How Long Do Fleas Live?

Series Summary

Pest control refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be a threat to a person's health, the ecology or the economy. Chemical pesticides date back 4,500 years, and chemical pest control is still the predominant type of pest control today. While chemical pesticides may kill insects effectively, some may also be toxic to human beings and lead to severe environmental degradation if their use is not properly managed. By comparison, natural pesticides, which are usually eco-friendly, are more conducive to environmental sustainability and more beneficial to public wellness. In this free video series, a pest control operator provides information for getting rid of fleas in a home, around the house and keeping them off of pets. Discover how long fleas live, the diseases that fleas carry, and how to keep fleas off of people. Learn about flea dirt, home remedies for fleas on dogs and killing fleas with household products as well.

Video Transcript

"Hi friends, I'm Mark Govan with ABC Pest Control and a lot of people wonder well how long can actually a flea live in my home, especially if I'm not there to feed it? And I mean by feeding it I mean by putting either a pet or myself in danger of having him feed on us. Well you know, fleas can live as an adult for over a year and every week or within 30 days, 7 to 30 days, they can lay a lot of different eggs. Fleas can live for up to a year without even having a blood meal inside the home, but what we don't think about are the flea pupa cases and that's the fleas that are waiting to hatch out into an adult. A lot of times people are selling their homes and they're away for the wintertime or something and when they come back, they say well no one's been in the home, there hasn't been any pets there but all the sudden within hours of them coming home, they get bitten by fleas. Well what happened? Well what it is is that the carbon dioxide that we breathe out actually starts the cycle of the flea from hatching from it's cocoon and once it hatches out, the first thing it wants to do is feed on either you or me so fleas live a long time even if you're not there in the home or your pet's not in the home. So make sure that you always apply a good residual product within the home to keep that flea population down while you're away so you don't come back to being bit. I'm Mark Govan with ABC Pest Control in Largo, Florida helping keep you and your home pest free."