The facts about ticks and fleas

• A flea starts feeding on blood within 5 minutes

When a flea jumps onto a pet, it will start feeding within 5 minutes and may suck blood for up to 2½ hours.

• A single flea lays 40 to 50 eggs a day

Each female flea can produce 40 to 50 eggs a day.

That’s up to 2,000 in a lifetime, infesting your home and your dog’s environment.

• An adult flea can live for 2 months

A single flea can live on a dog for almost 2 months providing ongoing irritation.

• Fleas are stubborn and hard to remove

Flea larvae burrow deep into bedding and carpet – thorough, regular vacuuming and cleaning of pet’s bedding is recommended.

• 8 weeks or more to remove flea populations in the environment
• Once a flea infestation has been established it can take up to 8 or more weeks to eradicate it.

• Paralysis Tick – most dangerous tick

The single most dangerous tick for dogs in Australia is the paralysis tick.

• 3,000 eggs at a time

A single female paralysis tick can lay up to 3,000 eggs at a time.

• They are related to spiders

A tick is a small blood-sucking parasite that is related to spiders.

• They can potentially kill dogs

After attaching and feeding, a paralysis tick starts producing a potent toxin that affects the dog’s central nervous system and causes progressive paralysis and possible death.