Few creatures can inflict more misery, ounce for ounce, than fleas. These tiny, almost-invisible pests can make life miserable and disrupt your household with a vicious cycle of biting and scratching . Fleas may also cause flea allergy dermatitis in some pets and may be carriers of dangerous diseases .
Although fleas can be a problem for your pets all year, flea populations typically explode about 5-6 weeks after the weather starts to warm up.

The Flea Life Cycle Consists of 4 stages; 
Egg, Larval, Pupa, and Adult

    The Larval stage begins when the eggs hatch and the larvae head toward dark places around your home and feed on "flea dirt" – flea feces containing partially digested blood from your pet. The larvae grow, molt twice, then spin cocoons, where they grow to pupae.

    In the Pupa stage immature fleas spend approximately 8–9 days in their cocoon. During this time, they continue to grow to adulthood, waiting for the signals that it is time to emerge.

    Full-grown adults detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon dioxide from inside their cocoons, telling them a host is nearby. The adults leave their cocoons, hop onto a host, find a mate and begin the life cycle all over again.

The entire life cycle can be as short as 2-4  weeks.

Fleas can affect your pet's health in ways such as:

Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD) - When a flea bites your dog or cat, it deposits a small amount of saliva in the skin. Your pet can develop FAD in reaction to this saliva, which causes severe itching. In addition to your pet scratching or biting excessively around the tail, groin or backside, scabs or bumps may also appear on your pet's neck or back.

Anemia - Anemia may occur in pets if too many fleas suck their blood. The signs of anemia include pale gums, weakness and lethargy in your pet.

Tapeworm (Dipylidium caninum) - Dogs or cats may become infected with tapeworms by ingesting an infected flea. Pets may have intense anal itching, and tapeworm segments may be seen around the anal area or in the feces.

TICKS: 

The Tick Life Cycle Consists of 4 stages; 
Egg, Larval, nymphal, and Adult

The cycle begins with the Egg stage.  Female ticks lay eggs in secluded areas where vegetation is dense and several inches high. Adult females of some tick species lay about 100 eggs at a time; others lay 3,000 to 6,000 eggs per batch. Regardless of species, tick eggs hatch in about two weeks.

After hatching, the fleas enter the Larval stage.  The larvae move into grass or shrubs in search of their first blood meal. If you or your pet passes by, they attach themselves and crawl upward in pursuit of an area of the skin that they can feed from. Then they drop off the host, back into the environment .

After finding their first blood meal, the larvae molt into the Nymphal stage and begin searching for another host. Nymphs are small in size and often go undetected, increasing the chance for disease transmission .

Once the nymph has had its blood meal, it molts into an Adult. Adult female ticks feed on a host. In some cases, they will increase to 100 times their original weight while feeding. After feeding, the female will mate, fall off and lay her eggs in a secluded place – beginning the life cycle again.

Diseases transmitted by tick bites may affect your dog's or cat's health in the following ways:

Lyme Disease - A bacterial infection that infects both people and dogs, Lyme disease is carried by the deer tick. Signs include lameness, fever, loss of appetite, fatigue and enlargement of the lymph nodes. 

Babesiosis - Acute signs may include fever, loss of appetite, and anemia. Shock, coma or death may also occur, especially in puppies.

Ehrlichiosis - An infectious blood disease that attacks your pet's white blood cells. Signs include fever, depression, lameness, and loss of appetite.

• Fever
• Lameness
• Loss of appetite
• Cough
• Sudden onset of pain in your pet's legs or body
• Arthritis or swelling in your pet's joints
• Lethargy or depression

If you remove any ticks from your pet, save them in a bottle – we may want to examine them in order to determine what type of ticks they were. Remove ticks with tweezers, never with your hands .