How Do Fleas Breed?

Video Transcript

"Hi friends I am Mark Govan with ABC Pest Control in Largo, Florida. Today we are going to talk about how fleas breed. Remember that adult female flea can lay over two thousand eggs, and they have a complete life cycle. Now outside in the warmer temperatures fleas can complete this entire life cycle from egg to adult in only twelve to fifteen days. So depending on temperature the life cycle can be rushed very quickly, and you can have many, many generations of fleas. Remember that an adult flea, again two thousand eggs in her lifetime. So during a one year period of time over two thousand individual fleas can be laid within through your carpet outside, inside the home, or outside the home in your shrubbery, or even in your grass. Now one of the things that we always want to make sure of is as we are completing these life cycles we can go into dormant stages. The flea pupae, you remember that it goes from egg to a larva. The larva has to have a blood meal, which it gets from the adult fleas that are feeding. Then it goes into a pupae stage. It can stay and wage in that pupae stage for over one years time. Now the problem is if there is nothing for that pupae to feed on, there is no people walking around or there is no animals in the area for the flea to feed on it can stay and wait in that pupae stage for over a year. So if fleas can wait that long you may leave your home let's say, you can go up north, and you might be gone for six to eight months. And then you can come back open the doors to your home, and as soon as that flea registers movement inside your house, or carbon dioxide in the home. The flea will hatch out of it's egg capsule, or hatch out of it's pupae case, and they can bite you. And I've heard university studies say that this can take only ten seconds. They can hatch out and they can bite you immediately. So fleas are really a big problem to be aware of. Of course, I'm Mark Govan with ABC Pest Control in Largo, Florida hoping you have a pest free day."