Bed fleas: detailed photos and recommendations for getting rid of

Bed fleas are a typical, so to speak, product of traditional folk thought. Jumping insects that bite people and climb to where people rest for their main source of food were called “bed insects” with the light hand of the victims themselves.

At the same time, official science does not even know such a type as a “bed flea”. Such a collective epithet among the people is called several types of fleas, most often found in human housing: cat flea, dog, human, rat.

Occasionally, representatives of other types of fleas can be found on white sheets, which is especially true for rural areas or hotels in exotic countries. But for an ordinary victim of small bloodsuckers, this does not matter: all "bed" fleas look the same if the eye is not armed with a microscope. Yes, and the habits and lifestyle they all have are quite similar ...

 

Bed fleas: a look under the microscope

Fleas in bed are always encountered unexpectedly, and turn out to be an unpleasant surprise for the one who suddenly discovered them.Moreover, regardless of in which country, with what type of parasites and at what time of the year the meeting took place, outwardly the fleas themselves look surprisingly the same. In most cases, these are very small insects with a dark shiny brown body about 2-3 mm long, wingless, but jumping very well.

The photo below shows fleas that can be found directly in your bed:

In real conditions, it is almost impossible to consider a flea, even in the palm of your hand: the insect is always trying to hide from the place where it is in sight. At the same time, due to the powerful hind legs, the flea makes such rapid jumps that the human eye cannot even notice the movement itself. Outwardly, it seems that the insect simply disappeared from the place where it had just been.

The photo shows that the hind legs of the flea are the most developed and look like they are the paws of a kangaroo:

A distinctive feature of fleas is a very strong chitinous cover of the body, designed to protect the parasite when it is caught by the victim itself. In addition, the body is quite strongly flattened from the sides, and it is almost impossible to crush a flea, for example, with your fingers. It will die only when crushed with nails or between the teeth of an animal.

It is interesting

Fleas are perfectly "aware" of their invulnerability, and therefore they do not have many of the reflexes and instincts characteristic of other parasites that are accustomed to constantly hiding, disguising themselves or running away (cockroaches, bed bugs). So, for example, fleas do not even produce an anesthetic enzyme that would make their bites less painful.Because of this, flea bites turn out to be perhaps the most sensitive compared to the bites of other parasites, which, however, does not prevent fleas from surviving quite successfully: even if their victim grabs an insect or simply scratches the bitten place, the flea will not suffer from this in any way.

In the photo - a bed flea with a strong increase:

And the following photo shows what a flea looks like at the time of the bite:

All fleas found on the bed are casual and temporary guests here. Their normal habitats are dark corners, garbage heaps, spaces behind baseboards, thick carpets, nests and bedding of pets and birds. Here they lay their eggs, rest after feeding, just hide.

Fleas in a bed or sofa can only be detected if a large amount of debris has accumulated in the internal cavities, or various fabrics are stored for a long time without ventilation and washing. On the bed, the parasites move only when they are hungry in search of their victims.

 

Fleas and other parasitic insects: how not to confuse them with each other?

Sometimes completely different insects are mistaken for bed fleas - parasites or simply those that may be on the sheets or under the pillow by accident.

At the same time, it is quite easy to distinguish fleas from all blood-sucking insects:

• From all their competitors for human blood, fleas differ in jumping ability. If a tiny parasite has quietly disappeared from the finger or palm on which it was planted after being caught, it is definitely a flea.
• Fleas differ from bed bugs in the absence of strict nocturnal activity: they can bite at any time of the day.In addition, only the smallest larvae of bedbugs can be confused with fleas - adult bedbugs are much larger and look flattened in a horizontal rather than vertical plane. The larvae of bed bugs are always light, unlike dark brown fleas.
• Sometimes on the bed you can find linen or head lice. They are about the same size as fleas, but look a little different (see photo) and have a light body. In addition, if fleas bite mainly on the legs and never penetrate the hair, then lice bite precisely on the scalp or on the skin in the groin.

Flea photo:

And here is a photo of linen lice on the bed:

It is difficult to confuse fleas with ticks - the eight-legged carrier of encephalitis has a too characteristic appearance. In addition, a tick on the bed is almost nonsense. They are found only in nature, and having unhooked from the victim in the house, they try to hide in a secluded dark place as soon as possible.

Photo of a tick:

 

Why are bed fleas dangerous?

Multiple flea bites (including while a person is in bed) in many cases cause a characteristic skin reaction called pulicosis.

The symptoms of flea bites are quite specific, and it is only by them that the parasites themselves can be calculated:

• Painful and intensely itchy little red petechiae with a dark dot in the middle of each. The presence of chains of three or four such reddenings is characteristic - each flea, when calmly feeding on a sleeping person, leaves several bites located close to each other.
• An allergic reaction in the form of a rash in the area of ​​​​multiple bites. This is especially true for children.
• In rare cases, a generalized allergic response of the body, individual for each person, but usually manifested in fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes.

The photo below shows typical signs of flea bites:

In rare cases, with severe bites, disorders of the nervous system can be observed.

In addition, "bed" fleas and fleas in general carry many human diseases, including fatal ones. Epidemiologists have found that fleas are carriers of pathogens for more than 200 different human diseases., among which are anthrax, plague, brucellosis, tularemia, hepatitis, trypanosomiasis, encephalitis. In addition, fleas are one of the most active carriers of helminth eggs.

 

Signs of fleas in the room

In addition to the simple detection of fleas on the bed, various signs can determine that parasites are present in the house as a whole. For example:

• Regularly appearing bites on the legs. Many do not pay attention to them, especially in summer, sinning on mosquitoes and other insects on the street, while the fleas themselves safely bite the inhabitants of the apartment in their own beds.
• Restless pet behavior. Their fleas bite much more often than humans.
• Detection of flea larvae in the corners of the room or in the trash. These larvae are similar to fly larvae, but are less mobile and have a translucent body.

Below in the photo you can see what flea larvae look like:

Also a sign of the presence of fleas is their excrement, especially clearly visible on a light bed - tiny black dots are easily evident, and even in small quantities spoil the appearance of the fabric. By the way, sometimes such points can be confused with bed bug excrement.

If at least a few fleas are found in bed, or in pets, it is necessary to start getting rid of parasites as soon as possible, preventing them from multiplying and spreading to neighboring apartments.

 

How to deal with fleas

Before you remove the "bed" fleas in the apartment, you should definitely pickle them from pets. It is with them that parasites almost always penetrate the premises, and if a few insects remain on the animal’s fur, even in a completely pickled apartment, they will quickly restore their numbers within a few months.

Animals should be treated for fleas with one of the following:

1. You can, for example, use flea drops on the withers - Stronghold, Frontline, Hartz drops have proven themselves well.
2. Special insecticidal sprays such as Frontline, Hartz, Bars, Blochnet are also effective.
3. Flea shampoos can also be used - Mr. Bruno, Beaphar, Celandine, especially often used to remove parasites in cats and dogs of decorative breeds.

After such treatment, a flea collar should be put on the pet to exclude the possibility of re-infestation with fleas in the period of time before the parasites are removed from the apartment.

Actually, fleas are removed from the premises with special insecticidal preparations designed to combat domestic insects. Particularly suitable for this:

• Insecticide concentrates to be diluted with water and sprayed with household spray guns. Among these drugs, the most famous are Get, Cyfox, Delta Zone, Cucaracha, Medilis Tsiper, Tetrix. These products are quite toxic, when treating an apartment with them, all people and animals should be removed from it, and a few hours after application, wet cleaning and ventilating the room should be carried out. With such solutions, you can treat the sofa, the body of the bed from fleas, and especially carefully the bedding and beds of pets, in which larvae often develop.

On a note

Products such as Get and Delta Zone do not have a strong odor, and with a pronounced sensitivity to aromas, they can be used. They do not require mandatory cleaning indoors and are quite economical to use.

• Special Aerosols such as Kombat, Raptor or Raid. They can remove fleas from a sofa or chair, simply by treating a specific object with the drug itself and letting it “infuse” indoors. Also, these sprays are good for getting rid of fleas in the bed, because they have a pleasant smell and will not make you sleep on a bed with the scent of a powerful insecticide for several days.
• If fleas are found in the apartment in winter, and there is real frost outside the windows, you can ventilate the room well by waiting until the temperature drops to almost zero. Most of the fleas will die at the same time, and if after that a general cleaning is carried out in the room, then you can get rid of the larvae that usually survive when the room is frozen.

On a note

If fleas in the bed were found in a hotel or hotel during a trip, you can try to get rid of them by simply shaking the bed outside or in the bathroom.Perhaps these are just accidentally “caught” parasites, and it is enough just to remove them from the room so that they do not spoil sleep.

In the future, in order to prevent fleas from entering the room, you should always wear special collars on pets (pets are the main parasites in the house), and put bunches of dry wormwood or tansy under their beds, beds and sofas. In this case, even parasites that accidentally enter the house will try to leave it, and most likely will not settle and multiply here.

 

An interesting video: an example of an invasion of fleas from the basement of a house to apartments in a high-rise building

 

How to choose a pest control service to kill fleas