“Stay still, fleas!” 5 Facts on Jumping Fleas

You know them as hematophagous insects or most commonly as parasites but the most appropriate or rather synonymous term for them would be annoying and disgusting. They are the peskiest of beings that harm our beloved pets and they for a fact have made it their life’s mission to aggravate our lives. Don’t panic. Thankfully there are companies providing pest control services that save the day.

In addition to relying on pest control to defend us from these irritants, the mantra that is “Know thy enemy” is very applicable in this situation. To cut to the chase, it is most appropriate for us to know more about our enemies to better control them.

Here are the most fascinating facts about fleas that’ll keep you informed:

Fact 1

Fleas have this fascination of choosing their host to annoy forever. They were designed to do so because … well … that’s the only thing fleas are for. They transport themselves on rodents and other mammals, usually their most common preys would be our beloved pets such as cats and dogs, and there are times that they infest humans as well.

Fact 2

Fleas are wingless and they get onto host by jumping, hence their name “Jumping Fleas”. As wingless insects they do not fly BUT they can actually jump as high as 150 times their own height or 18 cm vertically and 33 cm horizontally. This makes them one of the most agile and best jumpers of all known animals (relative to their size of course).

Fact 3

Fleas have been around for quite a long time, at least 165 million years. Back in the Mesozoic Era, they would have been huge! Gigantic even, since their host would be dinosaurs!

Fact 4

Female fleas would lay 20 eggs a day minimum and half of these eggs would be female, which is one of the reasons why they are so rampant. They lay their eggs within 35 to 48 hours from the time of its first blood meal, and in about 60 days these female fleas can reproduce about 20,000 MORE newborn fleas.

Fact 5

One of the most prominent and notorious event that that the fleas have ever taken part in is the Bubonic Plague. The plague happened because these pests can transmit bacterial disease such as murine typhus to humans through rodents. Also their saliva is an allergen, causing allergic reactions in pets and humans. In addition, they are carriers as well of tapeworm which can cause anemia to our pets. Finally, flea bites cause painful and annoyingly itchy red bumps.

Fortunately for us solutions like pest control has been such a blessing because we can exterminate these insects but if you do your part as well in order to prevent them it would be best too. Simple things like cleaning and vacuuming your homes frequently as well as keeping your yard clean of trash or any garbage. For our pets, it would be best to protect them by washing them up often, give them monthly check-ups to the vet for fleas and ticks and most importantly when outdoors try to put them on a leash. Only by doing your part will you prevent them too but if that won’t work you can always call up any pest management expert.