Fleas are one of the most common ectoparasites that will feed on the blood of a host. This is both true for animals and people, fleas need a warm blood host in order to thrive and survive. There are more than 2,200 species of fleas in the world!
When fleas are hungry they will not make any distinction between blood types or hosts, you can see this example in a household that has flea-infested pets, the humans living with them will also end up being bitten by the fleas.
Understanding fleas is something important, they can represent a serious health risk for you and your family due to disease transmission, painful bites, and irritation of the skin. There are people who are allergic to fleas and can develop serious skin conditions if bitten.
Why Blood Type Is Not the Reason Why Fleas Feel Attracted To
Fleas have many other reasons why they choose some of their hosts. They use these signals to guide them through what may be a good choice for their prospering. They observe things like:
1. Light
When fleas are looking for food, light can play a major role in identifying a suitable host for their needs, studies have concluded that 93% of fleas will go to a lighted area within a short period of time.
2. Movement
In a controlled experiment, scientists could observe that a moving black target was able to attract 79.4% of fleas regarding the 16.6% of fleas when it was stationary.
3. Heat
Thermal stimuli also play an important role when fleas are searching for food, since they only drink blood from warm-blooded animals, this indicator has to be present in order for them to be attracted to the host.
4. Odor
Fleas use their strong sense of smell to detect viable food sources, this is why people use scents that fleas hate to keep them away.
What Attracts Fleas to Certain Humans?
Most fleas may prefer certain individuals due to their natural characteristics such as:
- Sweat
- Natural Body Scent
- Products used in the skin
It is a known fact that chemical makeup plays a role when it comes to choosing a host. This is why it’s no wonder, that other body products like, shower gels, soaps, deodorants, and perfumes play their role in attracting fleas.
Are Fleas Attracted to Smell?
Fleas have a strong sense of smell and it has been hypothesized that fleas can have a preference to be attracted to the smell of their primary host. Although there is no evidence that for example, dog fleas prefer the odor of dogs, there are studies that can show that some flea species tend to respond to the host odor.
What Colors Are Fleas Attracted To?
Generally, fleas tend to prefer the colors black, red, and blue being white and yellow targets the less favorite among them. Some flea species (like cat fleas) are also attracted to sources of light and they become extremely responsive to green and yellow lights.
What Color Do Fleas Hate?
White color is the less attractive color to fleas, since they are dark brown, in white color, they become much more noticeable and therefore cannot hide so easily. This is one of the reasons they prefer darker tones.
Pro Tip: This simple trick can be a life saver when applying flea medicine to your angry cat. 😾🤯🤯🤯
Do Fleas Prefer Females?
Although many people can think that is true, there are no conclusive studies that indicate fleas prefer biting females over males. Fleas bite their hosts in order to feed themselves, they have no way to distinguish the type of host they end up choosing, it’s a matter of survival.
How Many Times Can One Flea Bite?
A single flea can bite up to 400 times per day and it can live up to 100 days in the host. No wonder why pets go crazy when they have fleas. A pair of fleas can produce up to 500 offspring during their lifespan. When doing the math, it only takes 21 days for a single flea to multiply into one thousand fleas in your pets if they are left unattended.
Why am I the only one getting bit by fleas?
Things like your body smell and skin tone and warmth might have an important role in why fleas choose to bite you. Also, if you have flea-infested pets in your home, or have been in contact with someone who has them, chances are, you are the perfect candidate to carry them yourself.
Why Do Fleas Bite Me So Much?
The majority of flea bites happen around the legs and in the ankles, this will result in a red bump which is essentially an allergic reaction to the flea saliva. If you happen to be less clothed around those areas, will turn you in an exposed target for fleas.
How Do I Stop Getting Bitten by Fleas?
Fleas cannot bite through clothing. If you wear long socks, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts, you are reducing your chances of getting bitten by fleas. If you are in the middle of an infested flea area, you need to remove yourself from the equation until the problem is solved.
What can I put on my skin to keep fleas off of me?
There are natural flea repellents that you can put on to keep fleas out. Essential oils directly on the skin tend to work well against flea bites. You can also use some commercial solutions like bug spray or flea repellents to that effect.
Just make sure they have DEET on their composition, it will lower your chance of getting fleas.
Why do People think Some Blood Types Attract Fleas More Than Others?
There is this general misconception that some blood types attract fleas more than others, where did this come from nobody knows, what we do know is that some people produce more carbon dioxide than others from their skin reactions.
How does this correlate? Carbon dioxide is the key attractant to many blood-sucking pests and insects, in this case, fleas.
Conclusion
While still there is no concrete proof that some blood types play a role in attracting fleas, truth is, that the best way to keep them out is by doing some prevention. If you happen to be an individual that fleas fell in love with, at first sight, start using some flea repellant and keep those blood-sucking vampires out of you asap.
