Fleas: Order Siphonaptera
Appearance: Black to brownish-black, about one-twelfth to one-sixteenth inch long; six legs, with many bristles on body and legs; flattened body.
Habits: Found on cats and dogs year-round, but most common during warm and humid weather; readily attack and feed on humans; can jump as much as seven-eighth inch vertically, and 14 to 16 inches horizontally.
Diet: Blood
Reproduction: Female can lay about 25 eggs a day, and up to 800 eggs during her lifetime; fleas undergo complete metamorphosis, usually in 14 to 90 days.
Other Information: Carrier of many diseases; adults can live one to two months without feeding. Fleas can carry a number of diseases and the females lay up to 800 eggs in a lifetime.
Tick: Order Acarina
Appearance: Appearance differs by species, but all adults are very small, roundish, with eight legs (larvae or seed ticks have six legs); 1/8 to 1/2 inch long.
Habits: Live on the bodies of mammals, birds and reptiles.
Diet: Blood; all species can swell to a considerable size after feeding.
Reproduction: Mating usually occurs while adult ticks are on the host animal; female hard ticks feed only once, and lay one large batch of up to 10,000 eggs; female soft tick will feed several times and lay 20 -50 eggs after each meal; eggs hatch in 19 to 60 days.
Other Information: Ticks are known carriers of many serious diseases, including encephalitis, tick paralysis, typhus and Lyme disease; adults can live over 500 days without a meal.