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Fleas
Appearance: Adult fleas are 1.5 to 3.5 mm in length. They are dark-colored insects (e.g., cat flea is dark reddish brown). Fleas have long legs that they use to jump close to 40 cm horizontally and 20 cm vertically. Life cycle: A female flea lays eggs in batches of up to 20. A single flea can lay up to 500 eggs in her life time. A flea's life span is usually around 2 to 3 months. Flea eggs take from 0.5 to 2 weeks to hatch and become adults in around five weeks. Habits: Fleas detect carbon dioxide and temperature to locate their hosts. They are parasitic insects that feed directly on human and animal blood. Flea eggs are not sticky, so they can fall from the host and easily contaminate other areas. Fleas can trigger excessive allergic reactions both in humans and pets, and they are known to transmit human diseases. Unprofessional flea treatment (e.g., the use of vacuums) can aggravate the flea problem by triggering the pupa to become adults sooner than expected. |
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