WHAT'S BUGGING YOU? : EARLY ARRIVAL OF FLEAS, ANTS, SPIDERS CALLS FOR COUNTERATTACK.

Byline: Lori Moody Daily News Staff Writer

When the temperatures begin to climb, Bill Moloney of Studio City gears up for an onslaught of unwanted guests.

It's another flea season in his household. Moloney has tried flea collars, brewer's yeast in the pet food and other methods to get rid of the creatures. This year, he's called in an exterminating company for his house and garden and will try a flea-control medication for his pets.

``It's nerve-wracking,'' said Moloney, 46, who owns three dogs and three cats. ``It's a daily battle. It's a topic of conversation when you meet someone else walking down the street with a dog.''

Moloney is not alone in feeling under siege by warm-weather pests. Now that fleas, spiders and other creepy crawlies are opting to nest in Valley homes rather than the great outdoors, it's time to launch a counterattack.

``Everything comes out in the summer,'' said Sue Fries, an owner and vice president of Hydrex Pest Control in Van Nuys. ``Summer is the time for pest control. I have to hire extra employees.''

Gail Van Gordon, a Los Angeles County public health entomologist, said her office gets about 2,000 calls a year just on arthropods.

``The warm weather increases our calls related to arthropod pests and increases the calls we get for rodent pests,'' she said. ``In Southern California, it seems like a constant effort to keep things under control.''

Fleas, by far, are the most woeful side effects of warmer temperatures. Local pest control companies say they have received more calls than normal about the pesty blood-sucking insects that make life miserable for residents and their pets. The most common is the cat flea, which plagues both cats and dogs.

``This year, (complaints) exploded,'' said Dave Snyder, owner of Zenith Environmental Pest Control in Canoga Park. ``Usually, this amount (of extermination requests) we don't do until summer. I think just the amount of rain we've had, the climatic conditions, are perfect this year for an early proliferation.''

Snyder estimated his company is receiving 15 to 20 calls a day from residents.

``It's kind of scary if we're doing that much now,'' he said. ``What's going to happen when the season hits?''

Flea season generally starts when the weather gets warm before peaking in July and continuing through August and sometimes September.

When dealing with fleas, the county's Van Gordon suggested a three-part plan that involves treating the pets and the interior and exterior of the house on the same day.

``We never specify what type of chemical,'' she said. ``We simply tell (callers) the pesticides they use inside will be different outside.''

Chemicals should be used judiciously, she added. The most important thing is to read the labels and follow directions completely.

Zenith, for instance, sprays a granular mixture of nematodes - wormlike organisms that feed on flea eggs and larvae - and water on grass, flower gardens and ground cover, Snyder said.

The company also sprays a chemical ``growth inhibitor,'' which keeps immature stages of fleas from becoming reproductive adults, on carpets, upholstered furniture and floors, he said.

``You have to pay extra attention where animals normally frequent,'' Snyder said.

Laurie Leach, a Woodland Hills veterinarian, said many of her clients use Program, a once-a-month flea-control tablet for dogs and monthly liquid medication for cats that interrupts the fleas' life cycle. Medication for one pet costs $6 to $7 per month, but the price can vary depending on the size of the animal and by clinic, Leach said.

``In addition, we recommend flea control - sprays, shampooing - things that kill the adult fleas,'' Leach said.

To ensure their pets' safety, owners should contact their veterinarians before beginning a flea-control program. Some animals may be more sensitive to certain flea-control methods, she said.

There are simpler measures that can be taken in the house to lessen the impact of fleas. Frequent vacuuming, particularly in areas where your pets hang out, is recommended. Discard the vacuum bag immediately.

A flea comb can be effective but takes time. Run the comb through the animal's coat, catching the flea in the comb's teeth. Then, put the flea in small cup of flea spray to kill it.

Mike McGrath, editor of Organic Gardening magazine, suggested using cedar chips in your pet's bedding because the aromatic wood is believed to repel the fleas. Keep the bed clean, too.

Fleas also can be brought in by stray animals. If you take your dog for a walk, check it for fleas before re-entering the home.

Balmy temperatures also invite more spiders and cobwebs. Tina Wright finds spiders seemingly everywhere in her Chatsworth home.

``Every time you turn around, you see one crawling around the wall,'' she said. ``We've had these things every summer. This year, they came early.''

A weekly cleaning person does what she can with the recurring cobwebs, but Wright has hired Snyder's company to help control the spiders - not to mention the ants that invade the kitchen and bathroom.

``It's kind of frightening because I don't know where they're coming from,'' she said.

Hydrex's Fries said her company is beginning to include web control for an extra $2 to $4 in service to regular customers. The pest-control workers wipe out webs - and, it is hoped, the spiders within them - with a round broom.

Spiders are beneficial because they prey on pests that harm plants, but folks still can't abide them, Van Gordon said. Some typical arachnids that one might find include tiny house spiders - found in the corner of windowsills - and garden spiders, orb weavers and jumping spiders.

Only two types of spiders - the black widow and the light tan/gray South American violin, which is about the size of a quarter - are considered public health nuisances in the area.

Keep spiders and other unwanted bugs out of your home by checking entry points that need to be repaired. Is the weather stripping worn out around the patio doors? Are there holes in window screens? Is there a crawl space under the house?

Are there gaps between the floor and pipes?

``It's so much easier to build them out than deal with them when they enter the home,'' Van Gordon said.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) They're back...

The heat is onand the bugs have returned. Here's how to fight back

(2) Zenith Environmental Pest Control exterminator Jesse Torres get ready to spray for fleas after Bill Moloney, holding son Elijah, and Christine Moloney vacate their Studio City home. Zenith workers also attack fleas by spraying vegetation with special chemicals and organisms.

John McCoy/Daily News