Flea Infestations in SS13

Fleas are usually normally visible to the human eye; you’ll often see them when they jump to or from a host. If you own a dog or cat, cat or dog, or maybe you have recently moved into a house in SS13 that has had pets, then you are at risk from flea bites and fleas.

There are 2 main types of fleas that cause problems to homeowners and tenants, and these are the Dog Flea (known as Ctenocephalides canis –https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_flea) and the Cat flea (known as Ctenocephalides felis – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_flea).

Both species of flea are between 1-3mm in length, the cat flea is more of a reddish brown in appearance, while the dog flea is a slightly darker reddish black in colour with long tapering legs, allowing them to jump huge distances and as high as 16cm.

From feeding on just one blood meal, a female flea will lay over one hundred eggs (larva) attaching to the fur of your dog or cat.  The eggs are very small (0.5mm in length) and whitish in colour, once the larva hatch small maggots will emerge, these will then fall off your pet into their carpets or bedding. The larvae build a nest where they mature and, up to a foftnight after, the hungry adult fleas will emerge.

Flea droppings are best described as resembling ground black pepper, and a careful search of the property may indicate the presence of fleas.