Ctenocephalides canis, Ctenocephalides felis, Xenopsylla cheopis, Echidnophaga gallinacea Surveillance Method

There is not a national surveillance program in place to identify flea species or to gather information such as population counts or disease incidence and prevalence amongst fleas, although there is a program in place to identify flea-borne diseases. Instead, identification of flea infestations is the responsibility of the individual.

Identifying flea infestations can be hard. The most common flea in the US is the cat flea. Fleas are small, approximately 1/12 inch long, are wingless, and are dark brown or black in color. Common signs of a flea infestation include having pets who are constantly scratching themselves, identifying a salt and pepper-looking mixture in pet bedding which indicates eggs and flea debris, identification of fleas crawling on pets, or finding fleas crawling on you.

Additional Links:
https://www.ipm.msu.edu/uploads/files/Fleas.pdf