Fleas Can Live Anywhere
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Fleas are found in all 50 states, but they flourish in the warmer climate of the southern US. Outside, fleas prefer shade and humidity. They typically live in crawl spaces, under bushes, in brush piles, and in sand. Dogs and cats can pick up fleas outdoors, as well as inside.
Where do fleas live once they come inside? It depends on the stage of the flea life cycle. Adult fleas—the ones you can see—make up only 5% of the population. Eggs can settle in your carpet or furniture. Larvae and pupae prefer dark spaces and might hunker down in the cracks in the floor, in your carpet, or in the cracks and crannies of your couch. And, of course, adult fleas are usually feeding on hosts, like dogs and cats.
Fleas Reproduce Fast
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Fleas multiply quickly, which makes them difficult to get rid of. How fast do fleas reproduce? One adult female flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day, producing hundreds of fleas over the course of a single month. Multiply that one adult flea by dozens, or even hundreds, and you can be faced with a big problem, because your home is likely already infested with thousands of eggs. This is why just killing the fleas you can see isn't enough—you need a product that kills adult fleas you don't see, and prevents their eggs and larvae from developing.
Fleas Need a Host to Lay Eggs
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Where do fleas lay eggs? All crucial parts of the flea life cycle—feeding, mating, and laying eggs—happen on a live host. On dogs, you’ll usually find the adult fleas around their hips or hindquarters. On cats, most fleas can be found near the neck. Because of their round shape and smooth exterior, the flea eggs slide off the host and become dispersed throughout the host's environment.
Fleas Are Hard to Spot
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The most common species of flea is the Ctenocephalides felis, or the cat flea. Despite its name, the cat flea preys on dogs and cats alike. They are tiny and difficult to see if you don’t know what you’re looking for—so what do fleas look like? Fleas are small, reddish-brown and move about quickly on the surface of the skin. The best way to spot fleas on your pet is to comb through their fur and look for movement.
In addition to finding live fleas on your dog or cat, you might also notice flea dirt. These tiny, reddish-black specks are the feces of adult fleas.
The Flea Life Cycle
The adult fleas you spot make up 5% of the population—they represent just 1 out of the 4 stages in the flea life cycle. The other 95% consists of eggs, larvae, and pupae. The life cycle of fleas can last anywhere from 2 weeks to several months. The timeline is primarily dependent upon humidity, temperature, and availability of hosts. The pupae spins a protective cocoon, allowing the flea to develop into a pre-emergent adult and bide its time until it senses the signs of the presence of a potential host (such as breath or vibrations).
The 4 Flea Life Stages
1. Flea Eggs: The flea life cycle begins when an adult lays eggs on a host. The eggs fall off and settle into the environment. It takes flea eggs 1 to 10 days to hatch, depending on the temperature and humidity of the surroundings.
2. Flea Larvae: The larvae, which hatch from the egg, are 1.5 to 5 mm in length. They remain in the larval stage for 5 to 15 days before spinning into a cocoon and pupating.
3. Flea Pupae: The pupae remain in cocoons until they sense a host nearby. Because they don’t emerge until stimulated, fleas can remain in this stage for a few days to several months.
4. Adult Fleas: The adult fleas emerge from the cocoons and immediately find a host. Shortly after the first feeding, they will breed and start the flea life cycle over again. The entire flea life cycle can last anywhere from days to months.
Fleas Can Spread Diseases to Your Pet
Flea bites can cause discomfort for your cat or dog. These parasites might even bite you or other family members, leaving you with sore bite marks on your arms and legs. But fleas are more than an annoying nuisance. What starts out as a simple itch can potentially lead to a wide range of skin conditions, flea-borne diseases, or other parasitic infections in dogs and cats. These include flea allergy dermatitis, flea anemia, Bartonella infection, or even tapeworm infections.*