enough for an average-size dog. DDT excites the fleas, and their 

 increased activity on an animal causes discomfort for a short time, after 

 which the fleas are overcome. From a few hours to 2 or 3 days are 

 required for the infestation to disappear. 



Although DDT has been used satisfactorily against fleas on cats, it 

 is not advised for such use because cats may lick off enough of the DDT 

 to injure them. 



In areas where the human flea abounds, the dogs and cats should be 

 treated as outlined above, and hogs should be kept from barns and from 

 going beneath buildings. The backs of hogs should be sprinkled 

 lightly with crankcase oil or crude petroleum every 2 or 3 weeks, or, 

 better, with DDT at 0.2-percent strength applied to the animals as a 

 spray or dip. DDT is now available for such use in the form of wet- 

 table powders or emulsifiable liquids. 



If fleas are properly controlled on animals, house and yard infesta- 

 tions will be avoided. 



Destroying Fleas in Houses and Outbuildings 



Fleas in houses and barns originate in the sleeping places of animals. 

 If these are in cellars, in outbuildings, or beneath buildings or porches, 

 spraying the infested areas with DDT or creosote oil is most satis- 

 factory. DDT may be applied as a 5-percent solution in kerosene or 

 fuel oil, as a 5-percent emulsion in water, or as a 2.5-percent suspension 

 in water. A wettable powder containing 50 percent of DDT can be 

 purchased for preparing suspensions by mixing with water. 



A garden-type compressed-air or knapsack sprayer is satisfactory 

 for applying DDT insecticides. A bucket or stirrup pump with a lead 

 of high-pressure hose with tight connections is best for applying creo- 

 sote oil. 



Creosote oil will burn animals and plants. It has an objectionable 

 odor and will stain. Therefore it cannot be used in every situation. 

 It is necessary to spray only the floors of a cellar or outbuilding. Creo- 

 sote oil is relatively cheap and is 

 generally available, since it is com- 

 monly used as a wood preservative. 

 It is remarkably effective against 

 fleas. Usually one light spraying 



will Wipe OUt an infestation. One- Figure 4.-Larva^or maggot, of a flea, greatly 



half gallon is sufficient for 1,000 enarge ' 



square feet of floor surface. More is required for dirt floors with 



cracks or where much dust or litter is present. 



When fleas are found to be breeding in hogpens or barns, the litter 

 should be raked up and scattered on fields, or burned, before the 

 spray is applied or after a preliminary spraying to give relief while 

 cleaning up. 



If fleas are abundant in living quarters, scatter flaked naphthalene 

 over the floor of each infested room at the rate of 5 pounds per room. 

 Keep the room closed for 48 hours. The remaining naphthalene 

 crystals may be swept up and put in a tight container for future use. 

 If animals have been sleeping on overstuffed furniture, it also should 

 be covered with the naphthalene. 



When the main trouble is in the basement, the DDT or creosote 

 oil sprays applied there will usually give prompt relief. The scat- 



