How to Identify Fleas in Your Home and Solutions

Plenty of itchy bites are not fleas, and plenty of fleas go unnoticed for weeks. Getting the identification right matters because the treatment for fleas is aimed at the floor, while the treatment for bed bugs or carpet beetles is aimed somewhere else. This guide covers what each stage of the flea looks like and the quick checks you can do at home.

What an Adult Flea Looks Like

An adult flea is about the size of a pinhead or a little larger, dark reddish-brown, and shaped as if it has been squeezed flat from the sides. That shape is what lets it slip between the hairs of a cat or dog. It has no wings.

• It jumps. If a tiny dark insect vanishes when you go to touch it, that is the strongest single clue.
• It is hard to squash. The body is tough, which is why people roll them between fingernails.
• It shows up on pale fabric. Walk slowly across a carpet in white socks, then look at your ankles and feet.

In British homes the flea found on both cats and dogs is almost always the cat flea, whatever animal you have. Birds, hedgehogs and rodents carry their own species, which can find their way indoors when wildlife is nesting in the building.

Flea Dirt: the Easiest Thing to Find

Flea dirt is the droppings of adult fleas, made of digested blood. It looks like fine black pepper or tiny commas, and it collects in pet bedding, on the fur near the base of the tail and on the sofa where the animal lies.

Eggs, Larvae and Pupae

The adults are the part you notice, but most of an infestation is in the earlier stages, and they are much harder to spot.

• Eggs are tiny, white and smooth, like grains of salt. They are not sticky, so they fall off the animal into bedding and carpet.
• Larvae are small, pale, slightly bristly and worm-like. They avoid light and burrow down into carpet pile, under cushions and into gaps between floorboards.
• Pupae sit inside a silky cocoon that picks up dust and fibres, so they are almost invisible. This is the stage that makes fleas stubborn.

You do not need to find every stage. Adults plus flea dirt is enough to know what you are dealing with.

Flea Bites and What They Tell You

Flea bites are small, red and very itchy, often in clusters or short lines, and they are concentrated on the ankles and lower legs because the fleas jump up from the floor. They can appear at any time of day, including when you have just walked into a room.

Bites that appear overnight on the arms, shoulders, neck or back point more towards bed bugs. Our bed bug identification guide covers how to check a bed. If you are reacting badly to any bites, speak to a pharmacist or your GP, and call 999 if someone shows signs of a severe allergic reaction.

Ankles at any time of day suggests fleas. Shoulders and arms by morning suggests the bed.

Solutions: What to Do Once You Are Sure

Start with any animals in the house. Speak to your vet about a flea product and treat every pet at the same time; our guide to getting rid of fleas on a dog covers the parts owners often miss.

If the fleas are already breeding in the carpet and furniture, habits will not clear them, and the property needs treating. Our flea control service is £220 for the first room, plus £60 for each additional room, with no call-out fee. The flea treatment cost guide explains the room count and how to prepare.

If you cannot tell what is biting you, a pest inspection at £120 fixed cost identifies it before you pay for a treatment you might not need.