Larvae feed on “flea dirt.” Once they’re settled away from light, the larvae-which make up about one-third of the flea population in a home-spend one to two weeks developing and feeding on organic debris and flea “dirt,” the dried feces of adult fleas that is basically just dried blood. They’ll try to get as far down into cracks and crevices in floorboards and carpets as they can, says Prior. Larvae are negative phototaxic, a technical way of saying they move away from light sources. Larvae hatch from their eggs after two to seven days. “The pet gets up, stretches and shakes, and the eggs just fly off into the environment - typically where that pet is sleeping or has been sleeping.” The eggs wind up in areas where the host spends a lot of time, and it’s here that the larvae hatch and develop.
The eggs are like “little ping pong balls,” says Prior. They don’t stay there, but fall off around the house as the host moves around. Depending on environmental conditions like heat, humidity and the presence or absence of hosts, the cycle can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.įlea larvae hatch from the eggs that adult female fleas lay on their hosts. There are four stages in the life cycle of the flea: eggs hatch into larvae, which spin cocoons and develop into pupae and then emerge as adults. What exactly are flea larvae and how do you control them? Let’s get to know the little buggers.įleas have life cycles that are very different from our pets’ and ours.
Maybe you’ve made that same mistake by treating the adult fleas you can see, while getting caught off-guard by their larvae. I was completely unprepared for the rest of the uninvited guests in the house-the eggs and flea larvae developing out of sight and getting ready to make a meal of my pets (and my legs). Both my cats got fleas one summer, and I thought the problem had been solved after treating the adult fleas on my feline housemates with a flea bath. I wish I’d met Prior a few years ago when I had to deal with many pet parents’ worst enemy. Craig Prior, medical director of the VCA Murphy Road Animal Hospital in Nashville and president-elect of the Companion Animal Parasite Council. “For every one flea you see on a dog or cat, there’s nine more out in the environment that you’re not seeing,” says Dr.
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