SMITHSONIAN INSTfTUTION LIBRARIES 



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ever, drop off in this way, and those which remain on it will prohablj* 

 develop suct'0ssfull3% it will be found wise to occasionally rub into the 

 hair of the dog or cat a quantity of i)yrethruni powder. If thoroughly 

 applied it will cause the iieas to fall off in a half stupelied condition, 

 when they, too, may l)e swept up and burned. 



In the observations made at this Department upon this species of ffea 

 during the summer of 1895, some dilHculty was found in preserving just 

 the right degree of moisture to enable the insect successfully to trans- 

 form. An excess of moisture was found prejudicial to the development 

 of the species, as was too great dryness. The observations showed, 

 however, that at Washington in summer an entire generation may 

 develop in a little more than a fortnight. Hence a housekeeper sluit- 

 ting U]) her house in June, for example, with a colony of Heas too small 

 to be noticed inside it, need not be surprised to find the establishment 

 overrun when she opens it up again in September or October. 



REMEDIES. 



The larvae of the dog and cat Hea will not develop successfullj' in 

 situations where they are likely to be disturbed. The use of carpets 

 and straw mattings, in our opinion, favors their development, since the 

 young larvie can penetrate the interstices of either sort of floor-covering 

 and find an alnding place in some crack where they are not likely to be 

 disturbed. It is comparatively easy to destroy the insect in its early 

 stages (when it is noticed), as is shown by the difficulty of rearing it, 

 but the adult fleas are so active and so hardy that they successfully 

 resist any but the most strenuous measures. Even the persistent use 

 of California buhach and other pyrethrum powders was ineffectual in 

 one case of extreme infestation, as was also, and more remarkably, a free 

 sprinkling of floor mattings with benzine. In this instance it was 

 finally necessary to take up the floor coverings and wash the floors down 

 with hot soapsuds in order to secure relief from the flea plague. In 

 another case, however, a single liberal application of buhach was per- 

 fectly successful, while in a third a single thorough application of ben- 

 zine completely rid an infested house of fleas. 



To sum up: Every house where a pet dog or cat is kept maj^ become 

 seriously infested with fleas if the proper conditions of moisture and 

 freedom from disturbance exist. Infestation, however, is not likely to 

 occur if the (bare) floors can be frequently and thoroughlj^ swept. 

 When an outbreak of fleas comes, however, the easiest remedy to apply 

 is a free sprinkling of pyrethrum powder in the infested rooms. This 

 failing, benzine may be tried, a thorough spraying of carpets and floors 

 being undertaken, with the exercise of due precaution in seeing that no 

 lights or fires are in the house at the time of the application, or for some 

 hours afterwards. Finally, if the plague is not thus abated, all floor 

 coverings must be removed and the floors washed with hot soapsuds. 

 This is a useful precaution to take in any house which it is proposed to 

 close for the summer, since even a thorough sweeping maj^ leave behind 

 some few flea eggs from which an all-pervading swarm may develop 

 before the house is reopened. 



L. 0. Howard, 



Approved : Entotiiologist. 



Chas. \V. Dabxey, Jr., 



Assisfav t Seercfarij. 



Washington, D. C, February 1, 1896. 



