Fleas are small, wingless insects under order Siphonaptera. Fleas are holometabolous insects, they go through four life stages: eggs, larvae, pupae and adults. The adults can grow up to 3mm long and usually brown in colour. There are more than 2500 species of fleas in the world, and most of them are parasitic. Some of them are host specific but some of them aren’t. Example of the fleas are oriental rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis), cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis).

Behaviors and Habitat

Fleas are ectoparasitic insects. They suck blood from the mammals as their food source. Their mouthparts are modified to piercing mouthpart, enable them to pierce through the dermis layer of mammals. The hind legs of fleas are modified to saltatorial legs (jumping legs), enable them to jump vertically up to 20 cm and horizontally up to 30 cm. They can easily found at their own specific infected hosts. Oriental rat flea can found at infected rat while cat flea can found at infected cat.

Risks, Economic and Medical Importance

The oriental rat flea, X. cheopis is the vector for Yersenia pestis, which will cause bubonic plague. Other fleas such as cat flea and dog flea transmit Bartonella spp. and Dipylidium caninum to human. Besides that, bites of the fleas can form allergic and itchy to the infected person.

Recommended Pest Control Products

  • alpha-cypermethrin 5.92%
  • alpha-cypermethrin 2.9% and flufenexuron 2.9%
  • deltamethrin 1%
  • triflumuron 39.7%

Starycide® SC480

Product Overview

Starycide® SC480 - the larvicide to improve any treatment.

It is a highly concentrated product which contains an Insect Growth Regulator (IGR) active ingredient triflumuron. Triflumuron, a benzoylphenyl-urea which act as chitin synthesis inhibitor for control of all instar larvae. Starycide® SC480 is effective on cockroach nymph, flea larvae, mosquito larvae and fly larvae.

Product Description

  • Key Product Facts:
    Active ingredients: Triflumuron 39.7% w/w.
  • Quicker control than juvenile hormone analogue larvicides.
  • Resistance management - the mode of action is target-specific (IGR).
  • Long residual (up to 3 months) - reduces application frequency and cost of control.
  • Versatile application - can be used with a compression sprayer, motor blower and ULV machines (refer to label before using).
  • Non-flammable formulation - easy to store