Fleas are small, hard-bodied, wingless insects with a flattened body and legs adapted for jumping on to a host. The cat flea, most commonly encountered in Florida, seeds mammals for the blood meal needed to sustain them. They can be a direct health hazard, transmitting disease and tapeworm. Humans are often attacked when other food sources aren’t available. Their bite leaves a red, itchy spot on the skin. Their saliva is irritating to the host, causing dermatitis and hair loss in allergic animals.

The tick is an eight-legged relative of the spider. It must feed three times before hiding and producing up to 3000 eggs in a crack or crevice. The tick can live without food for up to 200 days, waiting for a host, usually a dog, to supply a blood meal. Many serious diseases can be transmitted through ticks: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Typhus, Lyme Disease, Relapsing Tick Fever and other disorders.