Can an excessive amount of flea bites be harmful on a human?
Flea infestations of dogs and cats and their environment are an ongoing problem for pet owners and veterinarians alike. Flea bites can cause severe itching in some animals and people – especially those that are allergic to them. Vets often refer to the allergy as ‘Flea allergy dermatitis’. To control fleas you need to understand a bit about their life-cycle. What are fleas Fleas are wingless insects 1.5-4.0mm long. Fleas have a laterally compressed body (so if you look at a flea side on, it looks like it’s been flattened ie it’s tall and skinny!) and they have an outer skeleton that is made of chitin (really hard stuff – ever tried squishing a flea?). Fleas are different from lice in that lice are flattened dorsoventrally (ie they are short and fat). Fleas are not host-specific ie they don’t really care whose blood they suck, therefore a cat flea can infest dogs and vice versa. This also explains why humans get bitten too. Fleas are not fussy when it comes to blood! Strangely enough, l
