Quick refreshers on key topics

Adult flea

Flea eggs

Flea pupa

Flea larva

ABSTRACT The flea is an ectoparasite which can feed off mammals and birds . There are around 2,500 different species of fleas but the two most commonly encountered by UK veterinary nurses are Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis .

This article looks at the topic of fleas , specifically the flea life cycle and the diagnosis and treatment of a flea infestation in a cat or a dog , focusing on the importance of treating each stage of the life cycle and advising the patient ' s owners to do the same .

Keywords flea , life cycle , treatment

Life cycle of the flea

There are four stages in the flea life cycle , all of which should be considered by veterinary nurses ( VNs ) when presented with a patient with a flea problem . These stages are the egg , larva , pupa and adult .

It is worth noting that a single adult female flea can lay 5,000 + eggs over its lifetime of 2 – 3 months . The life cycle of a flea can be as short as 10 days , but pupae can lie dormant for months waiting for the right conditions to emerge . Around 95 % of the flea life cycle occurs in the environment – indoors and outdoors . Although it is not possible to control every environment ( e . g . if a cat goes hunting outdoors ), we can help protect the animal when it is in the environment .

54 Veterinary Nursing Journal