Do you feel quite familiar with cat fleas? If not, check out these 5 facts about cat fleas as your basic pieces of information before trying to get rid of them.
The first basic question about cat fleas: are cat fleas common to be found in houses? The straight answer to this question is yes.
Finding cat fleas in the house is very common, this is especially for those who live with pets like dogs or cats. Thus, it is certainly not surprising if cat fleas may become the worst nightmare for every pet owner wherever you are!
Unfortunately, your pets are always vulnerable to flea infestation despite you always keeping them indoors all the time. Because even if you strictly keep your pets indoors, cat fleas are ‘sneaky enough’ to find a way to get inside your house. Cat fleas in house can be carried away surprisingly easily in many ways, such as during vet visits, or through humans by sticking on shoes or clothes.
Learn more about how did indoor cat get fleas here
Although facing cat fleas in house is not fun at all for you or your pets. But there are a number of facts about these blood-sucking insects that you may not know. This probably might raise your urgency to get rid of cat fleas in the house from the very beginning of its signs.
Facts about cat fleas
In this article, we provide some facts about cat fleas – one of the most common flea species plaguing animals and humans.
Here are the top five facts about cat fleas:
- Cat fleas are great jumpers
- Cat fleas can also bite humans
- Cat fleas are always hungry
- Cat fleas reproduce quickly
- Cat fleas are very tiny
Click one of the facts above to read the detailed description.
1. Cat fleas great jumpers
Unlike the other external blood-sucking parasites like bed bugs that prefer to crawl when looking for their host; cat fleas will jump a great distance to find their host.
Cat fleas cannot fly as they do not have wings. But they have powerful pair hind legs that enable them to jump many times more than several times their body length. So, how far can a cat flea jump?
According to research on veterinary parasitology in 2000, adult cat fleas are known to do just as well when jumping vertically or horizontally. Cat fleas may be small in size, but their minimum jump can reach 2 cm and the maximum is 48 cm long!
2. These pesky pests can also bite humans
Have you ever asked yourself: do cat fleas bite humans too?
As we already mentioned above, cat fleas are actually not only a serious problem for your pets, but also for yourself. Cat fleas need to feed on fresh blood to produce their eggs that they can get by feeding on mammal’s blood. Since humans are classified as mammals – so then yes, cat fleas can also bite humans too!
Our body can have a severe reaction to cat flea’s saliva. Below are some of the common symptoms of a cat flea bite on humans, including:
- Extremely itchy and painful sensation
- Red and swollen sores that may appear in a group of clusters or lines that develop within minutes after the bite
- Cat flea bite marks usually located on the lower human body parts such as feet, ankle, and lower legs
- Although it is very rare, flea bites also can be found in other parts of the body such as the armpit, waist, and elbow
- Some people may develop allergic reactions to flea bites, such as dizziness, hard to breathe, nausea, and chest pain
Interesting read: Can cat fleas bite humans?
Even though cat fleas may bite humans, they don’t live and breed in human bodies. This is because humans do not have extensive hair or fur as thick as animals. And it is very difficult for cat fleas to reproduce without any protection from hair or fur.
3. Cat fleas are always hungry
Their bodies might be small, but don’t underestimate the matter of their appetite. Cat fleas are known to bite their hosts 400 times per day.
According to research about blood consumption by cat fleas in the late ’90s, the adult female cat fleas consumed an average of 13.6 microliters (± 2.7 microliters) of blood per day. Their need for blood consumption is equivalent to 15 times their body weight.
4. They can reproduce quickly
The cat flea life cycle is quite short and they are able to reproduce quickly.
The female cat fleas need fresh blood from their host in order to begin to produce their eggs. And they will begin to lay their eggs within after the first blood meal. On average, single female cat fleas are capable of laying 20 – 50 eggs per day; and can produce up to 2,000 eggs during their lifetime.
The developmental stages from eggs to adult cat fleas only take 2 – 3 weeks to several months. Where the eggs will hatch in 2 – 10 days, with a chance of hatching earlier no more than 48 hours in warm temperatures.
The adult cat fleas can live and survive up to 1.5 years upon the ideal temperature and humidity, as well as the sufficient number of a potential host. Therefore, these tiny blood-sucking parasites are able to spread quickly around your home; unless you take immediate action to prevent their infestation.
5. Cat fleas are very tiny
Cat fleas are very tiny but tough enough to get rid of!
The last facts about cat fleas are about their tiny body size that is surprisingly tough enough to deal with. Cat fleas are about 2 – 3 mm long with a weight of less than 1 gram. Thus, it’s actually not difficult to spot their infestation, since they are still very visible to the naked eye.
Certainly not without a reason why we included ‘tough’ words in their tiny body. Cat fleas are able to escape out of the danger so quickly; once they do get away they are hard to find.
Their tiny body size also makes it easier for them to hide in narrow, hard to reach places, such as:
- Wall cracks
- Carpets and rugs fibers
- The narrowest cracks in furniture
- Floor tiles
How to get rid of cat fleas completely?
Finding one or two cat fleas in your home can quickly become hundreds of fleas in a short period of time. You can still find cat fleas even if you have a clean home and/or even if you don’t own any pets.
Thus, it’s best to treat your house as soon as possible, before it becomes a serious problem for your pets and the whole family.
But don’t panic! Rentokil is the expert in cat flea control that will offer you a safe and effective treatment to ensure complete control of your flea infestation. Our certified and experienced technicians understand the habits of cat flea species and will ensure targeted treatments to get rid of cat fleas completely.
Call us today at 150808 or contact us online to arrange an appointment.
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