Jean Boulton, age 8, of Memphis, Tenn., for her question:
HOW FAR CAN A FLEA JUMP?
A flea is a small, wingless insect that lives on mammals and birds and sucks blood for food. Fleas are strong and have strong leaping ability for their size. Some of the insects can jump a distance of 13 inches.
Fleas are dangerous pests because they can carry germs that cause typhus and plague. They can get the disease germs by biting infected rats and ground squirrels.
Fleas can live on man, cats, dogs, rats, birds, horses, poultry, rabbits and many wild animals. Although a few types can live only on certain types of animals, most kinds can pass readily from animal to man and from animal to animal.
Strong, spiny legs help fleas to move quickly and easily through the hairs or feathers of their host. The insect has flat sides and a head much smaller than the rest of its body. All together, the flea is less than an eighth of an inch long.
A flea will puncture the skin of tis victim with its beak to get blood.
Cat, dog and rat fleas may become serious pests. Often they lay many tiny oval white eggs on the animals or in their sleeping places. When the eggs hatch, the larvae crawl into bedding and into cracks in the floor. They spin their cocoons in dust and appear as adults about two weeks later.
Cleanliness and proper care of pets are the best protection against fleas. Dogs that have fleas should be scrubbed with derris soaps which contain insecticide. Also, dusting pets with derris kills the insects.
Dog and cat owners can guard against fleas by changing their pets' bedding often. They can also destroy the larvae of fleas by spraying or dusting the pets' quarters with a number of approved insecticides.
Often a flea will jump from a pet to a human. The bloodsucking insect can give a painful bite.
A common type of flea is the European or human flea. It lives in the folds of clothing. It drops its eggs about the house instead of attaching them to clothing. The larvae look like maggots. When they become adults, they seek a host.
Some persons seem to attract fleas more than others do, and some become extremely sensitive to the insect bites. The skin around the bite becomes inflammed in such persons.
Another common flea is the chigoe. This insect is native to South America. But it has spread to Africa and many temperate regions.
The female chigoe burrows into the skin to lay eggs. This insect causes ulcers to form on the skin. The flea must be removed before the ulcer will heal.
The chigger or jigger is the common name of a pest that attacks man. It acts and looks a lot like a flea but is actually a harvest mite.