American Fleas
While there are more than 200 species of fleas in this country, the main troublemaker for pets is the cat flea. Happy to feed on anyone in the household--cat, dog or human--these wingless insects will most likely choose a pet, whose fur provides warm camouflage for their breeding ground.

The flea life cycle has four stages: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults. Female fleas lay as many as 50 eggs a day, starting a life cycle that can be completed in as little as three weeks, depending on temperature and humidity. The eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on "flea dirt," excrement or partially digested blood. Larvae grow and molt twice, then spin cocoons, where they grow to pupae and then adults. The adult remains in the cocoon until vibrations indicate a host is nearby. This waiting can extend the life cycle. It also explains why large numbers of fleas often are seen when an empty building is reoccupied. Six-legged adults emerge and attach to a host to feed and breed, beginning the cycle all over again. Even when fleas elude detection on a pet, their black poppy seed-like excrement gives them away. The main problem with fleas--itching--is due not only to their bites, but also to their crawling over the skin.

Tenacious Ticks

A tick has a one-piece body. The harpoon-like barbs of its mouth attach to a host for feeding. Crablike legs and a sticky secretion help hold the tick to the host. When attempting to remove a tick, to prevent the mouth part from coming off and remaining embedded in the skin, grasp the mouth close to the skin with tweezers and pull gently.

Ticks are not insects like fleas, but arachnids like mites, spiders and scorpions. They have a four-stage life cycle, eggs, larvae, nymphs, and adults. Adult females of some species lay about 100 eggs at a time. Others lay 3,000 to 6,000 eggs per batch. Six-legged larvae hatch from the eggs. After at least one blood meal, the larvae molt into eight-legged nymphs--in some species, more than once. Final nymphs molt into adult males or females, also with eight legs. Depending on its species, a tick may take less than a year or up to several years to go through its four-stage life cycle. While ticks need a blood meal at each stage after hatching, some species can survive years without feeding.

The United States has about 200 tick species. Habitats include woods, beach grass, lawns, forests, and even urban areas.

Fleas and ticks transmit diseases to people as well as pets. Lyme disease is by far the most often reported tick-borne disease in humans in the United States. The next most prevalent disease from ticks is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, characterized by fever, headache, rash, and nausea or vomiting. It affects more than 500 people each year, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A trained pest control technician should be called in to eliminate the immediate population, with pesticides. Also conducting a visual inspection to detect any areas that mechanical control can be applied.