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Life-cycle and Habits of Fleas
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The flea passes through a complete life cycle consisting of egg, larva, pupa and adult. A typical flea population consists of 50 percent eggs, 35 percent larvae, 10 percent pupae and 5 percent adults. The life cycle from egg to adult varies anywhere from two weeks to eight months based on the temperature, humidity, food, and species of fleas observed. Normally, after a blood meal the female flea lays anywhere from 15 to 20 eggs per day and up to about 600 in her lifetime. Flea eggs are generally laid on the host (dogs, cats, rats, chipmunks, raccoons, rabbits, mice, chickens, squirrels, opossums, foxes, humans, etc.). The eggs are loosely laid in the animals’ hair coat. They drop out in almost any area especially where the host rests, sleeps or nests (rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, cat or dog boxes, kennels, sand boxes, etc.). Eggs hatch in from two days to two weeks and then change into larvae. They can be found indoors in floor cracks & crevices, along baseboards, under rug edges and in furniture or beds. Outdoors they will develop in sandy gravel soils (moist sand boxes, dirt crawlspace under the house, under shrubs, etc.) where the pet may rest or sleep. Sand and gravel are ideal for larval development. That is the reason fleas are erroneously called "sand fleas."
The larvae are blind, avoid light, pass through three larval instars and take from a week to several months to develop. Food consists of digested blood from adult flea feces, dead skin, hair, feathers, and any organic debris. (The larvae do not suck blood.) Pupae mature to adulthood inside a silken cocoon woven by the larva. The larvae include pet hair, carpet fiber, dust, grass cuttings, and other debris when spinning the cocoon. From about five to two weeks, adult fleas emerge or thy may remain resting in the cocoon until the detection of vibration (pet or people movement), pressure (host animal lying down on them), heat, noise, or carbon dioxide (this means a potential blood source is near). Fleas over-winter in the larval or pupal stage with survival and growth best occurring during warm, moist winters and spring.
Adult fleas cannot survive or lay eggs without a blood meal, but may live from a couple of months to a year without any feeding. There is often an urgent need for flea control after returning from a long vacation. The house has been empty with no cat or dog around for fleas to feed on. When the family and pets are gone, flea eggs hatch and larvae pupate (develop in the cocoon). The adult fleas fully developed inside the pupal cocoon remains in “rest” state for a long time until a blood source is close by. When the family returning from vacation is immediately attacked by hungry hordes of fleas. (This in “mind-boggling”...In just one month, 10 female fleas under ideal circumstances can multiply to over a 250,000,000 different life stages.)
Newly emerged adult fleas can live only about one week if a blood meal is not obtained. You can compare these newly emerged fleas to other fleas and visually see the difference in size. However, as we mentioned, completely developed adult fleas can live for several months without feeding, as long as they do not emerge from their cocoons. Best temperature for flea development in the flea's life cycle is from 70°F to 85°F. The optimum humidity is about 70 percent. The cat flea is probably the most common flea in most areas. This type of flea feeds on a wide range of hosts.
Fleas can lie dormant for up to one year, they do this when a food source is not available i.e. empty houses and it is vibration and heat detection that alerts them to a new food source.
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