Beaphar

fleas ticks

What are Fleas?
Flea species
There are several species of fleas. The two most common ones are cat and dog fleas. The cat flea is frequently the most encountered species on both cats and dogs.
The scientific name for the cat flea is Ctenocephalides felis. Despite the fact that this species mainly occurs on cats, it lives happily on dogs, too. The dog flea, Ctenocephalides canis, cannot survive on cats so easily. Because of this, the cat flea is able to out-compete the dog flea.
The cat flea is not the most frequent species of flea everywhere in the world. In some countries, such as Greece, New Zealand and Ireland, the dog flea is the prevailing species found on dogs.

The lifecycle
A flea’s lifecycle covers four stages:
• a mature flea lays an egg,
• the egg turns into a larva,
• the larva turns into a pupa,
• the pupa turns into a flea.
Fleas can be a permanent problem for pets. An adult flea normally lives for roughly 2-4 weeks. As soon as they hop onto a pet, they will begin to suck its blood.
After 36 hours, the adult female flea will lay its first eggs. They can produce up to 50 eggs a day ! All eggs fall from the dog or cat and land in the environment: on your carpet, pillows, parquet floor, in your car, on the bed, etc. The eggs will usually hatch after 5-10 days, depending on temperature and humidity.
The larvae crawl out of the eggs and feed on shed skin and the faecal matter of adult fleas that contain undigested blood. The larvae will shed their skin twice, taking aproximately 5-10 days. They prefer a warm, moist environment, and avoid direct light to prevent themselves from drying out.
Eventually, the larvae will pupate. Most pupae hatch after 4 days, but they can survive for over 140 days. The pupa can survive in a state of suspended animation until the most beneficial circumstances arise.

Flea species
There are several species of fleas. The two most common ones are cat and dog fleas. The cat flea is frequently the most encountered species on both cats and dogs.
The scientific name for the cat flea is Ctenocephalides felis. Despite the fact that this species mainly occurs on cats, it lives happily on dogs, too. The dog flea, Ctenocephalides canis, cannot survive on cats so easily. Because of this, the cat flea is able to out-compete the dog flea.
The cat flea is not the most frequent species of flea everywhere in the world. In some countries, such as Greece, New Zealand and Ireland, the dog flea is the prevailing species found on dogs.

The lifecycle
A flea’s lifecycle covers four stages:
• a mature flea lays an egg,
• the egg turns into a larva,
• the larva turns into a pupa,
• the pupa turns into a flea.
Fleas can be a permanent problem for pets. An adult flea normally lives for roughly 2-4 weeks. As soon as they hop onto a pet, they will begin to suck its blood.
After 36 hours, the adult female flea will lay its first eggs. They can produce up to 50 eggs a day ! All eggs fall from the dog or cat and land in the environment: on your carpet, pillows, parquet floor, in your car, on the bed, etc. The eggs will usually hatch after 5-10 days, depending on temperature and humidity.
The larvae crawl out of the eggs and feed on shed skin and the faecal matter of adult fleas that contain undigested blood. The larvae will shed their skin twice, taking aproximately 5-10 days. They prefer a warm, moist environment, and avoid direct light to prevent themselves from drying out.
Eventually, the larvae will pupate. Most pupae hatch after 4 days, but they can survive for over 140 days. The pupa can survive in a state of suspended animation until the most beneficial circumstances arise.