Fleas and Ticks
Fleas and ticks are considered to be outdoor pests, but both are capable of being introduced into homes and commercial properties. Although fleas and ticks can be common problems for pet owners, they can also be a problem for non pet owners due to being brought on their property by wild animals, such as raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, birds, mice, possums and skunks.
Fleas and ticks are dangerous to both people and pets. Ticks feed on a variety of different hosts and can transmit many serious diseases. The American dog tick is the primary vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Dog tick bites can cause itching, fever, and in some cases, tick paralysis. The Lone Star tick is a vector of diseases, including tularemia, Heartland virus, Bourbon virus, Southern tick-associated rash illness, and ehrlichiosis. Deer ticks are the main transmitters of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and tick-borne fever. Flea bites can cause itchy, swollen, red bumps and can cause allergic reactions in some people. The saliva in fleas can cause serious flea dermatitis in pets. Fleas can transfer tapeworms to humans and pets and have been implicated in the spread of plague and flea-borne murine typhus.
Fleas
Fleas are about 1/8 inches in length, reddish-brown in color, wingless, with small, hard, laterally flattened bodies, piercing/sucking mouthparts, and well developed legs which allows them to jump great distances. Their bodies are covered with backward projecting spines which helps it move between hairs on the host animal. Cat fleas are the most common flea found in our area and feed on a variety of hosts, including humans. Fleas will usually wait for a host in shady areas, tall grass, and moist, sandy soil.
Deer Tick
Deer ticks are 1/16 to 1/8 inches in length, have flat, oval bodies, orange-brown in color with their legs, mouthparts and shield a dark brown to black. Deer ticks prefer to hide in grass and shrubs while waiting for a passing host. Other habitats to harbor the deer tick is the den, nest or nesting area of its host, such as skunks, raccoons, possums, and especially the white-footed mouse. During the winter months, they feed primarily on white-tailed deer. The deer tick is a 3 host tick with each stage requiring a different and successively larger host animals to complete development.
Lone Star Tick
Female lone star ticks are about 1/6 to 1/4 inches long un-engorged and about 1/2 inch engorged, with the males being slightly smaller. Both have reddish brown oval bodies which become slate gray when engorged. Females have a single whitish to silvery spot on their backs, while males have several inverted horseshoe-shaped whitish spots along their backs. Lone star ticks are typically found in shaded areas with their favorite habitat being the woods to lawn or meadows. The lone star tick is a 3 host tick with each stage requiring a different and successively larger host animals to complete development. Humans are attacked by all 3 stages.
American Dog Tick
American dog ticks are hard shelled ticks with a flattened, oval shaped body, red-brown in color with whitish gray markings on its back, and 1/8 to 1/32 inches in length, depending on whether they have fed. These tick can be found in grassy areas with dense vegetation, along roadsides, trails, and fence lines. The dog tick is a 3 host tick, with each stage requiring a different and successively larger host animal to complete development. Dog tick is a very common pest of dogs and readily feeds on a variety of other animals, including humans.