So what is a parasite?..well it is something which invades our body space such as a fungus, mite or insect. The organism is dependant on our body to live out its own lifestyle without making a useful or adequate return to the host body...namely us..!

Fleas are wingless insects, and are of the Order Siphonoptera, strongly flattened from side to side, that's why you can't squash 'em between your fingers cos they're already squashed. This tall thin body allows them to move very rapidly among hair or feathers, (all depends what you're wearing) and if all else fails their strong enlarged hind legs will propel them up to 30cm, (approximately 12 inches) this may not sound much, but it is more than 200 times the fleas own body length and is comparable to a man jumping 350 metres.

Each individual flea species is more or less dependant upon it's own host, but in many cases it can also suck the blood of other species. Of the 50 - 60 different types found in Europe, about half occasionally bite humans, but only the human flea is able to breed on a diet of human blood only.

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