![]() ![]() Rodents, pets, and wild animals transport fleas and ticks to our yards then, when you, your kids, or pets come into contact with them, you bring them into your home. Both will also feed on human blood, though fleas prefer to live on an animal host. Why do I have a flea and tick problem?ĭespite their descriptive names, fleas and ticks feed on a wide variety of animal hosts, including raccoons, foxes, squirrels, rats, mice, deer, dogs, cats, and livestock. Excessive scratching can lead to secondary infections developing. After being bitten by fleas, a red itchy rash develops. The biggest concern with fleas is that most people and animals are allergic to flea saliva. Some of the most common diseases that ticks spread in Northern California include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and tularemia.įleas don’t spread the number of diseases that ticks do, but their ability to feed on human and animal blood and spread parasitic tapeworms makes them a pest we don’t want living in our yards or homes. They have a four-stage life cycle, and at each life stage, they require a new blood meal from a new host. Ticks are a medically significant pest and are responsible for spreading various diseases to both people and animals. There are many different species of ticks living in our area, including: Ticks are not insects they are arachnids and have an oval or egg-shaped body, eight legs, and are wingless. They are wingless but have a pair of large back legs they use for jumping, helping them gain access to a host. Fleas are tiny in size (think speck of dirt) and have an oval body flattened from side to side. Blood is the sole source of food for both fleas and ticks.īoth cat fleas and dog fleas live in our area, and without a trained eye and microscope, they look identical. Fleas and ticks are both ectoparasites meaning they feed on their host's blood from outside of their body. These pests are regularly found in our yards and sometimes find a way into our homes. The saliva of this tick has also been known to cause tick paralysis.Fleas and ticks are a prevalent pest problem in Northern California and throughout the country. This species is an important vector of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever rickettsia and the bacterium responsible for Tularemia. Within California it is most frequently found along the coastal ranges and central valley. This tick is found throughout the United States as well as parts of Canada and Mexico. Read more » American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis) The Brown Dog Tick is known to vector Rocky Mountain Fever, canine ehrlichiosis and canine babesiosis. Within California it is most frequently encountered on dogs housed within dog kennels. This species feeds on dogs as a larva, nymph and adult. The Brown Dog tick is a widespread tick that is an important pest of dogs. Read more » Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) The immature stages feed on rodents, especially squirrels, while the adults prefer large mammals such as cattle, horses, deer and humans. It has also been found in Oregon and Baja California. ![]() This species is widely distributed throughout California except for the very arid areas of the central valley and south eastern desert region. Read more » Pacific Coast Tick (Dermacentor occidentalis) This species of tick is a vector of both the Lyme disease spirochete and Equine Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis Rickettsia in California. ![]() ![]() The Western Black-Legged Tick is a common tick found throughout the west coast of North America. Western Black-legged Tick (Ixodes pacificus) ![]()
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