Flea Control
Berkshire - Hampshire - Surrey

Need pest control for Fleas in Berkshire?

DKG Pest Control provide effective Flea control treatments to domestic and commercial clients across Berkshire.

Our technicians use strong residual insectisides to treat domestic properties for fleas, this along with good house keeping is the most effective form of Flea Control.

For Flea Control please call now on:
Berkshire 01189 680 841
Hampshire 01252 560 450

FAQ's

The Proccess

Flea Info

Facts About
Fleas

The thought of fleas in our homes is enough to make anyone itch, but a flea infestation can happen through no fault or your own. Unlike some other insect pests, fleas do not have wings and get around by jumping from surface to surface, host to host.

Unfortunately our pets can pick up fleas from almost anywhere, other animals' places they have visited and then bring them back home. The pupa can also lay dormant in empty houses for months, so you can move into a property which may have had a flea problem and cause them to then all hatch out, causing you a problem.

Once you find fleas in your home you want to get rid of them fast, the longer they are left the more established they become.

Fleas are tiny and hard to see with the naked eye, but tell tale signs can be seen: pets itching and scratching, bites around our ankles, signs of flea dirt on our pet visible when grooming. Unfortunately it's very hard to find or see fleas when in the egg, larvae or pupa stages so it's only when we have a problem with bites or pets scratching we start to see the adult fleas.

Once on a host an adult female flea is capable of laying on average 25 eggs a day, which will then fall off the host animal along with flea feces (flea dirt) that can be anywhere around the home or garden. So depending on the temperature these eggs can complete their life cycle into becoming an adult flea in as little as 14 days. Thus a couple of fleas on your pet can quickly turn into a whole home infestaion. However in cooler temperatures the eggs can take 140 days to hatch out and start their life cycle so this makes it difficult knowing if the infestation has been completely cleared.

If you'd like to know a little more about Fleas, their life and how they live please click the button below.

Flea Information

Flea Control Process

Simply call or e-mail our office, Laura or Claire will give you any advice required and book an appointment for our Flea control experts to visit at a time to suit you.

Before Flea Treatment

We ask that you first treat your pets for fleas, they are the main host and we need to treated to prevent a re infestation after treatment, this can from your local vet or pet shop. All pet bedding and soft toys need to be boiled washed or thrown away, along with any your bedding off of beds where pets sleep or spend time. Hoovering the property prior to treatment is also highly effective and once done its important to empty the contents of the hoover and place outside, do not leave in your property as fleas can get back out.

It is also useful to place flea traps in each room so when our technician comes out we can see where the most problematic areas of the home are. These can be home made and easy to do.

Day Of Treatment

We will have co ordinate with you what day is best for our flea technician to come out to treat your home. We will have asked that you along with any pets are able to be out of the home for 6-8 hours, any fish tanks covered or removed from the property, all food items covered or put away, along with all pet boys and toys. (For more information see care sheet).

Flea Treatment

Our technicians use a residual insecticide through a ULV machine through out the home focusing on the worse flea infested areas of the home. Being a residual this will kill adults fleas it comes into contact with, along with hatching fleas over the next coming days. As stated in our information section due to their protective cases flea eggs, and fleas in the pupa stage cannot be killed, its only when the hatch out the insecticide can work.

After care

If you chose DKG Pest Control to treat your flea infestation you can rest assured we are only on the end of the phone if you have any worries. We are a small family company who are proud of our reputation and want every customer of ours to be happy.

It is important after the flea treatment that the after care sheet is followed as this gives the treatment maximum effect, and reduces the risk of a infestation or needing a re treat.

Flea Control Process

Flea Control FAQ's

Cat flea
(Ctenocephalides felis)

Cat fleas are not able to determine whether or not a host is suitable until they have bitten you. If not the fleas host animal they will drop off and look for a more suitable host, ie your cat.

Appearance:

The cat flea is between 1-3mm in size, reddish brown/black in colour, wingless and are laterally compressed.
They have powerful hind legs for ruining an jumping through hair, fur and feathers.
Adult cat fleas require fresh blood in order to produce eggs.

Life Cycle:

Fleas pass through four stages: eggs, larva, pupa, adult. The eggs are small and white. These stages combined vary from two weeks to eight months.
The adult flea is awakened by the detection of vibration of pet or human movement, pressure, heat, noise, or carbon dioxide for potential blood meals.
A cat flea cannot complete its life–cycle feeding only on human blood.

Habits:

Cat fleas will nest where the host is in its resting place, for example the bed or cat basket. This is where the young fleas drop off and mature.

Dog Flea
(Ctenocephalides canis)

Adult dog fleas will feed on both cats and dogs blood, and will occasionally bite humans. The dog flea is also a vector of the dog tape worm, Dipylidium caninum, which can also effect humans.

Appearance:

The adult dog flea is between 1-4mm in size, dark reddish brown colour.
They have powerful rear legs. It has been know for a adult dog flea to jump 12 inches in a single leap.
The legless larvae of a dog flea is legless and off-white in colour, and measures up to 5mm in size.

Life Cycle:

The fleas go through a four–stage life cycle: eggs, larvae, pupae, adult.
The adult flea is awakened by the detection of vibration of pet or human movement, pressure, heat, noise, or carbon dioxide for potential blood meals.
The larvae are longer than the adults and feed on particles of dry blood, excrement, and organic substances.

Habits:

The body is laterally flattened, which allows it to move easily through an animal’s fur. Spines project backwards from the body of the flea, which help it to hold onto the host animal during grooming.
As they can jump approximately 6-12 inches, they can move from host to host. They can also infest garden lawns.

Bird Flea
(Ceratophyllus gallinae)

Bird flea bites are a sign of spring. If you are bitten by fleas in April-May, it's most probably bird fleas. Bird fleas can multiply enormously in hen houses, breeders, and other similar environments.

Appearance:

Adult bird fleas are generally brownish in colour, and 1-8mm long.
Their mouth parts are well adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood and project downwards from the head.

Life Cycle:

They breed during the nesting period when the host and/or young are available for regular blood meals.
During the autumn, flea larvae develop into adult fleas, but they do not emerge from the cocoon before the spring
If the nest is reused, the pupae will hatch, mate and continue the breeding cycle.
If there is no activity in the nest, the fleas will emerge anyway, just a little later, and you can see them sitting like little black dots around the edge of the nest, waiting for a new host.

Habits:

Bird fleas can only live for a short time indoors and only in nests.
When the birds move from the nest, the adult fleas must find a new host.
Bird fleas can also invade the home directly from birds’ nests in the roof or in a chimney, or they can sit on laundry, which has hung to dry in the garden near a bird’s nest.

Human Flea
(Pulex irritans)

Human fleas are now less common in the UK, except for farming areas where they can survive on pigs, and then jump to humans. They will bite anywhere on the body.

Appearance:

Human fleas are black to brownish–black wingless insects. Adult fleas are 1 to 4 mm long.
They possess a long, fine proboscis which is used to pierce the skin of their host to feed on their blood.

Life Cycle:

A female flea will lay 4 to 8 eggs after each blood meal, and can usually lay several hundred eggs during her adult life.
The smooth, oval light–coloured eggs measuring around 0.5 mm long, are deposited on, but not firmly attached to, the body, bedding, or nest of the host.
The adult generally emerges in a week or two after completing a larval and pupal stage, but under unfavourable conditions, the pupal period may be as long as a year.

Habitis

Since they move from one host species to another, they present a risk of transmitting disease.
They are a known vector of Yersinia pestis (plague).
Human fleas can also be found on animals such as dogs, rats, pigs, deer and foxes.

Whilst not pleasant and sometimes very itchy flea bites on humans are not normally that uncomfortable, however for our furry friends having fleas can be agony and very distressing. You will see them constantly scratching and biting at their fur to get at the fleas.

A flea bite is not particularly painful to us, but you will often be aware as soon as you have been bitten. You may develop some itchiness, redness around the bite which could become more uncomfortable depending on your sensitivity and own immune reaction.

What do flea bites look like?

Bites from adult fleas usually look like small red dots, and generally are found in clusters around the lower limbs, ankles and feet.

Given their small size, flea bites can often appear as tiny red spots on your skin. As with other insect bites, it is often difficult to identify fleas just by looking at your bites. You should consider other factors, like when are you being bitten and where about on your body are the bites?, which may help to identify your insect problem.

You should consult a pharmacist for advice and treatment if you develop an itchy rash or eczema. These are common symptoms of an allergic reaction to flea bites. It is recommended to refrain from scratching the area as this can develop into a bacterial infection in the area of the bite.

We also advise you to consult your vet if your pet has any signs of irritation such as reddening of the skin or there are any thin patches in your pet’s coat.

Call us if you are worried about fleas in your home or business. Using professional products, our expert technicians can help to quickly get rid of fleas, whilst ensuring the safety of your family and pets.

Flea Bites

Pest Control Surveys

Our pest control technician will carry out a survey of your property to identify the type of pest and infestation level. This information will help us select the quickest and most effective treatments available. Our pest control technicians carry See Snake inspection cameras with recording facilities to access hard to reach places.

Pest Control
Treatments

Whether you have insects, rodents or mammals, our pest control technician will select the best treatment for your infestation. This treatment will be carried out by a trained professional with only the best products on the market! All equipment is maintained to a high level and most importantly, the treatment will be carried out safely! Tailored to your propert's exact requirements.

Pest Control
Shield

Our pest control technician will give detailed proofing recommendations as part of the initial survey. Proofing works can be carried out by our technicians or by your maintenance team.

Proofing is the most important component to a successful pest control treatment and helps protect your property from future pest infestations.

Pest Control Monitoring

Monitoring is an important part of pest control, with the industry moving ever more in the direction of non-toxic treatments. The use of non-toxic rodent monitors is a great way to ensure your property remains rodent free whilst minimising rodenticide exposure to the environment and non-target wildlife.

We provide rodent and insect monitoring for domestic and commercial clients.

Flea Control Information

Flea Control Info

Fleas are parasites, feeding directly on man or other warm blooded animals. Usually you or your pet serve as their "hosts". A flea can jump 180mm-200mm vertically and 350mm – 400mm horizontally.
A skin reaction to a flea bite would be a slightly raised, red, itching spot. Sometimes bleeding does occur. Fleas usually require warm and humid conditions to develop. Due to the flea cycle and weather conditions many people don't realize they have a flea problem until they return home from vacation or a move to new premises and are confronted by "hungry fleas". There are several types of fleas but the most common is the cat flea even on dogs. Fleas are attracted to body heat, movement, and exhaled carbon dioxide.

Appearance:
The average size of a flea ranges from 2mm – 4 mm long, being very small and without wings. Their bodies are narrow if you view it from the sides allowing them for movement in narrow areas. Because their bodies are covered with spines projecting backward, they are difficult to remove by shaking or scratching.

Distribution:
The cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is one of the most widespread of flea species found across Europe.

Habits and Biology:
Fleas go through a complete metamorphosis. There are four distinct stages: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult. Flea eggs are laid on the host or are deposited on the floor or ground surface. They are also often found in upholstery or pet's bedding. A female flea will continue to lay a few eggs every day until she has reached up to 200-400. These eggs will develop into flea larvae from 2 days to several weeks, depending on the temperature and humidity. Flea larvae are active and look like maggots. The larvae will feed on organic debris, but particularly like to feed on faeces of the adult fleas. This "flea diet" contains undigested blood. The flea larvae are hard to spot and are found deep in the carpets or the cracks and crevices of floors and upholstery. They are very difficult to vacuum, becoming entwined in the carpet fibers. The next stage called the pupae will look like a cocoon, also hard to spot. No spray will kill flea pupae. But a vacuum cleaner can pull them up. Under warm conditions many adult fleas will emerge from this protective cocoon within 7-14 days, longer under less favourable conditions. This flea cycle from eggs through the adult stage is generally 30-60 days. It is critical to break the flea cycle as soon as possible. The insect growth regulators do break the cycle, but at the larvae stage. You have several weeks of the pupae, continuing to hatch out. So a good residual insecticide is needed to kill the emerging adults. Many times you need to spray the residual insecticide again, because the emerging pupae can be very forceful. A consistent hovering program will help greatly. This will help in particular if you have a great amount of flea pupae left.

The Fleas Diet:
Adult fleas feed on the blood of a host, the flea bite caused from this feeding by the adult flea can become inflamed. After the feeding the flea will begin mating, starting the vicious cycle all over again.

Flea Control:
You will need both an insect growth regulator to cut the cycle and a good residual insecticide labelled for flea control to reach the adult stages. Whenever you see adult fleas crawling on your pet, it is only a symptom of a much larger problem. Current studies indicate that adult fleas account for only 5% of the total flea population in any given situation. Eggs account for 50%, larvae account for about 35%, and the remaining 10% are the cocoons. That means that for every single adult flea living on your dog or cat, there are 10 eggs, 7 larvae, and 2 cocoons. These various life cycle stages will be found anywhere in the pet's environment, but will be most concentrated in the areas that the pet spends most of its time. Remember, when the adult flea on the pet lays an egg, it will fall off the hairs in just a few minutes....it is very similar to them sowing "seeds". So, areas where the pet sleeps or lies around will have the most eggs. If the pet usually walks through certain paths (either indoors or outdoors), there will also be a substantial amount of eggs scattered in those areas. What this means is that environmental flea control must be spread over the pet's entire environment, focusing on the areas the pet spends the majority of its time.

Flea Control
Information

Rat Pest Control Wokingham

Rat Pest Control Berkshire

Rat Pest Control Berkshire

Rat Pest Control Wokingham

1/7

Flea Control Berkshire

Service areas include but not limited to:

Aldermaston, Ascot, Binfield, Bracknell, Bray, Burchett's Green, Caversham, Chieveley, Colnbrook, Compton, Cookham, Crowthorne, Datchet, Finchampstead, Hungerford, Henley, Hurley, Lambourn, Maidenhead, Marlow, Newbury, Oakley Green, Pangbourne, Reading, Sandhurst, Sindlesham, Slough, Speen, Spencers Wood, Sulhamstead, Sunningdale, Sunninghill, Swallowfield, Thatcham, Theale, Twyford, Upper Bucklebury, Wargrave, Wickham, Windsor, Wokingham, Woodley, Wraysbury.

flea Control
Hampshire

Service areas include but not limited to:

Aldershot, Alresford, Alton, Andover, Ash, Barton Stacey, Basingstoke, Baughurst, Bentley, Bentworth, Bordon, Bramdean, Bramshill, Crondall, Crookham, Dogmersfield, Eversley, Farnborough, Fleet, Hartley Wintney, Heckfield, Hook, Odiham, Old Basing, Petersfield, Rotherwick, Silchester, Tadley, Twyford, Upper Froyle, Winchfield, Yateley.

flea Control
Surrey

Service areas include but not limited to:

Badshot Lea, Bagshot, Blackwater, Bramley, Camberley, Chertsey, Chessington, Chobham, Churt, Cobham, Englefield Green, Enton Green, Epsom, Esher, Ewell, Ewhurst, Farleigh, Farnham, Frensham, Frimley, Gatwick, Godalming, Guildford, Haslemere, Knaphill, Leatherhead, Lightwater, Mytchett, Ottershaw, Oxshott, Oxted, Pirbright, Purley, Redhill, Reigate, Staines, Sunningdale, Virginia Water, Walton On Thames, Weybridge, Windlesham, Woking, Worplesdon.

flea Control Oxfordshire

Service areas include but not limited to:

Cholsey, Didcot, Goring On Thames, Henley On Thames, Mapledurham, Peppard Common, Rotherfield Peppard, Sonning, Sonning Common, Sonning Eye, Stoke Row, Wantage.

Flea Control
Berkshire - Hampshire - Surrey