax and abdomen, no wings, short forelegs and large hind limbs (about 30 mm) allowing for huge jumps. The bristles and spines covering the body are turned back, which does not create resistance when the parasite moves through the animal's thick fur.
On the head is a pair of simple eyes, antennae and piercing-sucking mouthparts, whichconsists of three parts: upper and lower jaws with teeth and long palps and lower lip with two palps, playing the role of tongue and proboscis at the same time. The insect does not have an upper lip. Females are often larger than males and differ from them in their arched back and seminal receptacle located in the abdomen.
Features of existence
The main hosts for rat fleas are various rodent species.
Moreover, bloodsuckers are not permanent residents on the body of an animal: they are just temporary guests attacking a four-legged animal in order to obtain food - blood. When satiated, the parasites move to the habitats of their hosts (burrows, rat nests, heaps of garbage), trying not to move away from them for long distances.
Development stages
During their life, female rat fleas lay about 400-500 white eggs (5-8 pieces at a time), which are about 0.5 mm long, and they definitely need to get enough blood before laying eggs. Nests are built in various substrates (for example, dust on the floor or dry garbage), but most often, in an apartment, rat fleas lay eggs in the host's bedding.
A larva develops in every egg; after 5-10 days, a mobile worm-like creature comes out that does not have eyes and paws, but is equipped with a gnawing type of mouth apparatus.
Growing rat fleas feed on the excrement of adult animals containing undigested blood, putrefactive remains of grass and wool. In the apartmentlarvae feel at ease in old dirty carpets and floor coverings. After passing the obligatory stage of pupation, they turn into full-fledged adult insects. At home, decorative rats and mice are excellent food sources for such parasites.
For lack of such, insects without a twinge of conscience will move onto the body of domestic dogs and cats and will definitely cling to a person.
Methods of entering the apartment
Rat fleas can enter the apartment in several ways:
- with a pet that came from a walk;
- coming up from the basement, especially if there are rats in it (therefore, rat fleas in the apartment on the 1st floor are frequent guests);
- when in contact with a foreign animal infected with parasites.
Rat fleas: symptoms of bites
Rat fleas do not have an enzyme that relieves skin piercing pain, so their bites cause great discomfort and are accompanied by severe pain. A parasitic insect can suck blood for several hours in a row. Once fully satiated, it returns to the next meal in a few days. The bite site is easy enough to detect: it quickly turns red, there is severe itching, the skin swells, and the puncture point can fester. This happens due to the ingestion of insect saliva into the human body, which can cause powerful inflammation on the skin. Also, rat flea bites can be accompanied by rapidly spreading allergic rashes, increasedbody temperature, the appearance of ulcers in the oral cavity, swollen lymph nodes, headache and even nervous disorders.
Danger of rat flea bites
To a greater extent, the owners of delicate skin, which is easier to pierce, suffer from rat fleas: these are women and children.
Rat fleas (the photo of bites fully conveys all their danger) are carriers of numerous worm eggs and a number of dangerous diseases such as brucellosis, encephalitis, anthrax, salmonella, plague, various forms of hepatitis. Along the way, parasites can cause incredible psychological and physical distress to their hosts. Indeed, the discomfort that occurs after the bites of such insects can unbalance even the most calm people, causing them to feel constant fatigue and sleep disturbance.
The causative agents of certain infectious diseases can remain viable in the body of the pest for a sufficiently long period, which makes these insects extremely dangerous to humans. Infectious material is transmitted in the process of sucking blood by the parasite or through the waste products of the latter, which are in the human body when combing the bitten places.
First aid for a rat flea bite
For first aid, remove the insect from the bite site, wash the wound with soapy water, treat with a disinfectant and apply ice. To avoid the development of allergic reactions, it is recommended to take an antihistamine. Not toto prevent infection from entering the bloodstream, scratching the wound should be avoided. If you have a fever, severe allergic reaction, difficulty breathing with wheezing, and shortness of breath, you should immediately contact a medical facility for professional help.
Rat fleas in an apartment are able to do without food for quite a long time (about 100 days) and perfectly tolerate any temperature fluctuations. Most often they are found in apartments where pets such as hamsters, guinea pigs, decorative mice and rats live. It should be understood: the longer no control methods are used against rat fleas, the greater their number will become and, accordingly, the risk of developing serious diseases in humans will increase. If rat fleas appeared in the apartment, how to get rid of such parasites that pose a great danger to human he alth?
Methods for getting rid of rat fleas
The best solution for getting rid of rat fleas is professional pest control. Only specialists in this matter can guarantee high-quality disposal of dangerous insects in a short time. With an independent fight against rat fleas, surface treatment with aerosol insecticides will be effective. The treatment of the premises against rat fleas must be approached with all responsibility:
- provide access to hard-to-reach places;
- cover or hide food in lockers;
- remove animals from the premises.
In the process of disinfestation, special care should be takenprocess cracks, corners, joints of floors, ceilings and walls. Also, do not forget about carpets, curtains, upholstered furniture. At the end of the insecticidal treatment, the room should be closed and left for several hours, giving the drug time to act. Then you need to ventilate the room, shake out the carpets and curtains on the street, thoroughly wipe the floors with a solution of turpentine (a bucket of water - ½ cup of the drug).
For primary treatments, Karbofos, Raid, Tetrix, Combat, Medilis Tsiper, Microfos are effective. A possible second step may require the use of stronger sprays: Hartz, Frontline, Advantage. Flea larvae are easy to destroy with special means: "Clean House", Fas, "Pyrethrum". Pets are recommended to be treated with insecticidal drops against fleas (for example, Barsik), shampoos or sprays (Celandine, Mr. Kiss). And yet, if rat fleas appeared in the apartment, how to get rid of it?
Folk remedies against parasites
From folk methods, you can scare away rat fleas with the help of dry wormwood, which you want to decompose into rooms.
An effective way to prevent rat fleas from entering an apartment is to treat the room with herbal infusions of wormwood, eucalyptus leaves, and tansy. Dried grass needs to be poured with boiling water, insisted in a cool place for about 12 hours, poured into a spray bottle and treated. These medicated solutions can be used in bathing pets or as a skin rub.
Pine sawdust is a natural rat flea repellent, which would make sense to fill your pet's bedding. It is especially important to carry out this operation in the pre-spring period, when the period of flea activation begins.
Preventive measures
Fleas feel comfortable in places where dust and dry debris accumulate, therefore, in order to prevent them from entering your territory, you should regularly and thoroughly clean the premises with the treatment of bedspreads, furniture, carpets and bedding on which pets sleep.
In a private house, measures to clean up dirt should also be transferred to basements and cellars.
