Flea Control >>
The Flea: Pest of the HouseholdPOSTED: June 7, 2007 1:04 pm  Fleas are too well known to need description. Where houses become infested, the trouble is nearly always traceable to a pet cat or dog, although the pest may be brought in on clothing or bottom of shoes of a visitor. The species usually observed is the common Cat and Dog Flea (Ctenocephalus canis Curt.).
The adult flea lays eggs among the hairs of its animal host. These drop off, and the egg hatches to form a minute, white, slender larva, which lives in cracks in the floor or other protected places, feeding on any available organic matter, such as hairs, or even dust. The larva transforms to a pupa, and later the adult emerges, ready to leap on the first cat or dog that comes its way, or on a human being. |