Fleas are pests that are seen throughout the entire country and can become quite the nuisance to both homeowners and their pets. But fleas particularly flourish in Southern California because of the warm temperatures and high humidity — just what fleas want. These pests can be difficult to control because of their small size and the large numbers of offspring; fleas can reproduce quickly.

1. There are four stages to the flea life cycle (pdf); eggs, larvae, pupae and adults — the life cycle can be completed in as little as 3 weeks if the conditions are just right
2. Female fleas can lay as many as 50 eggs a day
3. Blood from the host animals (cat, dog, human, etc…) is the main source of food for the flea
4. Flea pupae cocoons are actually resistant to insecticide
5. Fleas have been known to jump up to 150 times their own length
6. A flea can live without a meal (blood) for 100 days
7. The typical life span of a flea is 2 to 3 months but fleas can actually live up to a year and a half
8. There are about 2,000 species of fleas in the world but the Cat flea (also uses dogs as a host) is the most common in Southern California
9. Fleas prefer cats, dogs, humans, possums, rats and other rodents as hosts but they can live on any warm blooded animal
10. At any one time in a single room, 50% of the flea population will be eggs, 35% will be the larvae, 10% flea cocoons and only 5% are adult fleas

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