Like most insects, fleas pass through a complete life cycle of four stages (illustrated at right). The completion of their life cycle varies from 3 weeks in summer to 12 weeks in winter.

Optimum conditions for fleas to be successful are a temperature range from 220 – 300 and humidity above 70%, so SE Queensland summers are perfect for fleas.

The lifecycle starts with a female flea laying eggs loosely in the pet’s hair. Most of the eggs drop out where the pets rest or sleep.

The eggs hatch and microscopic larvae crawl away into crevices avoiding sunlight and feeding on digested blood from adult fleas

In these crevices the larvae spin a silken cocoon and they metamorphosis into an immature flea (called a ground flea)

Immature fleas can emerge or remain dormant for several months in the cocoon. This is how the fleas survive the winter, waiting until the beginning of summer, hatching in what appears to be plague proportions.

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