Fleas in pets are not something unpredictable. If your pet roams freely on the street and comes into contact with other cats or dogs, then he is likely to bring home Do they pose a potential danger to humans? Most will say no. In fact, any warm-blooded animal can be bitten, especially if the fleas are hungry. Today we’ll talk about whether fleas live on people in more detail.
Varieties
It is believed that these insects are transmitted from cats and dogs to other pets, and only bite people accidentally. Let's figure it out together. Today there are only two varieties of human fleas:
- Tunga penetrans (this species, fortunately, is practically never found here) - when attacked by representatives, a serious disease develops. The fact is that the female lays offspring by gnawing under the skin.
- Pulex irritans - these fleas can live almost anywhere.
In addition to them, there are about 30 more varieties that can live in an apartment for a long time.
Do fleas live on people? No, they don't live. Why are people periodically attacked by these insects and suffer from their bites? The answers to these questions lie in the biology of the blood-sucking creature.
In nature, they live on the ground and visit their hosts only when feeding. Bloodsuckers can use humans as a food source, but they will not live on them. If fleas have chosen an apartment, they will lay eggs in separate corners that they like. Larvae emerge from them and feed on organic debris. Unwashed dog bedding usually contains more of it than necessary. The larva turns into a pupa, from which an adult emerges. It is she who, when going out in search of food, can bite anyone in passing.
It becomes clear whether fleas live on people. They cannot spend a long time on the human body. Unlike a dog or cat, it has no fur, and there will simply be nowhere for it to hide. They can stay on the head in the hair for the longest time, but they won’t be able to live like that. Usually, having bitten their victim and received a dose of fresh blood, they leave their temporary “master” and return to the floor, to the litter or to a secluded corner.
Flea bites: fact or fiction
If you still have doubts about whether fleas live on people, then you can safely forget about them. They do not have suction cups or hooks with which insects could be held on the body. But any warm-blooded creature can become a victim of these bloodsuckers. They use everyone who comes into their habitat, although they are adapted to do without food for some time.
They will bite anyone. The only selection criterion is warm-bloodedness. Therefore, the question of whether fleas spread to humans can be considered in two ways. They won’t live on it, but they won’t refuse to feast on blood. All that matters is availability. By the way, bloodsuckers are always more active in the warm season, in hot weather.
Things to know
In order to understand in time what you are dealing with, you must know what flea bites look like on a person. This is the only way you can distinguish them from mosquito bites, bed bug bites, or an allergic reaction to food. Fleas cause the most discomfort when they bite. Allergic swelling may occur within a few hours. Its intensity will depend on the individual characteristics and inclinations of the person. In addition to the fact that the affected area itches, it also hurts a lot.
Since flea bites on humans look the same as mosquito bites, it is the pain of the bitten area that makes it possible to understand that this is a mark from another insect. Unlike mosquitoes, these bloodsuckers do not inject an anesthetic substance. Instead, only irritating saliva enters the body.
Individual characteristics
Of course, each person will have their own reaction. There are people who are completely insensitive. They simply won't notice the bite and will claim that the fleas didn't bite them. Other family members who do not have this property of the body may notice slight discomfort. Allergy sufferers have it worst of all. On their body, each bite will turn into a huge bubble that will itch and hurt. Antihistamines will help improve the condition a little, but the problem will not go away completely.
Dangers
But redness of the skin area itself does not pose any threat to life and health. How dangerous are fleas to humans? The fact is that these bloodsucking creatures are carriers of terrible diseases. These are the above-mentioned bubonic plague, anthrax and encephalitis, tularemia and typhus. The consequences of “communication” with fleas can be various types fungi.
Of course, not every cat or dog flea is a carrier. The likelihood of encountering one in your home is negligible. But we must not forget how dangerous fleas are to humans. Every year, thousands of cases are recorded around the world in which the cause of a dangerous disease was a flea bite.
What to do
Plain water may not be enough. In order for the treatment to be successful, all surfaces must be treated with a solution of Butox or Neostomazan or their analogues. They are sold in veterinary pharmacies without a prescription and are supplied with detailed instructions.
Instructions for action
You can get rid of insects in your apartment using various drugs that are freely available today. These are “Raptor” and “Raid”, “Combat” and a number of analogues. Read the instructions carefully before use. All things, floors and walls, furniture will have to be processed. Follow a few simple recommendations. Before treatment, be sure to vacuum the entire apartment. Throw out all the garbage at once, because dust may remain. Just in case, treat the apartment or house twice. If fleas have settled in a person’s hair, be sure to treat it with a special shampoo.
Pet protection
Dogs and cats must wear collars with repellent components or use special drops. If you prevent insects from appearing on your pets, then the chances of a person being bitten are much less. Cat fleas On humans, in most cases they appear when their pets go for a walk, visiting less well-groomed representatives of the genus. To avoid this, the bedding is thoroughly washed, then wormwood is laid out on it. The animals themselves need to be bathed in Butox solution.
Instead of a conclusion
There are no separate ways to get rid of fleas in humans. But this is understandable, because bloodsuckers do not live on our body. It is simply not recommended to scratch the wounds to prevent infection from getting into them. It is better to treat bites with any disinfectant solutions. If itching occurs, you may need to use any soothing ointment. And in any case, it is much easier to prevent them from appearing in your home. If prevention does not produce results, every effort will need to be made to ensure that the treatment is one-time and effective.
When a pet brings some kind of insect into the house, the person first needs to figure out whose bite itches on his body. Because , blood drinker You can only know who it is - a flea, a bug, lice.
Are there human fleas?
What does a human flea look like?
If there are symptoms that a human flea is still living in the home, then treatment will be needed chemicals, for example, Tetrix.
Flea remedies for children
Such pests do not live either at home or in other conditions on the human body or head (in the hair either), they get there only to feed, and then rest in carpets, crevices, under baseboards. Therefore, no special treatment, such as for lice, should be carried out. You can simply wash your hair and body with tar, shampoo ( folk method). This will act as a repellent, and the skin at the bite sites will heal faster. Primary treatment of a bite at home is carried out with brilliant green and hydrogen peroxide. If the damaged area is itchy, then treatment can be performed with Fenestil ointment; it will eliminate the itching in half an hour.
There are no special means to get rid of human fleas as they are unnecessary. The bites will disappear as soon as you manage to get rid of the insect in the living quarters and remove the larvae.
Human flea development cycle
Therefore, you need to understand that if you manage to remove the adults, but the larvae and eggs remain, then in a short time the population will be restored, so you also need to get rid of them.
Types of human fleas
At home, people can be bitten by dog, cat, rat and human varieties of the same insect. There is little difference between them, they are simply better adapted to one type of “food”, but in the absence of it, they drink the blood of everyone who comes to hand.
A person, just like a pet, can become infected with fleas anywhere. An insect that has the ability to jump long distances and to any height can get into the house by being carried on clothes or shoes from the street, and it can also be carried on its fur by your pet.
The sand flea is considered the most dangerous for humans, a small bite of which threatens a person with the formation of a large purulent wound. In this case, the bloodsucker can continue its life and reproduction directly in the wound, under the skin.
What does a human flea look like?
Measuring up to 3 mm in length, the human flea can jump up to three meters in length. The body of the insect is dark brown, flattened laterally, which allows it to feel free in human hair and does not threaten to be removed from it with a comb when combing.
Bloodsucking eggs are laid in floor cracks or behind baseboards. In one clutch, each individual lays up to 500 eggs, from which, after half a month, new bloodsuckers appear, carrying the threat of infection with deadly diseases.
The flea does not live long - on average up to three months, but long-lived insects live up to one and a half years. During their lives, they give birth to up to half a thousand of their own direct descendants and several tens of thousands of their “grandchildren” and “great-grandchildren.”
It is almost impossible to kill a human flea: it either quickly runs away or hides, making a dizzying jump. Without food it can live for a very long time. Therefore, the absence of people in a room for a long time does not mean that all dangerous insects will disappear during this time.
What dangers do fleas pose?
It is known that a person can have both, and. It is worth emphasizing: all types of fleas do not live on the body of their owners - humans and animals, but only jump on it to get food, and, having eaten, hide in bed, linen, furniture, soft toys, carpets
Biting through human skin, the bloodsucker does not care at all about the painlessness of its attack - its bites are very painful, cause itching, which provokes multiple scratches of the skin. The bites look like small red spots. Quite often, flea bites lead to an allergic reaction - the itching intensifies, resulting in abrasions in the scratching areas, which, if infected, form pustules.
In addition to allergies, a person is at risk of infection from fleas with such dangerous diseases as:
- tuberculosis,
- plague,
- encephalitis,
- anthrax,
- brucellosis,
- salmonellosis,
- rat typhus,
- tularemia,
- rickettsiosis,
- dermatophiliasis,
- pulicosis,
- listeriosis.
Fleas are also dangerous to humans because they are possible carriers of helminths.
Scientists warn: the flea body carries the threat of infecting humans with more than 200 diseases.
However, much more common consequences of flea bites, along with allergies, are:
- swollen lymph nodes;
- temperature increase;
- ulcers on the body and mouth;
- headache.
The site of a flea bite on a person should be immediately treated with brilliant green or iodine. IN difficult cases it is necessary to seek qualified medical help.
Important: after cleaning with a vacuum cleaner, you should definitely throw away the dust bag from the vacuum cleaner, since it can become the center of development of thousands of new dangerous bloodsuckers. Flea larvae are successfully dealt with using dust.
The house should be treated with aerosols: Raptor, Raid, Combat, Dichlorvos, Get, Lambda Zone, insect repellent Executioner. All surfaces should be treated at a height of up to a meter from the floor.
The safest way to get rid of fleas is to call a professional team of disinfectors from the sanitary-epidemiological station.
How to rid a person of fleas
Particular care should be taken when getting rid of fleas from the person himself. Effective way can be hot bath, in which you should stay for at least half an hour.
To get rid of insects in your head, you need to apply shampoo to your hair while taking a bath and leave it there without washing it off for a while.
Then comb your hair with a fine, thick comb, starting from the roots. Then you need to dry your head with a hard towel. To ensure that you get rid of fleas, this procedure must be carried out three times in one day.
If severe itching occurs at the bite sites, antihistamines, cooling sprays, and Fenistil gel will help relieve the condition. In case of severe scratching, to prevent infection, these areas should be treated with antiseptic drugs, for example, Chlorhexidine.
Folk remedies for getting rid of fleas
Tar soap will also help get rid of insects in the head and body, the smell of which they cannot stand.
Preventing flea infestation
The following precautions will help you avoid getting fleas:
Pets are often blamed for the appearance of fleas in the house. In fact, the presence of dogs and cats does not necessarily indicate the presence or possible appearance of fleas. Few people know that human fleas exist.
What do human fleas look like?
The shape, flattened on both sides, allows them to move freely with the hair and not be crushed.Distinguish human fleas from dogs or cats only an entomologist with a microscope at hand can do it.
- plague;
- anthrax;
- helminthiasis.
A common consequence of bites may be symptoms resembling:
- rashes in the area of bites;
- sores in the mouth and throat;
- increased body temperature;
- swollen lymph nodes;
- headaches and insomnia.
How do human fleas reproduce?
Human fleas differ from their relatives in their fertility. Places for masonry can be dusty shelters under furniture and in corners, cracks in the floor, thick-pile carpeting, and animal hair. Fleas do not choose a specific location. They literally scatter eggs wherever they can. The flea development cycle takes about four weeks and occurs in several stages: 
- egg;
- larva;
- cocoon;
- imago or adult insect.
Unlike adults, they do not feed on blood and do not have the ability to bite through the skin. They eat organic matter and excrement of adults. On average, a human flea lives for several months, but there are cases when it life cycle lasts for a year and a half.
This type of flea feeds mainly human blood, but in the absence of people it can just as easily attack pets. A hungry flea jumps onto its victim, pierces the skin and drinks blood from a blood vessel. Once satisfied, the insect leaves the host’s body. Therefore, when they talk about whether a person has fleas, the question itself seems incorrect. Fleas start in the house, closer to the source of food, but they do not live on the person or animal, unlike, for example, lice.
How to remove insects
Poisoning with special insecticides
Products from such brands as Executioner, Raptor, Raid, Combat are suitable for this. They spray the suspected places where insects are located.
Poisoning fleas with insecticidal powders
Getting rid of fleas with cold
It is almost impossible to understand which fleas bit you, cat or human. If there are pets in the house, you should first remove fleas from them, and then start treating the room.
There are no special flea shampoos for humans.Therefore, to get rid of human fleas, it is important to treat the room.
Treatment of bites
Bite areas need treatment. To do this, use antiseptic soap and alcohol 
solutions. For symptoms of pulicosis similar to allergens, medications are prescribed. We are talking about sedatives and antihistamines.
To prevent fleas from disturbing field conditions, use special means, intended for people. In this sense, sprays win. It is impossible to cover all areas of the skin with ointments and gels, and fleas are very unpredictable and jump anywhere. Spraying yourself is much easier. They contain the substance DEET, which repels insects. Among the popular flea remedies are:
- Off-Extreme;
- Biban;
- Gall-Rat;
- Gardex.
The fact that fleas bite people is a well-known fact, but not everyone knows that fleas, albeit very rarely and for a short time, can still live on humans. Many types of fleas pose a danger - rat fleas, flea fleas, cat fleas or dog fleas, because once they settle in an apartment, they attack humans as well as animals in search of food.
What do fleas look like on people?
Even if a flea has left the human body and lives “on its own,” it does not die, since it can go without food for a long time. In general, insects spend most of their time in dark, secluded places, where they reproduce, lay eggs, and hatch larvae. That is, in fact, a flea does not live on a person’s body.
How dangerous are flea bites?
Fleas take a long time to adapt to new living conditions and food sources, but then their activity can be envied. There are a lot of bites on the body, they hurt and itch, and a burning sensation occurs in the damaged area. You can see what a flea bite looks like on a person in the photo below.
Flea bites on humans - what they look like, symptoms, photos
To avoid the spread of infection, you need to treat the inflamed areas with at least regular soap. Ideally, an antiseptic or any alcohol product. Then you need to apply ice and a drug that relieves itching. These measures are simple, but they relieve the condition well.
Where do fleas come from in humans?
In the photo of a flea on a person’s head, you must admit, even the image is terrifying.
