These pesky, itchy parasites thrive in the wet spring months and warm summer months, but can also appear at any time of year. Once they’re here, it can be almost impossible to get rid of them! As small as they come, fleas can cause devastating damage to you and your pets. In cases of severe flea infestations, you can always contact a trustworthy pest control company- Chilton’s Environmental uses environmentally-friendly pesticides that get the job done each and every time.

Fleas are agile and stealthy

Fleas can jump 4 to 5 feet horizontally, and close to 1 foot vertically (that is 150x it’s own height which is the equivalent of a person jumping over a building.) Fleas can also live up to 100 days without a blood meal…. So they can move quickly and lurk in the corners for months.

Fleas use an invader mentality

Eat, survive and multiply – That is what fleas do. The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime and depending on living conditions, female fleas can live up to 1.5 years!

Fleas have many stages of life

From eggs, to larva, to pupa, and finally they age into a biting adult. If a female flea lays eggs on your pet, your pet could give them a free ride to your carpet, furniture or lawn.

After scattering, the eggs will begin to hatch in about a week. When the eggs hatch the larvae will appear and spin cocoons and crawl inside in order to develop into pupae. Development generally occurs within one week, flea pupae can survive in their cocoons for 6 months if necessary. During the pupae stage, fleas are resistant to most insecticides applied to the environment. Once the adult flea emerges from the cocoon it it typically lives for about 9 months.

For every adult flea you see, there is likely a minimum of 10 cocoons, 35 larvae and 50 eggs hiding in your home and lawn. Only one in 100 fleas can be spotted with our naked eye!

Fleas are adapters 

Fleas can easily adapt to famine conditions. Just one blood meal can keep an adult flea alive for 9 months. Most traditional chemicals, including bug bombs and sprays, are only formulated to get rid of adult fleas, and sometimes flea larvae. This is why most over-the-counter do-it-yourself products don’t actually solve your flea problem.

The Black Plague & Other Dangers

In 14th century Europe, the population decreased up to 60% because of Bubonic Plague, otherwise known as the “Black Death”. It is estimated that 25 million lives were lost to an otherwise tiny foe – the flea. In modern times, there are still reported cases, in 2013 alone there were 750 reported cases, 126 resulted in death.

In regards to our pets, fleas are very uncomfortable and cause uncontrollable scratching. Our pets are at risk of developing bacterial infections if they wound themselves during scratching. Fleas can also carry tapeworm eggs; once our pets ingest these carrier fleas, they will develop tapeworms internally, which could be fatal.

Other flea related diseases are typhus, Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which are all very dangerous.

Conclusion

Because of their agile nature, their invader mentality, their ability to adapt and the dangerous diseases they carry, it’s best to just hire a professional when dealing with a flea infestation! Chilton’s Environmental can help with all of your pest needs, especially those pesky fleas!

Information found at Wondercide.com and PetMD