ScientificName: Ctenocephalides felis or canis
Description: 1/8 inch, dark brown bodies
Habitat/Food: Fleas live on dogs and cats, in carpets, and in other animal nests. They feed on the blood of their host animal.
Life Cycle: Female fleas lay eggs on their host body, which fall to the ground and start their larva stage. They become adults within one to three months depending on temperature then find another host the feed from.
Organic Control: Diatomaceous earth and citrus products do an excellent job at keeping fleas away.
Interesting Fact: Fleas can jump 130 times their own height, which makes them the highest jumpers per scale in the world. Also, certain rat fleas transmit typhus and bubonic plague to humans and another species can transmit tularemia from rabbits. Fleas can also transmit several species of tapeworms that are able to infest humans.