Human fleas (Pulex irritans) - insects belonging to the family Pulicidae. They are small in size (from 1 mm to 5 mm), tan or almost black. Parasites have a flattened body on the sides, a small head with a piercing-sucking-type mouth apparatus. Their limbs are three pairs (the latter performs a hopping function), there are no wings.
Human fleas have adapted to life on the body of people, despite the insignificant hairline of those. They can eat not only the blood of Homo sapiens, but also canine, feline, horse, etc. The time of one exhaustion is from 1 to 20 minutes, and they receive “food” twice a day. In adverse conditions, these creatures can starve for a long time.
The human flea, the photo of which is shown here, can lay up to 8 eggs at a time. She lives about a year, which means that the number of eggs laid by her in her whole life is about 500. The place of masonry usually turns out to be gaps between parquet floors, rugs, pet bedding, etc.
Larvae emerge from the eggs. They are legless, move like worms. They feed on the remnants of organic matter. In their development, the larvae undergo three molt and pupate. Time spent in a cocoon directly depends on environmental conditions and can last up to two years. Coming out of the cocoon, young fleas will try to find food for themselves on a person or a pet.
Being outside the food object, human fleas move, as a rule, by leaps. They can drop on walls and home decoration, but not higher than 1 m from the floor. Once on the skin of a living organism, they crawl from place to place in search of a better suction point.
Human fleas pierce the skin and inject a special substance contained in their saliva, which prevents the blood from clotting the victim. This substance is allergenic to humans, therefore, at the site of the bite, redness, swelling is formed and severe itching and burning are felt. Combing the affected area, you can infect it again. With multiple bites, the general condition of a person worsens, and children react more sharply to this.
The ability to jump from one person to another and, therefore, to transmit an infection that enters directly into the bloodstream is the greatest danger to people. Plague, tularimia, brucellosis, pseudotuberculosis, anthrax - this is an incomplete list of diseases transmitted by human fleas.
Given all of the above, the appearance of fleas in the house must be taken seriously. Measures to remove them should be taken immediately. It is difficult to get rid of them on your own, since an incorrectly calculated dosage of the poison can develop immunity to the active substance in parasites. In this case, you will have to look for another drug and again carry out the treatment. Therefore, without consulting a specialist, it is better not to take any measures.
It can move from one room to another and again return to the skin of a human flea. How to get rid of her once and for all? It will be necessary to process the entire infected area, including neighboring apartments. 3 days after processing, all carpets, upholstered furniture will need to be vacuumed, removing all dead parasites, their eggs, as well as larvae.
As a preventive measure against fleas, it is necessary to examine pets that can bring parasites to themselves. Tailed friends should be bathed with zoo shampoos, treated with their bedding. It is necessary to regularly use anti-flea collars, drops, sprays.
Fortunately, human fleas in our time are a rare occurrence. But if you had to meet with them, then you can win the fight.