As external parasites of mammals and birds, fleas live by biting and consuming the blood of their hosts. Their bites cause skin irritation which is usually the first warning of their presence.
Unfortunately, it is usually the family cat or dog that brings fleas in to your home which can lead to a vicious cycle of pet treatment followed by deep cleaning and insecticide treatment of your home unless it is done correctly by experts.
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Did you know…
Fleas are holometabolous insects, going through the four lifecycle stages of egg, larva, pupa, and imago (adult). In most species, neither female nor male fleas are fully mature when they first emerge but must feed on blood before they become capable of reproduction. The first blood meal triggers the maturation of the ovaries in females and the dissolution of the testicular plug in males, and copulation soon follows.
Life cycle and development
Some species breed all year round while others synchronise their activities with their hosts’ life cycles or with local environmental factors and climatic conditions. Flea populations consist of roughly 50% eggs, 35% larvae, 10% pupae, and 5% adults.
Jumping
Flea legs are long, the hind pair well adapted for jumping; a flea can jump vertically up to 7 in (18 cm) and horizontally up to 13 in (33 cm), making the flea one of the best jumpers of all known animals (relative to body size).
Relationship with host
Fleas feed on a wide variety of warm-blooded vertebrates including humans, dogs, cats, rabbits, squirrels, ferrets, rats, mice and birds. Fleas normally specialise in one host species or group of species, but can often feed but not reproduce on other species.
The cat and dog flea will happily feed on both humans and their four-legged compatriots.
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