FLEAS. 25 



or in barns adjoining chicken coops have been known to become in- 

 fested with sticktight fleas, and dogs and cats readily infest one an- 

 other with these and with other fleas. Chickens have been known to 

 become infested with chicken fleas and thus establish an infestation 

 in uninfested yards when allowed to run at large and come in contact 

 with infested premises. 



The question of rat control logically should be discussed under this 

 topic, but it has been briefly taken up under " Bubonic plague." 

 Ground-squirrel destruction, aside from its direct economic impor- 

 tance, should also be considered in connection with the relationship 

 between the squirrel fleas, their hosts, and the transmission of 

 plague. The ground squirrels of California are discussed by Dr. C. 

 Hart Merriam in Circular No. 76 of the Bureau of Biological Sur- 

 vey. Much useful information on the control of the California 

 ground squirrel is given, and this is for the most part applicable to 

 ground squirrels in other parts of the country. 



DESTRUCTION IN BREEDING PLACES. 



Attention has been called (pp. 8-9) to the usual breeding places of 

 different species of fleas. It is evident that destruction of the adult 

 fleas on hosts is almost a hopeless method of controlling the pest if 

 no attention is paid to the breeding places of the immature stages. 

 As has been stated, flea eggs may produce adult fleas from two weeks 

 to many months later. Thus the hosts will continue to become rein- 

 fested as fast as the insects upon them are destroyed. 



The first step in making war on the breeding places is to determine 

 where the fleas are coming from. Enough has been said in the dis- 

 cussion of life history and breeding habits of fleas to point out the 

 places to be considered. In other than house infestations all un- 

 necessary rubbish and dry animal or vegetable matter should be piled 

 up and burned. In the case of infested chicken houses or sheds the 

 manure should be hauled into an open field and scattered thinly 

 over the ground. When thus exposed all stages are soon destroyed. 



Following this preliminary work, which is essential to the success 

 of the subsequent treatment, the ground, outhouse floors, and other 

 places where the breeding is supposed to occur should be sprayed 

 with kerosene, or, better still, crude petroleum should be sprinkled 

 freely about. To prevent reinfestation or breeding it is essential 

 that all waste, both vegetable and animal matter, be kept scrupu- 

 lously cleaned up. The most inexpensive and satisfactory preven- 

 tive measure following the destruction of the main infestation is a 

 liberal use of salt scattered about the breeding places and then 

 thoroughly wet down. In many instances observed in Texas the 

 sticktight flea has been kept out of poultry runs by cleanliness 



