Fleas are amazing little critters. They can jump seven or eight inches up in the air, and jump more than a foot horizontally. Fleas don’t eat only when they are hungry. In fact, they are absolute gluttons, and will continue to bite its host until they can’t eat any more. There is a reason they do this and it is critical to the survival of a flea’s life cycle. Here’s how it works.

If you see a flock of fleas on your pet and think that killing them will get rid of the problem, think again. Actually, the fleas you can see dining on your dog represent only 5 percent of your total flea population. The life cycle of these little bugs has four stages so, for the purpose of illustration, let’s say that there are 100 fleas in this happy congregation. There would be 5 little black specs you can see -- the biting adults -- along with 50 eggs, 30 in the larvae stage and 15 that are all wrapped up in the pupae or cocoon stage.

From egg to biting adult, the cycle can take from just two weeks to eight months. Females lay their eggs on all kinds of furry mammals -- dogs, cats, squirrels, rats, rabbits, foxes, chipmunks, opossums -- you name it. Flea eggs have also been found on chickens and humans. The eggs are cleverly laid in the hair so they will drop out where the "host" spends its time, nests or sleeps. That means that the pesky hitchhiker’s eggs can be found hiding in rugs and carpets, on furniture -- in any of the host’s favorite places.

It gets worse. As they begin to hatch, the larvae -- stage two -- settles into cracks in the floor, deep into the rug and under cushions on the furniture. The larvae that hatch outdoors thrives in sandy gravel soil, under shrubs and plants -- again, anywhere your pet lies down or sleeps. The nasty creatures at this point are virtually blind and stay out of bright light. They can remain in this vegetative state for up to several months. Here’s where it gets really disgusting. The main diet of the larvae consists of digested blood from adult flea droppings along with morsels of dead skin and other organic debris. Finally, they weave cocoons around themselves -- which can contain an assortment of pet hairs, carpet fibers, dust and other appetizing refuse, where they subsequently evolve into the next stage as pupae.
 

The pupae takes its sweet time maturing into an adult flea capable of biting pets and people to distraction. After a few weeks, the adult can break out of the cocoon...or stay in this comfortable nest until they detect the telltale vibration or warm pressure that alerts them to the nearby proximity of a potential host and blood banquet. The minuscule cocoons are very sensitive to heat, movement and noise, and even carbon dioxide as a pet exhales nearby. At this point, the adult flea ties on his bib and tucker and leaves for dinner.

If their cocoon "sonar" never goes off, the pupae can rest safely in their protective silk sheath for up to one year without feeding. If you want to test this theory, take a vacation, put your pets in the kennel, and walk back into your house after your flea community has had nothing to feed on. Then, suddenly, the ever-alert adult fleas sense that dinner is served, and you’ll find yourself ankle deep in hungry hordes of tiny black specs elbowing the competition out of the way for a place at the trough. Remember those adult females left behind? While you were gone they were busy spawning a quarter million babies in all stages of growth, and it won’t be long before they will be hungry, too.

It doesn’t take long before families with pets recognize a flea infestation when they see one. Everybody is scratching -- except for family members who, for some perverted reason, are immune to the annoying bites. Unfortunately, all this scratching and biting your pets do can soon produce raw, irritated skin which just invites bacteria and infection.

"We even have a name for it," explains Max Heimlich, D.V.M. "Flea allergy dermatitis -- or FAD for short -- is probably one of the most common ailments we see during the warm spring and summer months. Many dogs and cats develop an allergic reaction to flea saliva. Strangely enough, almost all of an animal’s body can be effected by the allergy except their head. And, if nothing is done to break the fleas’ life cycle, the biting and irritation can continue making the animal -- and everybody else -- miserable."

"All this biting and blood sucking is essential to the flea’s survival. They cannot breed until they have gorged themselves on blood, but once they get started, watch out. Remember," the vet continued, "virtually all of the flea’s life cycle takes place in your house, not on your pet. Its only that small 5 percent of biting adults that are wreaking all that havoc and sending everyone running for whatever they can find to relieve the itching."

"Once you are providing a home for a thriving family of fleas, "Heimlich continued, "first you’ll want to relieve your pet’s suffering and irritation, and then get busy breaking the cycle to kill the fleas. Fortunately, there are some very effective products on the market right now to do both."

Fleas are more than just annoying, they can carry a number of diseases -- including epidemic typhus and the bubonic plague to give you two dramatic examples. They also can carry tapeworms from dogs and rodents and transmit them to their other "hosts," even humans. In very young pets, like newborn kittens, a severe flea infestation can actually be life-threatening.

"Getting rid of fleas calls for a determined, coordinated effort," explained Heimlich. "Each stage in the life cycle has to be attacked individually, so don’t be misled into thinking that one measure can do it all. Take a rational and thorough approach to the battle."
 
 

"First, ask your vet which method he or she recommends to kill the adult fleas. There are some oral and topical products available only through veterinarians that may work especially well for your pet, by administering a long-acting, lethal dose to the unwanted parasites. Then, consider where your pets sleep. Where do they spend the day? Do they have special bedding or spots on the rug they favor. Tackle these breeding grounds next. Vacuum regularly.

"There are some effective insect growth regulators intended to prevent eggs from hatching and also control the larvae. Unfortunately, nothing we know of kills the pupae, so insecticides and growth regulators used in household and yard environments have to terminate the emerging fleas," Heimlich advised. "Contact your pest control company to treat carpeted areas of the house with both an ‘adulticide’ and an insect growth regulator. To avoid a flea problem, call in the professionals to treat the house and yard before flea development begins. It is a good idea to ask (and record) what chemicals are being used and, if there is any question about compatibility of their chemicals with the treatments used on your dog or cat, provide this information to your vet, as well. "

"Most importantly," the vet advised, "don’t let a flea problem get out of hand. The sooner you destroy the biting pests, the happier your pets will be."