"The Human Flea" (Pulex irritans)

This cosmopolitan flea and the closely related species, P. simulans, found in the western United States and Central America, are more likely to be encountered in rural situations. P. simulans is primarily a pest of prarie dogs and occasionally found on skunks, ground squirrels, opossums, fox, deer, and coyote. Human fleas are more commonly found on various members of the dog family and burrowing owls (Hopla, 1980). Harman et al. (1987) report that 20 percent of all flea-infested dogs surveyed in Florida had P. irritans totaling about 7.5 percent of the fleas collected. Traub (1985) believes P. irritans' original hosts belonged to the porcupine family. There has been much confusion between these two species.

Human fleas readily attack and bite humans; humans are considered to be a host of P. irritans and Simulans. Patton (1931), in discussing conditions in India relative to the human flea, states in houses that are empty during the winter, the adults hatch in large numbers during the spring and early summer. He observes that inhabitants must walk about rooms with sticky fly paper wrapped around their legs in order to dispose of large numbers of fleas.