Fleas Cause Humans example essay topic

Fleas are very small insects. They are all flightless and do not have eyes, although two may be present. Their antennae's are short and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing and sucking. The female flea lays a few eggs daily that total up to 300 to 400 in its lifetime. The eggs are laid usually on animals and most drop off where they spend most of their time. Bedding, floor crevices, carpeting, along baseboards and areas near their favorite sleeping and napping sites are especially likely places where eggs will be found.

These eggs hatch into larvae, which are baby fleas. The larvae spin a cocoon and, depending on environmental conditions, emerge as adults in as few as five days. The adult fleas then mate after a blood meal and then lay eggs. The life cycle is then repeated -- until control measures break the cycle. The total life cycle can last from 25 days to several months. The bodies of both adults and young fleas have many backward pointing hairs and powerful leg muscles.

Fleas can jump 80 times their own height and 150 times their body length. Fleas have many mites and parasites and can have up to 150 living in them at one time. Adult fleas can cause medical problems including flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), tapeworms, secondary skin irritations and, in extreme cases, anemia. Some people may have a severe reaction, such as a general rash or inflammation, which can result in secondary infections caused by scratching the irritated skin area.

Fleas may transmit bubonic plague from rodent to rodent and from rodent to humans. Tapeworms normally infest dogs and cats but can appear in children if parts of infested fleas are accidentally consumed. Fleas have been hated by humans for a long time. The role of pests and disease in human history is often neglected and the plague is considered to have caused more human grief and fear than any other single cause and to have changed the course of history more than any other force. Three main periods of plague have been recorded through recent human history due to fleas.

The first in 542 which lasted for 60 years, the second lasted from 1346 to 1665 as it circled around Europe, and the third started in the 1880's and was killing 1,000,000 people a year in India by 1903 until modern medicine was introduced. The fleas were carried into cities and countries by rats. The plague bacillus kills the fleas and the rats that carry them as effectively as it kills humankind. Fleas can also transmit the bubonic plague. Seven cases, including one death, were reported in 1995, in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Oregon.

Another 13 cases, also including one death, were reported in 1994, in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. So these diseases are rare, but they still exist. Fleas cause humans to perform a lot of excess work in order to get rid of them. It cost money to buy products and time to complete to irrigation. If fleas are not terminated, they can lead to the diseases listed above, itching, and infections. Numerous products are available for flea control in the environment.

Some also help to control ticks and other parasites. Most of them interfere with nervous transmission in the insect. Some prevent flea development. Before using pesticides, it is important to clean up the area. If fleas are found in a home, the house should be thoroughly vacuumed, and rugs and other infected areas should be taken outside and cleaned as well. This is important for successful flea control.

Before using these, humans must make sure they read the labels on the products to be sure it is safe to use. Toxicity from use of many of these products can cause excessive salivation, tremor, vomiting and possible seizure. The most widely used and safest insecticides are pyrethrin's extracted from Chrysanthemums. This affects the nervous system of insects causing over excitability and over conduction of nervous impulses.

Boric acid kills fleas in the baby stage. It is applied to vacuumed carpets where pets sleep or travel. The powder is worked into the carpet to get down to where the larvae develop or on furniture, under cushions and in crevices. These are just two of the many ways to help control the flea population. There are many other insecticides that are used to attempt to get rid of fleas.

Sources Farley, Dixie Fighting Fleas and Ticks. FDA Consumer magazine, July-August 1996. Oxford City Council Website: web.