What do fleas look like. The problem begins with some scratching here and there. Maybe you spot some tiny specks around the house that you might’ve missed before. Maybe your pet’s beautiful hair that was so thick is looking a tad thin these days. Before you know it … yep. It’s confirmed.

Fido has fleas. And you’d better check Fluffy the cat, too.

More than 2,000 species of fleas exist throughout the world, yet one is the most common among American dogs and cats. It’s called Ctenocephalides felis, or the cat flea.

That’s right. If your dog has fleas, they’re most likely cat fleas. So, what are they like?

What Are Signs of Fleas in Your Bed?

Cozying up to a dog or cat in bed can be soothing, unless your furry friend has fleas. Fleas bite people as well as pets — and if your pet typically shares your bed, they may bring fleas with them.

Many pet owners sleep with companion animals. One found that more than 50 percent of pet owners let their four-legged pals share their bedroom.

While fleas are typically harmless to humans, flea bites do itch. They can also make your pet very sick.

If you’re wondering why you and your pet can’t stop scratching, read on to learn about the signs of fleas in bed and what you can do to get rid of fleas forever.

Signs of fleas in your bed

Thousands of flea species exist. The most common types in the United States are dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) and cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis). Either kind will bite dogs, cats, rabbits, and other furry mammals. If they have access, they may also bite birds.

Fleas bite people, too, though they won’t stay on you for long. Fleas prefer to nestle in fur or feathers, rather than skin or hair.

Fleas like to live on a blood host. They won’t take up residence in your bed, but they will leave evidence that they’ve been there.

If your pet has fleas, the eggs may roll off their fur and onto your bed, where they’ll hatch. Adult fleas can jump long distances and may make their way onto bedding.

Signs of fleas in your bed include:

Bites

If you notice itchy red dots along your shins, ankles, and feet, you may have a flea infestation.

Multiple flea bites often appear as a straight line on your lower limbs. In some instances, flea bites may have a red halo surrounding their center.

Unlike bed bugs — which typically bite people on the face, arms, and neck — fleas tend to nibble on your lower body parts. They may bite behind your knees, where skin is warm and moist.

If your pet likes to sleep near your head, you may see bites in your elbow bends and on your upper body as well. Red dots on your face or chest may also be a sign of fleas.

You may have additional side effects if you’re allergic to fleas or have a strong reaction to the bites. Symptoms include:

• hives
• swelling
• rash
• intense, extreme itching
• signs of anaphylaxis, including shortness of breath.

What Do Fleas Look Like?

Fleas are about 1/8 to 1/12 of an inch long, wingless, and brown or black in color. They have hard bodies, large hind legs, and look flat. This body type allows them to move easily between the fur or feathers on their animal host. Fleas also have piercing mouth parts for sucking blood and flexible spines that lock into animal fur, making it difficult to pull them off.

Do fleas fly?

Fleas don’t fly. Instead, they are amazing jumpers. They can jump up to 7 inches high and up to 13 inches across a flat surface. That’s about 200 times their body length!

Flea Life Cycle

A flea life cycle takes between 2 weeks and 8 months, depending on the temperature, their access to food, and the type of flea. They prefer a temperature of 70 to 85 F and a humidity of 70%. There are four stages in the flea life cycle.

1. Eggs. A female flea lays 15 to 50 eggs per day on her host’s fur. These often fall out while your pet is sleeping or walking. These eggs are white, smooth, and oval-shaped, about 1/50th of an inch long. 
2. Larvae. In 2 to 14 days, the eggs hatch into larvae that look like tiny clear maggots. The larval stage can last 1 week to several months. Flea larvae will eat dandruff and skin flakes but also blood and feces (poop) given to them by adult fleas. The adult fleas poop out excess dried blood in tiny pellets, called “flea dirt.” Eating the flea dirt turns the larvae from a clear color to nearly purple. Although blind and legless, they move quite fast and will live in floor cracks or under pet beds and carpets as they mature.
3. Pupae. Hidden from view, the larva spins a white silken cocoon and molts into a pupa. This may take 7 to 10 days, but adult fleas may stay as pupae for months if it’s winter. Once the weather turns warm and humid, they’ll emerge as adult fleas ready to leave their cocoons.
4. Adult fleas. Warm weather and the presence of an animal will encourage adult fleas to emerge from their cocoons and jump onto a host. A newly emerged flea can live up to a week without having a blood meal. Under ideal conditions, a flea can live up to 18 months, but a more normal life cycle is 2 or 3 months. 

Flea Infestation

Although it may be tough, you can see signs of a flea infestation in your home. Look for tiny black dots (flea dirt) on your pets, furniture, rugs, carpets, or pet bedding. 

Also, check whether your pet is constantly scratching itself. That’s a good sign that it may have fleas. 

Signs of Fleas

If you have a pet, it’s wise to know the signs that it may have a flea problem. They include:

Your dog (or cat) is scratching Even if you don’t catch fleas red-handed, if you see your pet scratching or biting at its fur, fleas may well be the culprit. 

You can see them Adult fleas are tiny, about 1/8 of an inch long. They’re hard to see without a microscope (though it’s easier on light-colored fur), but they do have big back legs. For every flea you do see, there may be at least 100 younger ones that you don’t. 

You can see what they leave behind It’s called flea dirt, and it looks like pepper. You can spot it on your pet’s skin, or your pet could leave it someplace, like:

• Its bedding
• The carpet
• That favorite chair it’s been sleeping on, even though you’ve shooed it off a thousand times

You can see their eggs around your home. These tiny white ovals will likely fall off your pet and onto your furniture, the dog bed, or your carpet, only to hatch a few days later into flea larvae. The eggs might be hard to see due to their tiny size.

You see tapeworms These internal parasites look like small pieces of rice. They often slip out of your pet’s rectum (where poop comes out). 

Your dog (or cat) is losing its hair. It’s not from the fleas themselves, but from all the itching and biting. Fleas often gather at the neck and shoulder blades of animals, and they bite or scratch their fur to get at the insects. The base of the tail and the backs of legs are favorite hangouts for fleas, too. And you may see them in the bare areas of your pet’s belly.

Their skin looks irritated 

If you can get past your pet’s fur and look at the skin, flea bites are usually small, raised red dots. Again, look for bites on the back and neck and on the base of the tail.

Their gums are pale

Some pets with fleas (especially smaller kittens or pups) could get anemia, or a loss of red blood cells. Fleas can take in up to 15 times their body weight in blood. Pale gums often signal anemia.

Fleas on dogs

You can know if your dog has fleas if it starts scratching and biting its fur. Also look for missing hair on the tail base and backs of the legs. Although you may see fleas or flea bites on your dogs, flea eggs are harder to find, as they’re microscopic, white, and may look like dry skin or sand. It’s easier to spot flea eggs in your pet’s bedding. You may see flea dirt there as well. Look for a salt-and-pepper mixture. 

You can also have your dog stand on a white piece of paper or in a white bathtub and comb its fur. Fleas and flea dirt will either be caught in the comb or fall onto the white surface.

Fleas on cats

The same signs of fleas on dogs also apply to cats. A flea-infested cat will bite or scratch itself a lot. And because cats have sharp claws, you might see sores on their skin from all that scratching.

Check your cat’s neck or tail base, as these are spots cats can’t groom easily, so fleas make themselves comfortable. You might also find flea dirt and flea eggs on them or their bedding.

You can use the same comb trick to check for fleas on cats. Have your feline stand on a white piece of paper or white pillowcase and run a comb through its fur.

Fleas on humans

Fleas don’t live on humans because we don’t have any fur where they can hide. But they will bite you if no animal is around. Technically, they’re not biting as they have no teeth – they use their mouth part to pierce your skin and suck your blood.

What do fleas and eggs look like?

Fleas don’t live long lives, but they do go through several stages of development:

1. Eggs. Female fleas lay up to eight eggs after each feeding. The oval-shaped eggs are loose and can roll around. They may land on any surface, including your bed. They can remain there until they hatch, 1 to 12 days later. Flea eggs are clear to white in color and resemble dandruff flakes or salt.
2. Larvae. Flea eggs grow into larvae. Flea larvae look like small, translucent worms or maggots. You may be able to see black matter inside their bodies, especially under a microscope. This stage lasts for about a week.
3. Pupae. Flea larvae grow a cocoon to become incubating pupae. Their cocoons are sticky, so dust can get caught on them. Flea pupae look a lot like flea dirt. Pupae can remain alive and ready to hatch for up to 1 year under warm, humid conditions.
4. Adult fleas. Fleas are tiny, but they’re not microscopic. If your home is infested, you may see them in carpets or bedding. Fleas are wingless. They range from light reddish-brown to black in color. Their bodies are tough and can be hard to squish. Fleas move very quickly and can jump as high as 13 inches. You may see them moving around on your pet’s skin but probably won’t see them nestling on top of fur. They are easiest to see on your pet’s belly.

How long do fleas live on beds and furniture?

Fleas need blood to survive. In the presence of a host, a flea can live up to 1 year. Without a host, they can survive for only 1 or 2 weeks.

If your home is warm and humid, they may live longer than they would under dry or cold conditions. That’s why spring and summer are flea seasons.

Fleas like to burrow into carpeting and bedding, but they won’t live there for long if they don’t have a host to feed from. Fleas are more likely to live on your pet’s body than on your sheets or blankets.

Treatment for beds and upholstery

If you have fleas, daily vacuuming of all soft surfaces can help to remove them. This includes carpets and upholstered furniture, such as couches and chairs.

You can sprinkle flea powder onto carpets and rugs and vacuum it up later. Sprays are also available for treatment around the house.

Throw out the vacuum bag each time you vacuum. The suction action of vacuuming may kill many fleas in all stages of their lives, but it probably won’t kill all of them. Fleas can continue to live and lay eggs in vacuum cleaner bags for 1 to 2 weeks.

Wash your sheets and blankets and your pet’s bedding every few days in hot water. If you have curtains, you should launder them often, especially if they touch the floor.

Flea Bites

You’re most likely to get a flea bite on your ankles, feet, or calves, rarely on higher parts of your body, unless you happen to be sitting in a flea-infested area. 

If a flea bites you, you’re likely to get a small itchy red bump, circled by a reddish ring or halo. You may also see a cluster or line of bumps. The saliva that a flea leaves behind is an allergen. Your body sends a chemical called histamine to the area where the flea bit you to remove it. That’s what causes the bitten area to swell and itch.

In severe cases, you might also get:

• An allergic reaction (shortness of breath, hives) 
• An infection from a disease carried by the flea (fever, headache, body aches, rashes, etc.)

Flea Bite Treatment

If you’ve been bitten by a flea, you can treat the bites yourself with:

An antihistamine. This is a pill or cream containing a drug to counter the effects of histamine.

Hydrocortisone. A steroid cream like hydrocortisone will reduce swelling and itching.

Ice. Apply an ice pack covered in a towel for 10 minutes at the sore spot to reduce swelling and pain.

Aloe vera. Rub the gel from its leaves on your sore spot. It can reduce itching and pain.

Talk to your veterinarian about the best way to control your pet’s fleas. They may suggest any of the following:

• Insecticide
• Shampoo
• Spray
• Spot treatment
• Pills 
• Liquid formula
• Flea collar
• Flea comb

Be sure to follow the product instructions. If you’re using a pesticide or insecticide, wear gloves. Don’t let your pet lick off the pesticide after you apply it. Don’t use a dog product on a cat, or vice versa.