Flea vs Tick — What’s the Difference?

Quick Comparison: Flea vs. Tick

• Fleas are insects with six legs; ticks are arachnids with eight legs.
• Fleas live inside on carpets, couches, chairs and pet bedding.
• Ticks live outside on the tips of plants, waiting to latch onto passing people/animals.
• Ticks can cause Lyme Disease, ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• Ticks crawl, but fleas can jump over 1ft high to find a new host.

The Difference Between Fleas and Ticks

At first glance they look similar. But fleas are insects with six legs; and ticks are arachnids with eight legs. Ticks crawl and prefer the outdoors, fleas jump and prefer indoors. They both transmit different diseases and reproduce at different rates.

Flea

• Appearance — six-legged insect, flattened from side-to-side, about pinhead size.
• Habitat — prefers indoor carpets, couches, chairs, and pet bedding.
• Behavior — world-class jumpers, leaping over 1ft to find a new host.
• Risks — transmits tapeworms and occasionally murine typhus. Itchy bites can cause allergic dermatitis.
• Reproduction — rapid breeders, laying dozens of eggs a day.

Tick

• Appearance — eight-legged arachnids, larger than fleas (resembling a small seed); teardrop shaped.
• Habitat — prefers outdoors on tips of grass, brush, leaf litter, and wooden edges.
• Behavior — slow crawlers,  latching onto passing people/ animals; remain on skin for hours/ days.
• Risks — can cause Lyme Disease, ehrlichiosis or Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• Reproduction — can take years to mature.

Signs of an Infestation

Fleas: receive customer complaints or see pets constantly scratching; spot "flea dirt"—tiny black dried blood specks on pet’s skin or bedding. Ticks: see them attached to people/animals; find tiny droppings on clothes/fur; feel bite rashes, aches or sudden fever after being outdoors.

Prevention tips

Fleas: Use vet-approved flea treatments on pets; wash pet bedding weekly; vacuum carpets, couches and chairs to remove eggs/larvae; mow grass short, and clear tall weeds/debris piles.

Ticks: Wear long sleeves and tuck pants into socks when outdoors; apply EPA-registered insect repellents to skin and clothing; after being outside, check everyone for hitchhiking pests and shower within two hours.