Egg Stage

A female flea lays as many as 50 eggs per day on your pet. The eggs aren't sticky ‑ they quickly fall off your pet and hatch in two to five days. A female lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.

Larval Stage

After hatching, the larvae head toward dark places around your home and feed on "flea dirt" ‑ excrement of the partially digested blood of your pet. The larvae grow, molt twice, and then spin cocoons, where they grow to pupae.

Pupae Stage

The length of this stage averages 8 to 9 days. Depending upon weather conditions, population explosions typically occur 5 to 6 weeks after the weather starts to warm up.

Adult Stage

The adults emerge from their cocoons when they detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon dioxide indicating a host a nearby. Once they hop onto a host, the adults mate and begin the life cycle all over again. The entire life cycle can be as short as 3 ‑ 4 weeks.