CONTROL OF HOUSEHOLD INSECTS 



19 



House fleas 



The cat and dog flea 1 is the species most usually abundant in 

 houses in New York State, judging from the specimens submitted 

 with complaints. This species, as its common name indicates, 

 occurs indiscriminately upon both the cat and the dog and^may 

 be found about their sleeping places. The minute, white eggs 

 are laid mostly in such places. The slender, active larvae feed 

 upon organic matter in cracks and crevices, and are most numerous 

 about the sleeping places of domestic animals The flea is a pro- 

 lific insect. The closing of a dwelling for several weeks or more 

 in warm weather affords almost ideal conditions for rapid multi- 

 plication, and more than once householders have been surprised 



Fig. 9 Cat and dog flea, seen from the side, enlarged. (Original) 



on returning to find the home overrun by these active, annoying 

 pests. A rat flea is an important factor in the spread of bubonic 

 plague. 



Control measures. Fleas are very likely to occur on cats and 

 dogs and if these animals must be retained in the home, care 

 should be exercised to keep their sleeping places clean. Provide 

 the animal with a mat or blanket upon which it may sleep. This 

 mat should be taken up frequently, shaken and the collected 

 dust beneath burned. This is a most effective method of pre- 

 venting the multiplication of these insects. An animal known to 



'Ctenocephalus canis Curtis. 



