HomeDo you know how much harm fleas and ticks can cause our furry children and how dangerous these parasites are?
Facts about fleas and ticks to keep you informed.
Fleas
- Female fleas will lay at least 20 eggs a day. Half of these eggs will be female which can eventually produce about 20,000 new fleas in 60 days.
- Fleas can jump 110 times their body length.
- When jumping, fleas accelerate 20 times faster than a space shuttle.
- Fleas are not killed by Winter. As long as the larvae are wrapped in their cocoons they can survive short periods of freezing temperatures. Some of the larvae find warm spots to hide out until temperatures are more hospitable.
Ticks
- There are numerous tick species in South Africa. They are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than insects – therefor ticks are arachnids.
- Female ticks lay their eggs on the ground and die. She can lay from 2000 to 18 000 eggs. The male dies after mating.
- Ticks crawl up their hosts from grasses and shrubs – they do not fly, jump or fall from trees.
- The saliva of a tick acts like cement, helping to anchor the it to its host and making it harder to remove.
- Ticks carry numerous parasites which causes diseases in animals and humans for eg. Biliary Fever and African Tick-Bite Fever.
Get rid of Fleas and Ticks – Visit http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/dog-flea-control-prevention for more information.
Sources: Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 4th Edition Cornwall College Journal Nature National Park Service Centers for Disease Control Purdue University New York Times
Ticks and Biliary – Susan Holdsworth
