Fleas or bed bugs?

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You may be wondering, do I have fleas or bed bugs?

Scanning Electron Micrograph of a Flea.

So you think something is biting you but youre not sure what? Many folks eventually find the culprit is fleas, rather than bed bugs.

Myth: I dont have pets so I cant have fleas.

Not true!

Fleas can live in your home even if you dont have pets.

You may bring them in or may be bitten outside, for example you might encounter the types of fleas that bite humans or dogs in grassy areas like a park. Or they might come from vertebrate pests which have nested in or around your home.

Paul Bello (inthis Bedbugger forum post) shares some background information on how fleas may get into a home:

While fleas are usually associated with pet cats or dogs in the house, it is not uncommon for a home to have fleas even though there are no pets present. This can occur when pest animals have nested in the home. Animals such as mice, rats, squirrels, opossums, raccoons and others can have fleas. These animals can nest in a home undetected for a period of time. And, since theyre wild animals that are not being attended to for their fleas, the flea population can grow over time. These fleas then become numerous and may travel for various reasons into the living space of the home to become problematic for the human residents.

Over the years we have seen such circumstances whereopossums were nesting undetected by the homeowner in an inaccessible crawl space under the home. In another situation a family of raccoons were nesting above a basement drop ceiling undetected. At yet another home, we trapped out over twenty squirrels and sixopossums from the same attic. While all these vertebrate pest situations brought fleas into the home where they nested, we also need to remember that it was the oriental rat flea, which helped spread plague which killed about 25% of the worlds known population during the 1300s.

Additionally, many homeowners returning from a trip may be surprised by hundreds of fleas when they return home. This is so because developing fleas that have matured in their pupal cases often lay in wait protected within these pupal cases in the absence of suitable hosts. These fleas can lay in wait within these cases a surprising length of time. When the people return home the hungry fleas emerge.

Heres an image a forum user submitted of her flea:

flea

Here are some more helpful images of fleas.

Dog flea (C. canis)

The dog flea according to this UC Davis factsheet, is uncommon in California, though cat fleas will bite both cats and dogs.

Cat flea (C. felis) full of human blood.

(More flea images, from the CDC.)

These images are highly magnified, obviously fleas are 1/16 to 1/8 long. They often look quite a bit darker.

Fleas leap very high, considering their small size, and you may see them doing this. They move quickly close to a pets hairline and are hard to catch with your fingers. They often bite the lower legs and feet.

However, flea bites may look like bed bug bites, and as with bed bugs, to identify them, you need to find visual evidence, rather than relying on what your skin reaction looks like.

How to determine if you have fleas

You can buy cheap, plugin flea traps (like those shown in our Amazon store) at a hardware store or online.

You can also make your own homemade flea trap. Pest management professional and Bedbugger forums regular Paul Bello outlines the steps as follows below:

Materials:

Preparation:

Heres what happens:

If you do have fleas, they will be attracted to the light and warmth. They will travel over toward the pan and hop in. The water will trap them and they will sink in the water due to the soap which breaks the surface tension and causes them to sink. Without soap they will float and may eventually escape.

If fleas are present, you will catch some in anywhere from 24 to 48 hours.

Paul originally provided the directions above in this forum post. (Note: Ive lightly edited Pauls directions.)

How to get rid of fleas

Always be sure you confirm the pest before you start treatment. Keep in mind spot treatments for household dogs and cats (if you have any) may play an important role in eliminating fleas from your home, but may not do the whole job.

You may want to involve a pest management professional.

If you would like to self-treat for fleas, the University of Kentucky has a helpful factsheet on DIY flea treatment. UC Davis has some tips on this also in their factsheet on fleas.

You can purchase flea treatment products from pest control firms or online (for example, DoMyOwnPestControls product page on indoor flea treatment), but be sure to follow all label instructions closely, and do your research on safe and effective treatment methods before you attempt to apply pesticides yourself.

British bed bug expert Bedbugger forums regular David Cain provides instructions on a DIY and pesticide-free solution to fleas in this forum post. It involves only baking soda or carpet cleaning powder.

David writes,

Normally unless its literally hopping alive with fleas I would simply suggest using Shake n Vac [UK powdered carpet freshener marketed by SC Johnson] or a fine powder such as baking soda. The way it is used is as follows, treat the cat with flea treatment. Remove pets and anyone who may have dust issues from the home and sprinkle the dust over the floor so that it has a fine but even coating. Then take a torch or flashlight and zig-zag the beam across the floors covering all areas. Leave the property alone for 1 hour then repeat the use of the flashlight and wait 15 minutes. Then simply clean the dust up and use a plug in flea trap for ongoing monitoring.

Its an incredibly efficient way to physically remove fleas from an area as it relies purely on their physical removal rather than chemical action. The light causes them to jump and they get caught up in the fine dust making them easier to suck away in the cleaner.

Paul Bello (again inthis Bedbugger forum post) has additional tips on how to eliminate fleas:

Numerous fleas may be removed immediately via thorough vacuuming and it is possible to remediate a flea population with repetitive vacuuming and/or carpet cleaning in combination with addressing the flea source be it pet or vertebrate pest. If pets are present it is important that the pets are inspected and treated suitably for fleas and that all areas where the pets may rest or sleep are inspected and treated as well. This is often problematic with cats because they may sleep in many areas of the home which may be difficult to locate or identify. Various chemical-free type powders may be used to treat for fleas as well but these powders work relatively slowly when compared to more traditional type insecticide products.

Thanks to Paul and David for their contributions to the information above!

Got suggestions for improving this FAQ? Have flea photos you want to share? Please comment below!

Oh and, before someone asks,

No posts for a month and then you write about fleas?!?

I know, its been quiet around here.

Thanks for your patience and I hope were able to give you a lot more to read from now on.

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Image credits:

Scanning Electron Micrograph of a Flea. Credit: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) / Janice Carr (License: public domain/US Gov.; source.)

flea. Credit: used with explicit permission of anonymous Bedbugger.com forum user.

Dog Flea, and Cat Flea Full of Human Blood. Credit: iStockphoto.com.

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Fleas or bed bugs?