(Fleas do not have wings, so they cannot fly.) The strong back legs of this insect enable it to jump from host to host or from the surrounding environment onto the host. Fleas prefer to live on your dog or cat, but they can also take up residence on another animals, or on you. While each segment plays an important role in a flea’s ability to jump, fleas rely on an elastomeric protein, resilin, to propel themselves so high and far. Resilin is like an elastic pad of stretchy protein, which extends and contracts when the flea jumps and lands.
Fleas can live in the grass in your yard until they find a suitable host. How do fleas jump? In their mission to understand the unique mechanisms behind the flea’s famous jump, scientists have puzzled long and hard over two main questions. Fleas can jump incredible distances relative to their size and can travel up to 50 cm in one leap.

If you place a flea in water, it will simply jump out.

The flea’s bite can cause itching for the host, but for a sensitive or flea-allergic animal, this itching can be quite severe. It is estimated that fleas can jump over 6 inches high and nearly 12 inches in length. If the population grows, fleas can branch out …