Flea Biology and Control

Book excerpt: The book describes in great detail the complex life cycle of fleas. The text is based on the example of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), the most important ectoparasite. The cat flea parasitizes not only dogs and cats but also warm-blooded animals and even humans. Besides being the cause of painfully itching bites and allergic skin diseases it is also a vector for viruses, bacteria, nematodes and cestodes. Over the years the market for insecticide use in small animals has become a major segment of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry. Insecticides of the new generation should not only fight the existing infestation (therapy) but should also effectively prevent new infestations for weeks (prophylaxis). The latest class of chemicals developed to this effect are chloronicotinyls (syn. neonicotinoides). Imidacloprid is the first member of this class of insecticides with a high selectivity towards the site of action within an insect. Applied to the skin it combats flea infestation and prevents new infestations for at least four weeks. Flea Biology and Control describes the entire development behind the compound, starting with its discovery all the way to its use in the final product.