RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Fleas: Endemic Typhus Cases On The Rise

Endemic (flea-borne) typhus, an illness that prior to 2006 was considered rare in Orange County, continues to occur, with five confirmed or probable endemic typhus cases reported to the Orange County Health Care Agency in the past three months. However, there have been no reports to date in Laguna Niguel.

In the recent cases, four of the people are adults, and one is younger than 18. Endemic typhus is transmitted by the bite of infected fleas, in particular those from cats, opossums and rodents, although other animals may carry the fleas.

The most recently affected individuals live in the northern part of the county, but because these animals are present throughout the county, human cases may occur in any area. Typhus occurs naturally in Southern California, with eight cases reported in Orange County for 2011 to date, six each in 2010 and 2009, 15 in 2008, six during 2007 and one in 2006. Prior to 2006, the last case reported in Orange County was in 1993.

Source = Associated Press

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA 

Fleas have been around for millions of years and can live for about 100 days! Here's more interesting facts about fleas.

• Fleas do not fly. They jump from one place to another.
• A pair of fleas can produce 2,000 offspring in their lifetime.
• The Flea life cycle is similar to the butterfly life cycle. Female Fleas lay eggs that turn in to grub-like larvae. The larvae then develop into pupae and settle inside a cocoon. They wait for a host to start their life and suck blood.
• In a typical room, 5 percent of the fleas will be found on pets, 10 percent flea cocoons in the carpets, 35 percent flea larvae and 50 percent flea eggs, again in the carpets.
• When something warm moves by the pupae, they unzip the cocoon and jump on the animal or human body. All this happens in three seconds and the flea can jump as high as four feet.
• A flea can jump up to 8 inches high. That is 150 times its own height. If you could do this, you'd be able to leap over even tall skyscrapers.
• It is important to get rid of fleas by simple methods as these insects cause serious diseases in humans and pets.

George Williams
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA

Fleas’ ‘Feet’ Unleash That Spectacular Leap

When fleas jump, it is no ordinary leap. The insects can shoot as high as 38 times their body length, about three inches. And the acceleration is so intense that fleas have to withstand 100 Gs, or 100 times the force of gravity. “You and I pass out if we experience five Gs,” said Malcolm Burrows, an expert on insect jumping at the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Burrows and his Cambridge colleague Gregory Sutton obtained the fleas from Tiggywinkles to try to answer a question that had vexed naturalists for centuries: how fleas manage their spectacular jumps. They report that the insects turn themselves into catapults, storing up energy that they release as they push off the ground with what passes, in fleas, for feet.

• It takes about a thousandth of a second for a flea to hurl itself into the air.
• Fleas generate a hundred times more power than their muscles can actually provide.

Exerpts from NY Times.com

George Williams,
General Manager - Staff Entomologist

Pest Control, RI, Pest Control, MA