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Sticker of Human flea
Bug card No. 0758 of 1,500

Human flea

Pulex irritans
Eats: BloodOther insectsHouses and farms6 legs

The human flea is a tiny dark brown insect with no wings. Its body is very flat from side to side, so it can slip easily between hairs and feathers. Even though it is called the human flea, it bites lots of different animals.

Lives in
All over the world. It first came from Central and South America
Length
1.5 to 4 mm (0.06 to 0.16 in)
Top speed
about 0.63 km/h (0.39 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting
Its bites make the skin red, swollen and itchy. If you think you have flea bites, tell a grown-up so they can clean the house and treat the pets.
What does it eat?
The grown-up flea drinks blood from mammals and birds. Its babies are tiny worm-like larvae that eat bits of dirt and dust on the floor.
For real!Photo of Human flea
Picture by Herms, William Brodbeck (1876-1949). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

Human flea about 4 mm long (0.16 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)
small enough to sit on your fingernailcould run across a dinner table in 5.7 secondsmoves 44 times its own body length every second

How big is Human flea compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It probably first lived on guinea pigs or peccaries in South America, and then spread around the world with fur and pets.

2

It bites dogs, cats, pigs, rats, chickens, bats and many other animals, not only people.

3

Flea bites often come in little rows or groups.

4

A flea inside its cocoon can wait for up to a year until the time is right to come out.

5

Most fleas in a house are not on the animals at all but are eggs, larvae and cocoons hiding in carpets and beds.

you asked

Most asked questions about Human flea

?Do human fleas bite people?

Yes, but not very often in homes today. They more often bite pets and other animals, and the bites itch.

?How big is a human flea?

A grown-up flea is only about 1.5 to 4 millimetres long.

?How do you get rid of fleas?

Grown-ups treat the pets, vacuum the floors often and wash bedding in hot water.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Pulex irritans
Group
Other insects
Family
Pulicidae
Classification
Insecta > Siphonaptera > Pulicidae
Lives on
South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and Oceania
Also known as
House flea

Where the facts come from

  1. Human flea (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Herms, William Brodbeck (1876-1949). Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

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