Family living Focus by Alletta Schadler Lebanon Co. Extension Help! Everyone has fleas! Tis the season for fleas. It is never too early to be in specting your dogs and cats for fleas and if the animals come into your house even briefly you need to be inspecting the premises very carefully to get control of the problem before it gets out of hand. I am a veteran of several Fleas Wars. I have indoor cats and twice I have had the fleas invade through the screens or from visit ing aniamls. The first time I ig- f*Sr,‘ 5 Cooking Oils, Funnel Cake Mix, Pancake & Waffle Mix & GOOD FOOD INC. L&S SWEETENERS W. Main St. Box 160 fT 388 E. Main St. Honey Brook, PA 19344 7W Leola Pa 17540 610-273-3776 717-656-3486 1-800-327-4406 1-800-633-2676 Accepted • We Ship UPS Daily norcd the early signs because I fig ured it couldn’t possibly happen in my house with indoor-only cals. WRONG! It went on for months and even I had flea bites. It ultimately took two visits from the exterminator and washing my weekly for three weeks to break the cycle and become flea free. In order for you to defeat the critters it is important for you to understand how and where they live and breed. See Our Original T.lne Of Golden Barrel Product Plus All Kinds Of Beans, Candies, Dried Fruit, Snack Mix, Etc.' At Reduced Prices If your local store does not have it... SEND FOR FREE BROCHURE Fleas feed on animal or human Mood. They cannot live or breed without it. They live on animals or in areas where they can get on and off the animals easily. The life cy cle of the flea is in four stages: The eggs are laid by the adult fe male mi the pets, in the pet bed ding or in cracks and crevices where the animals hang out Eggs laid on the pet are not firmly at tached and soon fall off. In about a week, the eggs hatch into imma ture fleas called larvae. These are very different from adult fleas. They are very tiny and worm-like, lack legs, and do not feed on fresh blood, but live on organic matter including dried particles or blood and excrement voided by the adult fleas. If you have a heavy infestation, this might look like salt and pep per scattered in the areas where animals spend a lot of time. For example, if your dog spends time on the sofa and you have not va cuumed the cracks and crevices recently, the larvae might be ma tureing there! Really! . In about 12 days, the larvae are (fully grown and change to the pupal stage which then changes to adult fleas. Adult fleas feed more than once a day on fresh human or animal blood, if they have a chance. They have strong legs and can jump amazingly far, consider ing their size. They can live under ideal conditions for a year or more. They can live several weeks without a meal if they have to, by Dairy Council Receives Grant SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. Agricultural Product Promotion Dairy Council today annn..nf«| Grant from the Bureau of Market that it has received funding for its Development matches funds gen school assembly project. The erated by state agricultural organi- Marvelous Machine, from the 23110,18 for projects to increase Pennsylvania State Department of consumer awareness of Pennsyl- Agriculture. The Pennsylvania vania-grown agricultural prod- Leese Receives Scholarship UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre dent in Penn State’s college of Co.) When April J. Leese. the Agricultural Sciences and major daughter of Vcmon E. and Bar- in environmental resource man , ban J. Leese of McConncllsburg, agement. arrives at Penn Stale’s University Leese was the salutatorian of Park Campus this fall to study the her graduating class at McCon agricultural sciences, she’ll be one nellsburg High School and was of only three Penn State students active in a wide variety of aca to receive a Competitive Edge dcmic and community-service or- Scholarship. ganizadons. She is a member of The scholarship, sponsored by the National Honor Society and Wal-Mart, recognizes some of volunteered with the Fulton Coun- Penn State’s brightest students, ty Conservation District. Leese, who attended the Penn- Wal-Mart’s Competitive Edge sylvania Governor’s School for scholarship will $5,000 a year for the Agricultural Sciences in 1994, four years to Penn State to cover pian« to enroll as a first-year stu- Leese’s tuition and fees. No hernia is unrepairable, even after several previous failed attempts. We specialize in outpatient hernia repairs, and most patients are able to return to full work with-in several days : PLEASE CALL COLLECT OR WRITE FOR MORE INFORMATION MID RTLRNTIC SURGICAL SERUICES 217 Harrisburg Ave., Suite 201 Lancaster, PA 17603 (800) HERNIA 8 MOST INSURANCE ACCEPTED Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 3, IM6-BS which time they are very hungry. What often happens is that when you come home from vacation you and the animals are devoured by these very hungry fleas that matured while you were away. What a surprise! Some people are more attractive to fleas than others. In my fondly I am the flea bait they don’t bite my hus band. Flea biles can transmit a num ber of diseases to man and in addi tion some people and pets are al lergic to die bites beyond the ac tual bite itself. You should aggressively wage war on fleas in your environment It is a war that will need to be planned and car ried out over a period of weeks. You must heat the animal and the house or the environment at the same time and repeatedly to get rid of the various stages of the fleas. One shot of spray or one dip for the dog alone will not do the trick. Treat the animal by insecticidal flea shampoo or dips for the dog or cat. Be sure to read and follow the directions carefully, especially for cats. You need to lather the cat and leave it lathered for as much as 10 minutes for the flea stunning effects to take place. (This is not a happy time for the cat or the hu man! A friend said she put her cat in a mesh bag to lather up. I lather the cat up and put her in a pet taxi box for 10 minutes so she doesn’t escape.) wmm (717) 687-8262 Spray on and Brush a in Painting H 1 ? ia Meanwhile, you need to va cuum every place the animal fre quents to pick up the eggs and lar vae. Bum the vacuum bags im mediately or fleas will hatch in the sweeper. Spray the area with a product labeled for fleas. Follow the precautions on the label. You can also close windows and use flea bombs to fumigate a room. Be sure to use the correct amount for the space to be treated. One time will usually not do the trick. Re peat about 10 or 12 days later to catch any hatched insects. If you seem to have a whole house infestation, you may want to consider a professional exter minator. By the time you add up the cost of bombing your whole house a couple of times plus the aggravation, it may well pay you to have it done. They guarantee re sults and will redo at a reduced cost if needed. You will still have to do the vacuuming and animal washing, however. It must be an all-out war. Rewash the animals. You may consider using one of the new systemic flea treatments available from the veterinarian. Be sure to read labels for over-the counter products when treating kittens and puppies. And, yes, you can get fleas in your house even if your animals don’t go outside, especially if there ate animals in the neighbor hood. Humans can bring them in when fleas hitch a ride. It is a real ly frustrating experience. Hope you never find out. ucts. As a result of the grant. Dairy Council will use matching funds for dairy promotion messages to enhance its nutrition education programs for the 1996-97 school year. The grant, for $14,669, will provide funding for Dairy Coun cil’s new school assembly pro gram, including lessons which will be provided for teachers to in tegrate the program into their classrooms. Duet Productions, the assembly production company that will perform the assembly program, is a recognized leader in the field of educational children’s theater. Dairy Council’s school assemb ly program. The Marvelous Ma chine, targets elementary children with nutrition and health mes sages. Research has shown that as semblies are a popular and suc cessful way to expand classroom learning by incorporating curricu lum-related information into an entertainment format. The match ing funds from the grant will en able Dairy Council to offer as semblies at no cost to low-income school districts. The premier per formance of The Marvelous Ma chine assembly is set for Septem ber 19%. NEED YOUR FARM BUILDINGS PAINTED? Let us give' you a price! Write: Daniel’s Painting 637-A Georgetown Rd. Ronks, PA 17572 (or leave message) n
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