Fleas are tiny pests and because they’re so small, they can be hard to detect and even harder to get rid of. Fleas are built with a hard outer shell in order to withstand difficult conditions, so if you find you have a flea infestation, call our South Carolina pest control experts immediately. We can inspect your home and determine what your next step should be.
Here are a few facts you may not know about fleas:
1. Fleas feed on the blood of humans, birds, reptiles, and animals, but they can live more than 100 days without a meal.
2. Flea eggs are usually laid directly on a host, but tend to fall off the host’s body. If the host is moving when this happens, it can spread the eggs around and result in an infestation.
3. A flea can jump up to 8 inches high and up to 13 inches long. If humans could do the same, we could leap over tall buildings and cover incredible distances.
4. If she has the supply, a female flea can consume 15 times her own body weight in blood on a daily basis.
5. Fleas can cause a form of serious skin irritation known as flea allergy dermatitis (FAD). This is essentially an allergic reaction to flea saliva and can cause itching, redness, bumps and pus.
6. There are more than 2,000 known species of fleas, but just one flea species (the cat flea) is responsible for most of the dog and cat flea cases in the U.S.
7. If you find a flea or two on your cat or dog, they could be just one small part of a larger infestation. In reference to #2, there may be flea eggs in other areas.
8. Fleas are typically between 1/16 and 1/8 inch in length when they’re full grown. They don’t have wings, but 6 small legs to crawl and two large hind legs to jump.
9. Fleas have four different life cycles and a different elimination method is needed for each stage. That’s why it’s best to call our South Carolina pest control company if you find an infestation.
10. Once an adult flea emerges from its puparia, it has approximately 7 days to find a blood meal or it will die.
Don’t wait for a flea infestation to get worse – call us today.
