Adult fleas are brown, wingless, laterally compressed insects from 1 to 2.5 mm long. Flea larvae vary in length from 4 to 6 mm when mature and are slender, white, cylindrical and legless with 10 to 12 moderately long setae on each body segment. The pale brown head has no eyes. The pupa is shaped somewhat like the adult and develops in a white, oval, silken cocoon about 4 mm long which is often covered with sand, lint, or dust. They are commonly found in clothing, bedding or near areas where host animals sleep or in the fur of the host animal.
Fleas spread through homes, buildings, and yards.
Each species of flea, however, usually feeds on a limited number of specific animals. In North Carolina, the cat flea is the most common pest of cats, dogs, and the most common annoyance to man. Sticktight fleas are occasionally found damaging poultry. Constant biting and scratching by infested animals causes the skin to be irritated. Young chickens and other poultry may even be killed by heavy sticktight flea infestations.