So eggs, larva and pupa waiting to continue the cycle are the largest part of the problem. Fleas are excellent jumpers, leaping vertically up to seven inches and horizontally thirteen inches. The adult usually remains attached to the host for the rest of its life, about two weeks, unless they are groomed off. Fleas are flat from side to side and can easily move about in the hair of its host. The eggs drop off the animal and hatch on the ground, carpet or animal bedding.
Fleas are sensitive to humidity.
Eggs hatch in one day to less than two weeks. The newly hatched larva looks like a tiny hairy maggot. It lives off the droppings from the adult fleas and other organic material in the carpet, animal bedding or where the eggs fell. It does not feed on blood. Flea larvae take about two weeks to develop, but under unfavorable conditions it may take up to 200 days.