Flea and Tick Facts

• A female flea sucks up to 30 times her weight in blood and excretes six times her weight in flea baby food: blood-rich, nutrient-packed feces.
• Fleas can transmit tapeworms and can cause severe skin irritation in pets.
• A flea can jump more than eight inches high – the equivalent of a human jumping over the Statue of Liberty
• One female flea can lay 25 to 50 eggs on a cat or dog each day

• Lyme disease, which can be transmitted to both pets and humans by the bite of infected deer ticks, affects more than 16,000 Americans each year
• Ticks have harpoon-like barbs on their mouths to attach to the host for feeding and a sticky secretion to help them hold on
• Ticks can carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which strikes 300 to 400 Americans a year
• Some species of ticks lay about 100 eggs at a time; others lay 3,000 to 6,000 per batch

Flea life cycle

The average flea life cycle takes between 3 and 4 weeks, but can last 180 days (6 months) depending on temperature and humidity.1

1. Eggs – Female lays 40-50 eggs per day on the host.1 Eggs fall off into the environment. Eggs hatch into larvae within 2 weeks.
2. Larvae – Larvae feed on flea fecal matter in the environment. Larvae can ingest tapeworm eggs.
3. Pupae – Within a week, larvae form a cocoon and pupate. Adult fleas emerge from the pupae and begin feeding as soon as a host is found.
4. Biting Adults – Adult fleas feed on host. Females need blood meal to reproduce. Fleas may transmit disease-causing organisms during feeding.

Dr. Ray does not recommend over the counter flea and tick medications or collars. They are often ineffective and can be harmful to your pet.