66o 



Reading-Course for Farmers' Wives. 



V. Fleas. 



There are no more annoying household insects than fleas. They 

 are so small, active and elusive that a single specimen may cause more 

 discomfort than several flies or mosquitoes. There is a species of 

 human flea, but in most cases those which become a pest in houses 

 are the common cosmopolitan flea of dogs or cats. Houses which are 

 temporarily unoccupied sometimes become overrun with fleas. Usually 

 the infestation starts from the introduction of a pet cat or dog in the 

 house. The adult fleas (d in Fig. 25) are usually the only form of the 



insect that is seen, even on 

 the pet animal. It will surprise 

 many to know that usually the 

 fleas do not breed upon the dogs 

 or cats but in dirty cracks and 

 crevices, and especially where 

 the animals sleep. The tiny, 

 oval, white eggs (a in Fig. 25) 

 are laid among the hairs of cats 

 and dogs, but many of them 

 drop off as the animal moves or 

 lies down. Minute, active, whit- 

 ish, worm-like larvae (6 in Fig. 

 25) hatch from these eggs and 

 feed upon dirty particles, finally 

 transforming in a brown, dusty 

 cocoon (c in Fig. 25) to the 

 adult flea. An entire genera- 

 tion may develop in a fortnight. When mature the adult fleas come 

 forth from their dirty homes "seeking whom they may devour," whether 

 it be cat, dog or man. They are fitted with mouth-parts formed for 

 piercing the skin and sucking blood. 



When a house becomes thoroughly infested with fleas it is a difficult 

 matter to eradicate them. The first step is to eliminate the source of 

 supply, the pet cat or dog. Then a most thorough house-cleaning 

 should be inaugurated; remove all carpets and similar materials and 

 scrub the floors, getting into every crack and crevice, with hot soap- 

 suds or lye. In one case in our experience, after this thorough clean- 

 ing, the whole house was fumigated with sulfur two or three times, 

 using from ten to twenty-five pounds of sulfur for six rooms at each 



Fig. 25. Cat and dog flea — (a) egg; (b) larva; 

 (c) cocoon; all enlarged. — {Adapted front 

 Howard). 



