Cat flea
- Size
- About 1/12 to 1/5 inch
- Jump
- Powerful back legs; K-State says as high as 13 inches
- Bites
- Pets, and people too, mostly around the ankles and lower legs
- Where you find it
- On the pet, its bedding and the carpet where it spends its time
Specimen 05 · Ctenocephalides felis
Updated
Kansas pesticide business license #3403
Fleas in Wichita homes
Fleas are somewhere in the top ten pests Donnie is called about. His flea calls are almost always at rental properties.
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.
Egg to adult
Typically 3 to 6 weeksOutdoors
SummerPrice
$125–165 a visitHow do I know it's fleas?
From the flea itself to what it leaves behind.
4checks
Size · Color · Jump · Flea dirt
Tiny, flat and wingless
Adults are about 1/12 to 1/5 inch long, flattened side to side so they slip between hairs. A fed female is the biggest.
Dark brown to orange
Newly emerged fleas are dark brown. Females laying eggs are light brown to orange.
A big jump
Powerful back legs. K-State says a cat flea can jump as high as 13 inches.
Flea dirt
Dark red to black specks in the pet's coat and on its bedding. On a damp paper towel they turn reddish-brown, because they're partly digested blood.
Springtail
- Size
- About 1/16 inch
- Jump
- With a spring on its abdomen, the furcula
- Bites
- No; it doesn't bite or sting
- Where you find it
- Damp spots with high humidity
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Fleas Infesting Pets and Homes (MF760) and Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291); Merck Veterinary Manual, Fleas of Dogs; University of Illinois College of ACES.
Are fleas harmful?
People
Bites, mostly around the ankles and lower legs (University of Florida)
Pets
Fleas can give pets an allergic skin reaction and a common tapeworm (MF760). For your pet, see your vet.
Why do fleas keep coming back after I treat my pet?
Eggs fall off
A female can lay as many as 40 to 50 eggs a day. They aren't sticky, so they drop into the carpet and bedding
Cocoons wait
A flea can stay in its cocoon up to six months, until warmth, breath or footsteps bring it out
Waves for weeks
After a treatment, new fleas keep coming out of cocoons for three to six weeks
With no pet in the house, fleas waiting in the carpet bite people instead.
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Fleas Infesting Pets and Homes (MF760) and Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291); University of Florida IFAS, Fleas (ENY-205).
Seen a flea or flea dirt?
Text Donnie a photo.
It tells him whether it's something to jump on or not a concern at all.
Take a clear photo of a flea, or of the dark specks on the pet's bedding, with a coin beside it for size if you can.
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.
Where do fleas wait, in the house and around it?
Most eggs fall where the pet spends its time, and fleas can also come from the yard or a wild animal.
- 01
Carpet
Larvae avoid light and move deep into the carpet fibers.
- 02
Pet bedding and furniture
Cocoons are sticky, so they pick up debris and are hard to see. They turn up under furniture and on pet bedding.
- 03
Shady, damp spots outside
Around bushes, mulch and other moist, shaded places.
- 04
Wildlife near the house
With no pet in the house, raccoons, opossums, skunks or squirrels living beneath the home are often the culprit (University of Kentucky). A nuisance wildlife professional should remove the animal (University of Kentucky). Pest Free doesn't do wildlife work.
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Fleas Infesting Pets and Homes (MF760); University of Kentucky Entomology, Flea Control and Prevention (ENTFACT-602).
What can I do about fleas myself?
What K-State and the University of Kentucky suggest.
5steps
Tick the ones you're already doing.
Sources: K-State Research and Extension, Fleas Infesting Pets and Homes (MF760) and Household Pests of Kansas (MF3291); University of Kentucky Entomology, Flea Control and Prevention (ENTFACT-602).
What doesn't work
Bug bombs (foggers), ultrasonic flea collars, brewer's yeast, garlic and B vitamins. Foggers seldom reach where fleas hide (University of Kentucky). K-State says the rest don't repel fleas (MF760).
Worth knowing
What extension guides recommend
A lasting insecticide with an insect growth regulator, which stops eggs and larvae from developing (MF760, MF3291, University of Kentucky).
Before a treatment
The University of Kentucky lists: clear toys, clothes and stored things off the floors; pick up pet dishes; cover fish tanks; wash pet bedding.
After a treatment
People and pets should stay off treated surfaces until the spray has dried, which may take a few hours depending on carpet type, ventilation and method of application (University of Kentucky).
Does the house need treating?
Every pet treated · A small flea problem can clear without treating the house, because new fleas jump on a treated pet and die (MF760, University of Kentucky).
A bad infestation · The house usually needs treating too (MF760).
What does Donnie do about fleas, and what does it cost?
Price · flea work
$125–165
a one-time visit. No contract.
Quarterly · $140 a visit*
Monthly · $120 a visit*
*For a home that's $165 one-time.
Donnie works alone, so it's him at the door on every visit. Most visits are booked within a week.
Flea work costs the same as any visit.
See every priceArrival · A window of about an hour; he texts when he's on the way
Paying · After the visit: card, Venmo, cash or check
If pests come back · Text Donnie. He talks it through and tells you before he comes whether a return visit costs anything.
No contract
You pay for each visit.
Same-day reply
Mon–Fri 8–5
Licensed in Kansas
In Wichita since 1992
Text or call Donnie
(316) 681-2255
Opens your messages. Donnie replies the same day, Mon–Fri 8–5.