It can be difficult to tell if the bug you’re looking at is actually a flea. The size of the bug can help you to determine whether or not its a flea.
How big are fleas?
Fleas are incredibly small though you can see them with the naked eye. They can be difficult to see, especially if they are jumping all over the place. Depending on they type of flea they average anywhere between 1.5 to 3.2 millimeters. Females are generally bigger than males and have larger abdomens.
Fleas may be small but they can be a real pain. If you notice you have fleas in your home you need to start treating them as quickly as possible to keep the infestations from becoming overwhelming. Check out our flea treatment page here to find out how to treat you home of flea infestations.
Size Comparisons:
- Tip of Ballpoint Pen: Between 0.5 and 0.7 mm
- Thickness of quarter: 1.75 mm
- Poppy Seed: 1 mm
- Average House Fly: 6 – 7 mm
- Width of Average Finger Tip: 16 – 20 mm
>>Find out how to kill fleas with steamers here<<
Life Cycle and Growth
Fleas start off as eggs then progressively grow towards adult fleas over a period of one week to one month. Adult fleas start by laying up to 40 eggs in a day. These egg will hatch and turn into flea larvae. After the larva stage they become cocoons where they will transform into adult fleas.
Fleas body size increases after a blood meal. Female fleas body size will increase by 140
If you’re interest in learning more about the flea life cycle check out the article I wrote about their life cycle here.
When it comes to taking out fleas in all stages of their life cylce you’re going to want to use an IGR or Insect Growth Regulator. These will target growing fleas and keep them from rapidly growing and spreading even when in the pupae stage.
