Mary Allen
It jumps, it jumps, it crawls, it itches. flea infestation! They belong to the ectoparasites and can quickly become very annoying. But where do fleas come from? What kind of fleas are there? Who brings the little bloodsuckers into the apartment? Can fleas spread to humans? Are fleas harmful to health? But more importantly, what can you do to get rid of them? Here you will find all the important information about the parasite and helpful tips for combating the plague.
The dog flea
Every dog owner’s fear is that their pet will be infested with fleas! Fleas are small insects that reproduce extremely quickly: a flea lays more than 50 eggs every day! What happens if your dog falls victim to a flea infestation?
What is a flea?
Fleas are brownish wingless insects, the body length of Ctenocephalides canis varies from 1.5 to 3 millimeters, which have the property of being able to get stuck between the hair of dogs and jump up to thirty times their size. It has been experimentally determined that a dog flea can jump an average of 30.4 ± 9.1 cm. The width of the individual jumps varied between 3 and 50 centimeters. The average jump height was 15.5 cm – with the highest jump reaching a height of 25 cm
The eggs are 0.5 to 0.6 millimeters long, oval, milky white, and shiny. The legless larvae of the dog flea are yellowish-white in color. Their slender body is clearly segmented and has numerous bristles. Like other flea larvae, dog flea larvae have biting-chewing mouthparts and a clearly recognizable brown head capsule. The dog flea can easily be confused with the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis).
The dog flea has a pressure-resistant chitin shell that allows them to get between hair – such as e.g. B. in the fur of a dog as a host – to move. Both sexes of adult individuals suck blood from their host. After digesting the blood, dog fleas leave behind tiny black lumps – the flea droppings.
Observing these black grains is characteristic of recognizing a flea infestation on your pet. Fleas are a scourge, their presence on your companion is a health problem, but it’s not a problem of poor hygiene.
Where did my dog get the flea?
The dog flea is distributed worldwide. The main hosts of Ctenocephalides canis are domestic dogs, foxes, and wolves. Secondary hosts include humans, domestic cats, and domestic rabbits.
It is enough for your dog to bring home just one flea so that it can lay eggs to become a real nuisance in the animal’s habitat. You can even get into an apartment by the soles of shoes! They prefer to hide in fabric: baskets, pillows, sofas, carpets, and beds.
Therefore, you should consider the ease with which your pet can become reinfested once we get rid of this parasite.
The consequences of a flostich
Flea bites result in highly itchy wheals. As a result of the itching, there is often increased scratching. This in turn can cause secondary infections. A mass infestation with dog fleas can lead to eczema, emaciation, and anemia, especially in pets.
What is a dog flea?
Can a dog flea walk on humans?
Fleas from dogs and cats – a plague that many pet owners have had to deal with. The little bloodsuckers are widespread. What many people don’t know is that fleas from animals can also pose a health risk to humans. The best protection is to keep pets and households free of fleas.
How long does a dog flea live on humans?
Even without blood, fleas can survive for many months. They locate their victims with powerful sensory organs, thanks to which they perceive human vapors, for example. The proboscis that they insert into the host’s skin has two ducts.
What does a dog flea look like?
Fleas are around 4 mm in size, flattened at the sides, and have no wings. They can be seen with the naked eye, but the best way to find out whether your dog has infested fleas is to look at their droppings. To do this, brush the dog’s fur with a special flea comb and pay attention to small black crumbs, the flea excrement.
What color is a dog flea?
Fleas on dogs – how do I recognize them? Fleas are around 3 mm, about the size of a pinhead, and mostly brownish in color. They almost look a little like tiny bugs. However, unlike bugs, fleas can jump up to half a meter!
Are dog fleas black?
Fleas are tiny black-brown insects that are 2-4mm in size and have a flattened body shape. They feed on the blood of their host. To do this, they add saliva to the blood to prevent it from clotting.
What color is a flea?
They have powerful hind legs with which they can jump up to a meter. Fleas are small, about 2 to 3 mm, and red to brown in color. The mouthpart is a combined proboscis and sucker.
What does it look like if you have fleas?
Fleas are very small, brownish to reddish-brownish insects with a flattened body shape. Despite their very small size (approx. 2.5 mm), they can in principle be seen with the naked eye without any additional aids, even if a magnifying glass helps (unless they jumped away from the more detailed examination).
Can fleas be black?
Fleas are wingless insects. They are two to four millimeters long and brown to black in color.
Are fleas hermaphrodites?
Female fleas have a semen sac into which the male injects his ejaculate with pressure. It remains stored there until the female finds suitable conditions for laying her eggs. Only then does the seminal fluid flow out of the seminal pocket by capillary action.
Are fleas elongated?
The cat flea has an elongated head that is about twice as long as it is high. It can be distinguished from other flea species by the ctenidia consisting of chitin thorns.
Can you see fleas in bed?
In principle, fleas can be seen with the naked eye. Although they are only a few millimeters in size, it is still possible to see them in bed. But then they are live fleas. We usually do not discover eggs and larvae because they are even smaller and white.
What to do about dog fleas on humans?
- Cold, e.g. B. wet washcloths or cool packs.
- Avoid severe scratching! Scratching the flea bites easily leads to additional infections.
- A full bath gets rid of fleas that are on the body.
- In order to remove all fleas, the clothes must be changed and washed as hot as possible (at least at 60 °C, better at 90 °C). Blankets, stuffed animals, and the like also belong in the laundry.
- Thorough cleaning of the apartment and regular vacuuming of upholstered furniture and carpets is also important. A massive flea infestation makes it necessary to treat the home with pesticides.
Are dog fleas contagious to humans?
In fact, both dog fleas and cat fleas also jump on people, because the small insects don’t really care which host they “tap” to suck blood. Conversely, human fleas can therefore also be transmitted to pets.
Can fleas be transmitted from person to person?
Especially if your animal is out and about a lot, it can catch the annoying parasites through contact with other animals such as hedgehogs, mice, and stray conspecifics and then transmit them to humans.
How long do bird fleas live?
Bird fleas cannot stay in heated indoor areas for more than a week or two. They dry up and die without being able to reproduce. In contrast, they survive longer in unheated huts.
When do fleas die?
Various flea stages (eggs, larvae, etc.) are only definitely killed off at a temperature of at least 60°C. Even cold 4-5 days at -18°C kills fleas.
How old can a flea get?
The average life span of adult fleas is several weeks, and under favorable conditions, it can last 3-4 months.