Despite their small size (about an inch or less), fleas consume warm-blooded mammals by feeding on their blood. Their hind legs allow them to jump up to eight inches vertically. A reddish color can be seen on most of them, and their color gets darker after they feed. Fleas can be a nightmare for pet owners.
Besides leaving behind painful, itchy bites, fleas can be dangerous to both people and pets. In addition, fleas that have hosted on a variety of species throughout their lives are likely to carry and transmit diseases such as plaque and murine typhus and are sometimes intermediate hosts for dog and rodent tapeworms.
