What is a Flea?
Fleas are considered parasites and live by feeding on their host blood. Fleas are small insects measuring to about 1.5 to 3 mm long. Flea are wingless and cannot fly, they have tube like mouth for feeding on blood and have long legs that is cable of jumping up to 8 inches (150 times their own length) making them the best insect jumper relative to their body size
Flea can live in Animals, Humans, Birds and Reptiles. Flea can live up to 100 days only with a host and 2 to 14 day without blood meal. Flea can consume blood 15 times more than its body weight in a day. Flea lives in dark area that is why they prefer to live on animals with longer hair than humans.
Flea Life Cycle
Flea has 4 life stages which are Egg, Larva, Pupae and Adult. Before the Flea becomes adult, it mostly feed on organic debris like dead skin, adult flea feces, and dried blood residue from adult flea feeding. Once the Flea becomes an adult, it will only feed on blood. It can take less than 3 weeks for an egg to develop into an adult flea.
Flea Reproduction
Adult female fleas needs to have a host and stay there before she can lay eggs. The female flea live, feed and breed on her host because they needs a blood meal for her eggs to fully develop. Without a blood meal, female flea will starve and unable to produce viable eggs. Flea can lay up-to 50 eggs per day and up to 2,000 eggs in their life time.
Flea Infestational Risk
Flea bite immediate effect to humans are itchy sensation similar to mosquito bite but worst as it appears in clusters or line that will last for several weeks. Aside from the itchy bite, fleas are also known to transmit viral and bacterial diseases that cause epidemics by transmitting disease from animal to human. The Bubonic plague that swept Europe in the 14th century that killed 25 Million was cause by Fleas from Rat.
Flea Prevention
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