Catching a Flea

[Firesquids]

Does anyone know if you can catch fleas during the Bug Off?

I want to get the trophies and I still haven't caught a flea (I've played over 1570 hours now, this is getting ridiculous), I was hoping to knock out both at the same time.
I TT'd to the August 22nd Bug Off, so they should be spawning.

Edit: I've caught lots of fleas in New Leaf so I know what catching them is like. lol

Update: I got one! Loaded up my game in July and Dom had a flea!
Turns out not talking to villagers does not interfere with whether or not they'll have fleas because I hadn't talked to Dom in 6 months and he still had one!
The Curse has truly been lifted!

Oh no....

 

[Kattea]

They spawn on your villagers, I don't know if it would be more likely to happen during the Bug Off. If you ever talk to a villager and they talk about how itchy they are, give them a smack with your net. It shouldn't be too uncommon, I've caught at least 3 and have only played for 350 hours.

 

[satine]

I think it's up to luck -- the good thing is that you can store bugs now, so you can just catch one on someone earlier and put it ijnh your storage and save it for the bug off maybe? But I don't think there's a way to generate them if they aren't already on an animal.

 

[princess.looking.for.frog]

I didnt know they were so hard to catch! I have caught multiple and actually got one today haha. A big hint if they have fleas is their dialogue about itchy-ness. I guess it is all up to luck :/

 

[Bluebellie]

How strange. My villagers are flea magnets. They’re always walking around with fleas. If it helps, I think it’s mostly on lazy villagers. I always see them on Rodeo and Barold. Not sure if this is a proven thing or not, just my observation

 

[KittenNoir]

I usually find fleas from stitches while he is running around haha I am not sure how he keeps getting them and why its is only ever him.
I am also sure the flea was the first thing I caught and donated to the museum

Thanks to stitches

 

[Sara?]

I must say that this winter season i have not seen any flea! l dont know if there Fleas actually do not spam during winter for some reason but for December i can truly tell you i have seen 0 thus far

 

[thebefu]

I haven't had any villagers with fleas lately either, but I also only play for a few minutes in the evening now depending on things. I did have Eloise get sick like 2 days apart somehow. For me, it seems it didn't matter what villager (no lazy currently on my island), they all would take a turn at getting them.

 

[Miss Misty]

I must say that this winter season i have not seen any flea! l dont know if there Fleas actually do not spam during winter for some reason but for December i can truly tell you i have seen 0 thus far

Fleas aren't available in December - March in the Northern Hemisphere.

As for whether they spawn during the Bug-Off, that I'm not sure of. I know the Bug-Off overrides other things the villagers do and say when they're outside. I just don't know if that includes overriding the potential for a flea to spawn, since that has its own special dialogue as well.

 

[Sara?]

Fleas aren't available in December - March in the Northern Hemisphere.

As for whether they spawn during the Bug-Off, that I'm not sure of. I know the Bug-Off overrides other things the villagers do and say when they're outside. I just don't know if that includes overriding the potential for a flea to spawn, since that has its own special dialogue as well.

I was suspecting there was something of the sort cause it was just too weird for me that absolutely no one had a Flea haha and came to the conclusion that in the game there are no fleas during winter aka snow season. Thanks for confirming this though ❣

 

[Miss Misty]

I was suspecting there was something of the sort cause it was just too weird for me that absolutely no one had a Flea haha and came to the conclusion that in the game there are no fleas during winter aka snow season. Thanks for confirming this though ❣

You can check when bugs and fish are available in your Critterpedia

 

[Sloom]

I feel like I commented something similar to this on a thread you made before lol but I'll say it again:

I've got way fewer hours than you (700) and I got the Nook Miles achievement for catching 10 fleas in April. I've caught tons of fleas so there must be something you're doing wrong. I don't TT, so maybe it has something to do with that. I assume if you aren't good friends with a villager / haven't talked to them in a while, a flea won't spawn on them. Not definitely sure about that but you should experiment because there must be something going on that's causing them not to spawn!

 

[Tiffany]

You can actually see the flea jumping around on the villager. I would always catch the flea before I even talk to the villager. I don't recall seeing any during a bug off but honestly I wasn't looking.

 

[Firesquids]

I feel like I commented something similar to this on a thread you made before lol but I'll say it again:

I've got way fewer hours than you (700) and I got the Nook Miles achievement for catching 10 fleas in April. I've caught tons of fleas so there must be something you're doing wrong. I don't TT, so maybe it has something to do with that. I assume if you aren't good friends with a villager / haven't talked to them in a while, a flea won't spawn on them. Not definitely sure about that but you should experiment because there must be something going on that's causing them not to spawn!

Yeah I've thought about this too, maybe I just need to talk to them more so they don't get stuck into the whole "I haven't seen you in months ):<" spiel.

 

[Miss Misty]

Yeah I've thought about this too, maybe I just need to talk to them more so they don't get stuck into the whole "I haven't seen you in months ):<" spiel.

That's honestly the best bet. Like I said, the fleas give them special 'itchy' dialogue so maybe they can't have any other special dialogue that is taking priority. I talk to my villagers fairly frequently, and I never had any issues getting fleas to spawn regularly, fwiw.

 

[Firesquids]

That's honestly the best bet. Like I said, the fleas give them special 'itchy' dialogue so maybe they can't have any other special dialogue that is taking priority. I talk to my villagers fairly frequently, and I never had any issues getting fleas to spawn regularly, fwiw.

Well my game just disproved our theory! I got one!
Updated the first post with more info lol