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What does a Flea look
like?
Black to brownish-black, about one-twelfth to one-sixteenth
inch long;
six legs, with many bristles on body and legs; flattened body.
Habits: Found on cats and dogs year-round, but most
common during warm and humid weather; readily attack and feed on
humans; can jump as much as seven-eighth inch vertically, and 14 to 16
inches horizontally.
What do they like to eat?
Blood
A Female can lay about 25 eggs a day, and up to 800 eggs during her
lifetime; fleas undergo complete metamorphosis, usually in 14 to 90
days.
Other Information:
*Carrier of many diseases; adults can live one to two
months
without feeding.
*A number of diseases are transmitted by fleas, including epidemic
typhus and bubonic plague.
*Fleas also carry tapeworms from dogs and rodents and
occasionally
transmit them to humans.
*Fleas are generally less than three-sixteenth of an inch long.
*More than 2,400 flea species exist worldwide.
*The lifespan of fleas on dogs is usually more than 100 days, in which
time a pair of fleas and their descendants can produce millions of
offspring.
*A female flea consumes 15 times its body weight in blood daily.
*Fleas are attracted to animals by body heat, movement, and the carbon
dioxide they exhale.
*Fleas accelerate the equivalent of 50 times faster than a space
shuttle
does after liftoff.
*Fleas can jump up to 150 times the length of their bodies - sideways
or up - equivalent to a person jumping nearly a thousand feet.
Mainly because of their overwhelming capacity to
reproduce,
fleas can become nagging nuisances for homeowners. However, there are
several
precautionary steps which can help control these critters.
Vacuum, Vacuum, Vacuum.... carpets, rugs and furniture
often
to remove flea eggs, larvae or pupae. Place the vacuum bag in plastic
and
remove from your home.
Screen foundation vents under the home to keep wild
animals from wandering under the house and creating their own flea
breeding
ground.
Want to learn more?
Click Here Fleas
& Ticks...Yuck! - REAL AUDIO
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