Flea Facts

Fleas are a nuisance and that it bothers both you and your pets with its endless bites. However not many people would know about some unique history and lifestyle of fleas.

Here are some flea facts, the number one pest that keeps "bugging" your pet:

1. The fleas have been around more than a 100 million years ago.

2. Fleas are light brown to mahogany in colour and roughly oval in shape.

3. Fleas have long limbs that can let them jump up to a height many times their length.

4. Fleas rely on blood for their nutrition but can live more than 100 days with no disturbance and without any blood meal. They have an average lifespan of about 2-3 months.

5. When a flea feeds on blood, it would crouch low to penetrate the host's tissue with a sawing motion of its mouthpart and they inject a small amount of anticoagulant together with its saliva to permit easy sucking of its host's blood. These leaves behind flea bites on its host.

6. In total, any female fleas can lay about 2000 eggs in its entire lifetime. That's a lot and just imagine the   number of fleas you could have if just one of your dog or cat is brings home just one flea, you could end up having 2000 in just 2 months time and 4 millions in another 2 months!

7. The female fleas can consume up to 15 times its body weight of blood every day.

8. Fleas can live off your pets and offsprings could be found almost everywhere in the house like the furniture, carpets, cracks on the floor, walls etc.

9. Fleas cannot tolerate cold temperature but would strive in warm weather and hence, spring and summer is the most active months of the fleas.

10. There are many species of fleas but the most commonly seen is the cat flea which can also infest both cats & dogs.