Do fleas lay eggs in human hair?

Summary

It’s unlikely for fleas to lay eggs in human hair. Cat fleas don’t breed on humans. In a natural setting, females can’t produce eggs on a diet of human blood. Also, fleas can only jump to the height of a person’s ankle. Once on a human, fleas quickly take a blood meal and then immediately leave. They don’t wander around.

Details

Humans aren’t Preferred Hosts

Host Specificity

Cat fleas don’t have host specificity. They’re capable of feeding on a large range of warm-blooded mammals, including humans. However, they do have preferred hosts, such as dogs, cats, opossums, and raccoons. Man isn’t a preferred host.

Fleas & Human Blood

Humans make poor hosts for cat fleas. A diet of human blood alone can keep fleas alive, but they’re unable to reproduce. Females only lay eggs after feeding freely for days, and doesn’t happen outside of lab conditions. Even with enough feeding, their fertility is greatly reduced on human blood.

Fleas are Poorly Adapted for Living on Humans

Fleas have co-evolved along with their primary hosts. Thus, the physical adaptations of cat fleas are well-suited for living on small mammals with dense fur. For example, their bodies are covered with backwardly-directed spines and bristles. The spination helps them attach into an animal’s hair coat, and prevents them from being dislodged.

Flea survival is largely governed by host grooming and the insects’ ability to remain on a host. Fleas have difficulty jumping onto humans without falling off due to the lack of body hair. Only 1 of 10 attempts are successful. Even if settlement occurs, fleas are easy to see against hairless human skin. They often get picked off before having a chance to feed.

Bites on Humans are Incidental

Fleas sometimes bite people who live in the same habitat as an infested animal. This typically occurs when the primary host is absent or scarce. In homes, it’s not uncommon for fleas emerging from cocoons to bite people before finding and colonizing their preferred host.

Once on the primary host of a cat or dog, adult fleas remain there. They feed, mate and lay their eggs directly on the host. In contrast, when fleas feed on people, they’ll take a blood meal and then immediately leave. Fleas don’t breed on humans. Blood meals last 4.4 minutes for males and 7.4 minutes for females.

Fleas can’t Reach Human Hair

Cat fleas can jump to a maximum height of 7.9 inches. This is as high as a person’s ankles, which is where flea bites tend to be concentrated. Fleas bite readily without roaming around. They’re unlikely to climb to a person’s pubic area, much less their head. These areas are too far from the ground (unless the person is sitting/laying on the floor, or a flea-infested pet is allowed in the person’s bed).

References

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  • Catiy September 13, 2016, 4:07 am

    That’s exactly true but what happens if your laying down and a flea get to your hair? Will it jump right out? Will it stay there? What happens if a flea gets in you ear?

    • Adam Retzer September 13, 2016, 4:04 pm

      It’s possible for fleas to get in hair if the person is laying down. However, fleas don’t live on people, nor will they mate or lay eggs there. Fleas sometimes take a blood meal from people if the primary host isn’t around, but they’ll leave immediately after feeding. If they can’t find way off, they may remain there a little longer but prefer not to.

      I’ve never heard of a flea going inside a person’s ear. There’s no benefit for them to do so. If they happened to somehow wander inside someone’s ear, I’d image they’d exit immediately.

  • Izz November 30, 2016, 11:56 pm

    That is not true. I even lost hair before I realized my home was infested with fleas. And we had them at least several months before we found out. I had severe hair itch but would not find any pest except lots of small salt looking dandruff. After some time I found three fleas in my toddlers hair with some eggs and black speck feces. Four weeks of bombing-cleaning-poisoning hell fleas are still here and we are calling pest service. I don’t know what type of fleas are mine (cat, dog or rat), but they are indestructible. Especially with little kids rolling around. Also it seems that our dog’s fleas developed resistance for Front… brand of flea control. Flea collars don’t work either. This are some new improved mutants and I wouldn’t wish them on anybody.

    • Adam Retzer December 1, 2016, 12:27 pm

      Those characteristics you’ve described certainly don’t sound like fleas. I won’t dispute what you’re experiencing though. I’m sorry you have to deal with this, and hope the pest control service resolves the problem.

      • Izz December 3, 2016, 3:56 am

        Well they are. Simple test with bowl of water and few drops of liquid dish soap with incandescent light just above and there they are drowned in it (several fleas in every room in the house by day three after bombing). Buy the time you find few feeding on your little child there are literally thousand of larvae in the house. Check larvae you tube videos. And you do have type of fleas that readily find people as secondary hosts. Please do some research. (There are also number of people that are allergic to flea saliva.) I’m afraid that mine are quite adaptable. Also I talked to pest control and they confirmed that in most cases of fleas they got lately; pets were on some kind of constant flea control. The groups on line in which lately I spent to much time reported resistance of fleas to imidacloprid pesticides. Also they have been reported lice pesticide resistance. This is off topic; just to show that today’s bugs did mutate. Kind of like MRSA. I found a way to kill flea before jumping of the host. Simply grab flea between two fingers then go and pour liquid dish soap on top of the fingers. Now you can safely open the fingers (bug will be to soaked to jump off); and press it between your nails. And then you have dead bug, and many more to go.

      • StarHaze March 2, 2017, 1:25 pm

        Says the guy that only mentions cat fleas in the article, as if thats the only type of flea that exists, lol

        • Adam Retzer March 2, 2017, 5:15 pm

          I’ve stated many times on many pages, especially the primary pages on this site, that this website is focused on cat fleas. This is because cat fleas are the predominant species of fleas found in domestic settings.

    • What could be in my hair? June 7, 2017, 6:54 am

      Yes this is exactly how it is for me. Fleas got into my hair i would exterminate with a medicated cream by morning my hair was full again. One morning my eye had like a blister in the corner well belive it to were fleas in and on lashes. I was carring them on my lashes, face, and hair. Every day for months until I went into the emergency room where I was given a prescription of premethrin cream it was a god sent. This cream was to be applied to my body, hair and eye area. At which time nothing else worked for my home but to exterminate by professionals. The bombing didnt work and consider myself a very intense cleaner but these fleas kicked my ass.

    • Anne February 25, 2018, 4:33 am

      Yes, Izz
      . I have been dealing with flea eggs in my hair for the past four months. I had cats all my life and never experienced anything like this before.

      • Judith Contreras June 28, 2018, 7:10 pm

        You are not alone. I’m so sorry. It appears human fleas are not rare anymore and immpossible to get rid of.

  • Mj February 19, 2017, 7:54 pm

    My dog has fleas n they keep staying in my children head how is this possible.

    • Adam Retzer February 22, 2017, 2:36 pm

      Flea eggs are laid on the host animal. The eggs fall off into the environment within a few hours of being laid. Most develop in carpeting, but they can drop anywhere the infested animal spends a lot of time. So, if your children are spending a lot of time on sitting/laying the floor, then newly emerging fleas would have access to them. If the dog is allowed to get onto your children’s beds, then it’s possible that fleas are developing there as well.

      It’s strange that the fleas are staying on your children’s heads. Fleas don’t usually stay on people. They feed and then leave. It’s hard for me to determine what’s going on without knowing the full details on your situation.

    • StarHaze March 2, 2017, 1:26 pm

      Probably have human fleas not dog fleas, look it up

      • Adam Retzer March 2, 2017, 5:21 pm

        This is possible. Not probable. Humans fleas (P. irritans) are relatively rare compared to cat fleas (C. felis) and dog fleas (C. canis).

        Further, human fleas don’t live on humans. They are found on humans when they feed. The FleaScience website isn’t focused on human fleas, but you can find more information here: http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Pulex_irritans/

  • StarHaze March 2, 2017, 1:24 pm

    So why is this article not discussing human fleas? Cat fleas live on cats, but human fleas can live in human hair, along with any other mammals. Whoever wrote this hasn’t done much research.

    • Adam Retzer March 2, 2017, 5:27 pm

      I’ve addressed this in your other comments, but this website is focused on cat fleas (C. felis). This is because this species is by far the most common species found on dogs, cats, and in homes. Human fleas are a relatively rare species.

      Regardless, human fleas (P. irritans) don’t live in human hair. They live in the human environment. And, just like cat fleas, are typically only found on humans when they feed. Here’s an article with cited information.

  • laurence o connor August 30, 2017, 6:05 am

    hi i ve a huge problem since may 2017, i have fleas in my hairs and a lots of eggs i can t get rid of.. i ve been trying many treatment and nothing work. i m getting depressed to the point of not enjoying my life anymore. is anybody have any suggestion / please..

    • Adam Retzer September 28, 2017, 3:39 pm

      Fleas don’t typically live in human hair or lay eggs there. So, it may be some other pest. I am not sure without seeing the issue in person. I’d highly recommend seeing a doctor so they can identity the pest and prescribe a solution.

  • Sarah Jeffries September 18, 2017, 5:16 pm

    It’s too bad that the people who are saying you haven’t done your research are skipping right over your 28 cited references and going straight to quoting youtube. Thank you for the information that you have given. I believe that the egg I found on my clothes fell off my cat. In another note, my veterinarian suggested that I not vaccume for a week after I used the spray to let the flea treatment on my cat spread to her dander (which sheds with her hair) and eliminate the larvae I may have in my household feed on it. My nerves are pretty raw at this point but I think it is worth the wait if it will work amd patience is a virtue most of us still need to practice. I am just happy these fleas prefer my ankles to my kids.

    • Adam Retzer September 29, 2017, 10:45 am

      Flea larvae were once thought to feed on pet dander and other pet-related detritus. It was even published in the past. However, more recent studies show that flea larvae don’t consume this material. They feed almost exclusively on adult flea feces and other flea eggs. You can read more here. Perhaps it is still good advice to wait to vacuum, but the reasoning the vet gave isn’t accurate.

  • Nancy Furr December 3, 2017, 5:19 pm

    My friend has 11 dogs and one cat living in her house and her 3 year old grandson has fleas and flea popo in his head every time he comes to my house.His body and head is so full of flea bites it’s unreal.And you can tell the fleas having been living in his head.His hair is down to his butt.So I don’t believe what they are saying about they don’t live on humans.Please let me know what can be done to help take care of this problem. Thanks,Nancy Furr

    • Adam Retzer December 6, 2017, 11:13 am

      It’s hard to know what is going on based on your description, but it sounds like a severe infestation. I’d recommend getting a pest control specialist to take a look in person. Have steps already been taken to control the fleas? Pet and home treatments?

  • Chris VanFleet March 2, 2018, 12:54 am

    Fleas got in my heating blanket and bake them in my skin and my hair I went to the doctor got an exterminator I’ve been working on getting these off my body for 4 weeks now do you have any suggestions besides baking soda tell me lotion Kleen green non-toxic

    • Adam Retzer April 12, 2018, 12:15 pm

      Chris, I am not sure what pest you are dealing with, but fleas don’t go into people’s or animals’ skin. So this seems unrelated to fleas. I’d recommend going to see a physician again for this issue, as it sounds serious.

  • Barbara July 4, 2018, 10:49 pm

    I think that the sticktight flea (Echidnophaga gallinacea), which has been traditionally found on birds and poultry may become a more common human pest as more people are keeping backyard chickens nowadays, and they may inadvertently bring in all life stages of this flea into peoples homes perhaps from their shoes. This flea is much smaller than the cat flea, and unlike the cat flea which can be washed out of a person’s hair, it cannot be washed out as it attaches to the host with a laciniae. It will look like a brown bump, as only the back will be showing. Most of the information I have seen on this type of flea is on websites devoted to taking care of backyard chickens. If you look at the pictures, you can see what they will look like once embedded. Wikipedia says they will lay eggs on ulcers that have formed on the host’s skin (maybe you can find a better reference for this). If this is so, then the eggs will not all fall off a person’s head and may hatch into larvae right there. This flea will go through all the flea life stages like the cat flea does. Here is a medical journal article about the sticktight flea.
    https://www.mdedge.com/cutis/article/141844/infectious-diseases/whats-eating-you-sticktight-flea-revisited#
    Last year I checked with Dr. Michael Dryden of Kansas State University, and he didn’t know of anyone doing any research on this species of flea, and there is not much reporting on it.Therefore, it would be great if your could add some information about it to your website which is so helpful to so many people.

  • Joe September 2, 2018, 7:32 pm

    if you love on your pet and kiss them yes fleas will live in your head on your body you will be picking out eggs and combing out of eggs yourself and your pet. Don’t be fooled by using juices and powders and plates of dish soap only complicates life geut something strong attack the house and the yard and get the right flea gel for your animal

  • Christie Wiegand October 2, 2018, 4:39 am

    i have been dealing with a flea issue for months, I just dont know where they are coming from …. i have 2 cats and a small dog, they all have a collar on from the vet, both cats seems to be fine but the small dog keeps finding fleas on her, we have vacuumed, keep washing our bedding(as she sleeps in our beds) even vacuumed the bedding, keep spraying the floors curtains bedding, anywhere the animals go, under the beds, the couch … then a week almost 2 will go by with nothing then all of a sudden the dog will have like 5 fleas i am pulling off her, the vet told me no more baths for her as her skin was getting irritated, now i am looking into a fogger bomb but not heard good things about them plus concerned with pesticides because of my animals …. any help you could give?

    • Adam Retzer October 22, 2018, 2:38 pm

      Foggers don’t work as good as sprays, because the sprays can be directed into flea habitats. Here is a list of sprays that provide good results. If toxicity is a concern, you may consider opting for an IGR concentrate, such as Martin’s IGR. The IGR ingredient is the most important part for lasting flea control, and it is considered safer than traditional insecticides.

  • Sharon October 5, 2018, 11:59 pm

    I have to say you are wrong. I got fleas in my house and have been fighting them for 4 months. When I sit on the sofa they feel the heat from my body and I am jumped. I brush my hair about 6 or 7 times a day and get the flea ,pupae and the larva and I have combed the eggs out of my hair. Frontline doesn’t work anymore. I have bought powder for the floor, spray and bombs. Hasn’t done any good plus I vacuum 3 to 4 times a day. I am so sick of this. I have used all the natural ways to. They seem to like my blood just fine and bred just fine to.I am calling pest control and see how they do.

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