What Is the Incubation Period for Fleas on Dogs?

Vibration, like what occurs during vacuuming, can trigger a flea to emerge from its cocoon.

The incubation period for the flea is highly variable, depending on environmental factors and the presence of a suitable host. Only 5 percent of fleas actually inhabit your dog. The other 95 percent are scattered around your home.

Eggs

Female fleas each lay about 20 eggs per day on your dog's skin. These eggs do not adhere, but fall off wherever your dog travels, hatching in one to 10 days, depending on the environment.

Environment

Flea eggs hatch quickest in moderate temperatures and a humidity level between 51 and 92 percent. Higher or lower humidity will destroy flea eggs.

Cocoons

Once the egg hatches, the larvae eat organic debris and adult flea feces for five to 11 days and then spin a cocoon. In another five to 14 days, the young adult flea is mature enough to emerge. However, emergence requires an environmental trigger.

Triggers

If a flea cocoon is stepped on, breathed on, vibrated or warmed up, the adult flea will break the cocoon and attach to a nearby host. Dormancy can last from a few days to a year.

Egg to Adult

The typical time from egg to adult is three to four weeks, though incubation periods as short as one week or as long as one year have been observed.

References

• Labrador.net: Fleas
• Norvartis Animal Health: Companion Animals -- Fleas