Flea

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Flea
Image gallery
Real-world info
Name: Pulex irritans Family: Pulicidae- Fleas
Main appearances
DnM DnM+ AC DnMe+ iQue WW CF NL NH
Other appearances
Film HHD aF PC
Names in other languages  ノミ  벼룩  Pulce  Floh  跳蚤  Puce  Pulga  Vlo  跳蚤  Puce  Pulga  Блоха

The flea is a bug in the Animal Crossing series introduced in Doubutsu no Mori e+. They can be found on villagers from spring to early winter. In Animal Crossing: New Leaf, fleas are more common than they are in the previous Animal Crossing games. They appear as black, hopping specks, making near quiet bouncing noises.

When villagers have fleas, though initially they carry on their daily activities unperturbed, their catchphrase changes to one of a variety of catchphrases, such as "eesh itchy," "scritch," "STOP NOW," or "yowiezowie," which indicates that they are itchy. This catchphrase changes each time it is used in dialogue. Once the flea has been caught, the villager that played host to it will give a response, usually one of denial, shock, or gratitude, depending on their personality.

In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the flea can be caught from mid spring to late fall.

Catch details

In Doubutsu no Mori e+

In Doubutsu no Mori e+, fleas cannot appear on alligator, anteater, duck, elephant, frog, hippo, octopus, penguin, or rhinoceros villagers. They also cannot appear on villagers with normal or snooty personalities.

#38

"ノミだーっ！　かゆい！"
Translation: "It's a flea! Itchy!"

DnM / iQue

DnM+ / AC

DnMe+

Time of year	Mar – Nov
Time of day	All day
Location	On villagers
Weather	Unknown
Selling price	70 Bells
Furniture size

In Wild World

#49

"Fleas! Fleas! Fleas! Itchy!"

Description	The female flea lays up to 20 eggs a day, and is usually larger than the male. Gross!
Time of year	Mar – Nov
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	On villagers
Bug size	2 mm
Selling price	70 Bells
Furniture size

In City Folk

#57

"I caught a flea! Itchy itchy!"

Description	Females can lay up to 20 eggs a day and are usually bigger than the males.
Time of year	Mar – Nov
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	On villagers
Bug size	2 mm
Rarity	Common
Selling price	70 Bells
Furniture size

In New Leaf

#64

"I caught a flea! Oh no, now I'm itchy!"

Time of year	Mar – Nov
Time of day	All day
Peak times	N/A
Location	On villagers
Size	3 mm
Rarity	Very common
Selling price	70 Bells
Furniture size

In New Horizons

In New Horizons, fleas have their own spawning system separate from the standard bug spawning system. They will not be able to spawn on a villager if:

• A flea has spawned on a villager.
• A flea previously spawned within the last 60 minutes.
• The player has not completed the prologue by sleeping on their Camping Cot during their first day.
• There is an event or a villager's birthday ongoing.
• K.K. Slider is present on the island.
• The current date is not at least 7 days past a certain date (likely the creation of the island).
• None of the villagers present on the player's island are valid for a flea to spawn.

If a flea is able to be spawned, they have a 0.5% or 1.0% chance of spawning in the game.

#74

"I caught a flea! The curse is lifted."

Time of year	North: Apr – Nov South: Oct – May
Time of day	All day
Location	On villagers
Weather	Any weather
Spawn requirement	Appears from the start of the game
Selling prices	Nook's Cranny:  70 Bells  Flick:  105 Bells
Furniture size

Donating to the museum

As with all insects in the Animal Crossing series, the flea can be donated to the museum, followed by a small talk by Blathers, the curator.

In Wild World

When donating to Blathers in Wild World, he will provide the following information about the bug:

"Heed my words, <Player>! Bathe often! Wash yourself thoroughly! And shampoo regularly! Allow yourself to become filthy, and fleas move in! Blech! The very IDEA... Now I feel itchy."

The flea can be found near the pond in the first room of the insect exhibit after donation.

In City Folk

When donating to Blathers in City Folk, he will provide the following information about the bug:

"Hoo now, have you ever had a chance to look at a flea up close and personal? They're utterly noisome! Especially vulgar are their flattened bodies, which allow them to wriggle into all sorts of places. Oh, mercy, I may need to sit on the floor for a moment. All this talk of fleas makes me feel rather woozy."

Once donated, fleas appear as a barely-visible speck, bouncing around on the path on the central terrace in the insect exhibit.

In New Leaf

The flea can be found bouncing around on the upper-left room of the bug exhibit. The following description is given to them:

"Fleas are tiny insects that feed on blood from humans and animals, which then results in an itchy rash. They use their piercing mouths to suck blood and saliva at the same time. Unlike mosquitoes, both males and females suck blood. The females are larger than the males."

In New Horizons

Once donated, the flea can be found at the bug exhibit's laboratory, under a magnifying lens. When donating to Blathers or selecting "Tell me about this!" in New Horizons, he will provide the following information about the bug:

"Allow me to be blunt. The flea is foul! It is also disgusting, repugnant, and vile! Hoo! But I digress... This horrid pest sucks the blood of humans and animals. In fact, it is the flea's own saliva that makes us itch! And did you know their legs are so strong, they can jump more than 50 times their body length? So you see, it's all too easy for a flea to jump from you to me! I itch at the very thought."

Gallery

For more images, view this subject's gallery.

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  Animal Crossing: Wild World

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  Animal Crossing: City Folk

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  Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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  Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Trivia

• In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, if two villagers are talking to each other, but one of them has a flea. If the player chooses to talk to the one with a flea. The conversation between the two villagers will be cancelled, and the villager will instead complain to the player about how they are itchy.

Real-world information

A real-life flea

The human flea, Pulex irritans, is a widespread species of flea that is thought to have originated from South America. Despite the name, they are found on all manner of warm-blooded animals, including dogs, pigs, chickens, monkeys, birds, and even some species of bat. They have powerful legs that can be used to jump incredible heights: roughly 200 times their body length.

Fleas of all species feed on blood. After feeding, females lay eggs on the skin or hair of the host animal. A single flea can have over 500 offspring in its lifetime, which live in the host's bedding feeding on dust and dried blood excreted by their parents after feeding. Their method of feeding results in them being a widespread vector for disease, most notoriously causing the Black Death, the deadliest pandemic in recorded history, in West Eurasia and North Africa during the 14th century.

Names in other languages

	ノミ Nomi	Flea
	벼룩 Byeoruk	Flea
	跳蚤 Tiàozǎo	Flea
	Блоха Blokha	Flea
	Vlo	Flea
	Floh	Flea
	Pulga	Flea
	Puce	Flea
	Pulce	Flea