10 Basic Flea Facts

Ever wonder what fleas feed on or how long they can live? Well, wonder more. Here are 10 curious facts about those pesky fleas.

1. Fleas have four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, biting adult. 
2. Fleas feed on the blood of their host -- humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic animals.
3. The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.
4. A flea can live more than 100 days without a blood meal.
5. The female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood daily.
6. A flea can jump up to 8 inches high, or approximately 150 times its own height. That's like if you could leap over tall buildings in a single bound.
7. Pets with fleas may develop anemia, tapeworms or intense bouts of itching (pruritus).
8. Some pets may develop an allergy to flea saliva, which causes severe irritation and itchiness.
9. The best way to check for fleas is with a flea comb.
10. Even though there are more than 2,000 known species and subspecies of fleas, one flea species -- the cat flea -- accounts for most of the dog and cat flea cases found in the U.S.


Source: Pet MD