How Small Can Fleas Be?
WouterFleas are small insects that feed on the blood of their hosts. They also use their host’s body as a breeding ground. They can survive up to 100 days without eating, and female fleas can feed up to 15 times their own weight in blood every day. This is a substantial amount of blood, especially considering that they are feeding 50 or more babies at once.
The adult flea lives for around 12 months, but they can survive for longer periods of time if their environment is right and there is a blood source. Once their host is no longer available, fleas will die. Fleas lay eggs on the hosts’ bodies and then hatch one to 12 days later. The eggs are small enough to be seen with the naked eye and are made of semi-transparent material.
Fleas don’t have wings, but they are very fast and can jump up to 18 centimeters vertically and 30 centimeters horizontally. Despite being so small, fleas are very difficult to detect, especially in the fur coat of animals and the fibers of carpets.
Before entering the pupal stage, fleas lay two to three eggs. They can lay as many as thousands of eggs in their lifetime. The eggs hatch in one to twelve days and the flea larvae are about two millimeters in length. During this stage, the flea larvae hide in carpet fibers and crevices to avoid sunlight.
