Flea infestations can be a nightmare to deal with. At first sighting of a flea on your dog or cat, you might run out to buy some flea shampoo and wash those nasty little parasites off your pet. All seems to be well, but just days later your furry friend is again overrun with fleas. Next you try a more powerful product: an application of anti-flea spray for example. This time, you seem to be more successful and your pet stays flea-free for a week or two. You've beaten the problem...or so you think. A month down the line, you notice Rover frantically scratching. Again. Surely they aren't back, you ask yourself. A quick inspection reveals the worst, yes those fleas have returned. Now, you might start to wonder where you are going wrong and why these fleas seem to be unstoppable. The answer? It is all to do with the flea life-cycle....

The Flea Life-cycle & Why You Should Know About It

If you thought that knowing that fleas jump and feed on blood was all you needed to know about this common parasite, you might be surprised. Learning about the life-cycle of fleas is actually the best way to understand how to control them and prevent them from infesting your pet and your home. Each flea starts out as a flea egg, which is invisible to the naked eye and often found on carpets, bedding and furnishing where pets sleep or play. These eggs take some time to hatch depending on conditions of warmth and humidity, and when they do, a flea larvae emerges. Flea larvae are caterpillar-like in appearance, though considerably smaller, and feed on waste organic materials such as faeces of adult fleas. After between five and eighteen days or longer, the larva begins to spin itself into a cocoon, where it undergoes a metamorphosis into an adult flea. At this stage the flea is called a pupa, and can remain dormant for long periods of time. In some cases, flea pupa overwinter inside houses or in the ground until optimum conditions occur. The adult flea, when it emerges, begins to reproduce, with a mature female laying up to 50 eggs a day and therefore starting the flea life-cycle again.

With this information about the flea life-cycle at hand, we begin to see why it is so difficult to prevent fleas from returning to infest your pet. The solution to bringing an end to this cycle is not only to destroy adult fleas, but also eliminate flea eggs, larva and pupa before they emerge.

How Frontline Plus Breaks The Flea Life Cycle

Frontline Plus is a leading flea and tick control product for pets which is designed to stop and prevent infestation by these and several other parasites. Containing ingredients which kill fleas at all stages of the life-cycle, Frontline Plus can eliminate an infestation within 24 hours. BUT, what Frontline Plus cannot do is get rid of flea eggs or pupae that are hidden around your home. This is why people sometimes complain that they have applied Frontline Plus to their pets and the fleas come back. Along with using Frontline Plus, pet bedding, carpets, upholstered furniture and curtains need to be vacuumed or steam-cleaned, which helps to get rid of any eggs, pupae and larvae around the home.

You also need to be aware that while Frontline Plus is long-lasting, it needs to be applied on a monthly basis. If you do not do this, and your dog or cat comes into contact with fleas again perhaps five or six weeks after his last Frontline Plus application, he can get infested again. Most pet owners find that a regular application of Frontline Plus is all that is needed to give their pet the protection it needs.