Pulex irritans: Historic repellents, insecticides, and flea traps from the 16th to the 19th century

There is a long-term relationship between humans and the human flea, Pulex irritans. The invention of the microscope in the late 1500s was a turning point for the scientific investigation of the flea. Microscopists like Robert Hooke (1635-1702) or Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723) became most attracted. Leeuwenhoek discovered the sexual reproduction of fleas. During the Victorian period, their role as vectors of disease was scientifically determined and recorded, which was stimulated by the plague epidemic of 1894 in Canton and Hong Kong. The flea's position as an annoying but harmless housemate underwent a change, as the (human) flea was now also perceived as a vector of deadly infectious diseases. We review the different approaches to control and combat the (human) flea inhouse and on the human body from the 16th to 19th century. We provide a short review on repellents and early insecticides, mainly made by herbs. We also refer to flea traps made from animal skins, wool, or woods, ivory up to the manufactory production of the 19th century.