Fleas aren't just your dog's worst nightmare - they can be yours, too. In order to stop them, it's important to understand a little bit about how they operate.

Only 5% of the total flea population is in the form of adult fleas on your pet. The other 95% can't be seen. That's because fleas are always in various stages of development, as eggs, larvae, or pupae, which can exist in your carpet, couch, bedding, and anywhere else your pet walks or lies down.

The complete flea life cycle lasts between 2 weeks to almost 170 days; however, the average life cycle is about 21 days.*

Here are some important things to know about each stage of the flea life cycle:

Adult Fleas

• Adult fleas live on your pet; they do not jump from pet to pet or pet to human.
• A single adult female flea can lay up to 1200 offspring in one month and can lay up to 2000 eggs in her lifetime (up to 170 days).*

Eggs

• Fleas lay eggs within 24 hours after feeding.*
• Flea eggs are not sticky, so they fall off the pet and scatter like BBs.*
• Eggs hatch as larvae within 1 to 6 days.*

Larvae

• Larvae can travel up to 18 inches in carpet.
• Larvae move away from light, deep into carpets and cracks in flooring where they feed.
• On average, larvae live up to 12 days on your pet.

Pupae

• Pupae survive most flea treatments.
• Pupae may remain dormant 4 to 6 months, but sometimes up to a year.

REFERENCE:
* Dryden, M.W., The cat flea: biology, ecology and control. Vet parasitology. 1994; 52:1-19.

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