Fleas vs. Ticks: What’s the Difference? Oklahoma Ticks, Health Risks and Removal

Fleas and ticks both feed on blood and both turn up on pets, but they are very different animals. Fleas are tiny wingless insects that jump, bite over and over, and live on your pet and in your carpet. Ticks are arachnids, related to spiders, that crawl onto a passing host, latch on and feed for days before dropping off. In Oklahoma the difference matters, because ticks here carry some serious diseases. This guide covers how to tell them apart, which ticks live in Oklahoma, what each can do to your family and pets, and how to remove a tick safely.

Sick after a tick bite? See a doctor if you get a fever, rash, chills, muscle aches or vomiting in the weeks after a bite or time outdoors, and say when and where you were bitten. Call 911 for trouble breathing or a severe reaction. Poison Help is free at 1-800-222-1222. This article is general information, not medical advice. For pets, call your veterinarian.

Fleas vs. ticks at a glance

What are fleas?

Fleas are wingless insects about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long, with long hind legs built for jumping. The flea on most Oklahoma cats and dogs is the cat flea, which University of Florida entomologists say is the common flea on both pets in North America. Adults stay on the animal and bite repeatedly. Their eggs drop off into pet beds, carpet and furniture, where larvae develop out of sight. That hidden population is why a flea problem is a house problem, not just a pet problem. For how fleas move and the full life cycle, see can fleas fly?

Health problems from fleas

• Itchy bites. Fleas bite people too, usually around the ankles, especially when flea numbers are high or the pet they fed on is gone (OSU Extension).
• Flea allergy dermatitis. Some pets, and some people, react to flea saliva with intense itching, hair loss and inflamed skin.
• Tapeworms. Cat fleas carry the dog tapeworm. Pets get it by swallowing an infected flea while grooming.
• Rarely, other diseases. UF notes cat fleas can transmit plague and murine typhus to people, though such cases are rare.

What are ticks?

Ticks are not insects. They go through egg, larva, nymph and adult stages and need a blood meal at each active stage. Most ticks wait on the tips of grass and brush, a habit called questing, and grab onto whatever brushes past. They don't jump or fly. Once attached, a tick feeds in the same spot for days, swelling as it fills, which gives it time to pass on germs. That is why finding and removing ticks quickly matters.

Ticks you'll find in Oklahoma

Oklahoma State University Extension lists these as the hard ticks most people and pets meet:

• Lone star tick. The female has a single white spot on her back. OSU calls it probably the tick people encounter most often outdoors. It is active from early spring to late fall, and one female can lay 9,000 to 12,000 eggs. It is linked to ehrlichiosis, tularemia, Heartland virus and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), and the CDC says it is the tick most often tied to alpha-gal syndrome.
• American dog tick. Brown with light, silvery markings. Adults prefer dogs but often bite people in wooded parks. OSU says it is the only known carrier of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Oklahoma, and it can also pass ehrlichiosis and cause tick paralysis.
• Brown dog tick. Plain dark brown. Very common in Oklahoma. It feeds mostly on dogs, hides in ears and between toes, and can establish itself inside homes and kennels.
• Gulf Coast tick. Females have a large white ring near the front of the body. OSU notes it has increased in Oklahoma over the past 20 years and is most common from early April to mid-June.
• Blacklegged (deer) tick. No white markings. In Oklahoma, adults are active from late fall through early spring, when most people aren't thinking about ticks at all.

Tick-borne diseases in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma State Department of Health reports that Oklahoma has among the nation's highest rates of three tickborne illnesses:

• Rocky Mountain spotted fever, spread here by the American dog tick.
• Ehrlichiosis, carried by the lone star tick and the American dog tick.
• Tularemia, which the lone star tick can carry.

In a 2017 report, the department counted about 2,000 cases of these three diseases among Oklahomans since 2012, with patients from 2 to 92 years old. Risk is highest from May through August. Symptoms usually start 3 to 14 days after a bite and can include fever, chills, muscle aches, vomiting, fatigue, a rash, or painful, swollen lymph nodes near the bite. Early treatment matters, so don't wait it out.

Alpha-gal syndrome is a different kind of risk. According to the CDC, a tick bite, most often from a lone star tick, can trigger a serious allergy to red meat and other products made from mammals.

What about Lyme disease? Lyme gets most of the attention nationally, but OSU Extension notes that in Oklahoma the blacklegged tick is not known to transmit it. That is no reason to relax. Oklahoma's own tick diseases can be more dangerous.

Ticks and your pets

• Dogs can get ehrlichiosis and other tick-borne infections from the American dog tick, brown dog tick and lone star tick, and the Gulf Coast tick can pass a parasite called Hepatozoon.
• Cats face cytauxzoonosis, or bobcat fever. Oklahoma State University veterinarians say it is spread by the lone star tick, with bobcats as the natural carrier. Signs can start up to 15 days after a bite: lethargy, poor appetite, high fever, pale gums and yellowing skin. Untreated, it can kill within days of the first symptoms. Most cases happen from March to September, and OSU advises tick prevention for all cats, indoor and outdoor.

Ask your veterinarian about tick and flea prevention for every pet. Use each product only on the species and weight it is labeled for; the EPA warns that some dog products are toxic to cats.

How to remove a tick

The CDC's steps work for people and pets:

1. Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grab the tick as close to the skin as you can. Avoid squeezing its body.
2. Pull straight away from the skin with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk.
3. Get rid of the live tick by sealing it in a bag or container, wrapping it tightly in tape, putting it in alcohol or flushing it.
4. Clean the bite and your hands with soap and water, rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer.

Don't use petroleum jelly, heat, nail polish or other tricks to make the tick let go, and don't wait to remove it. If a rash or fever shows up in the following weeks, see a doctor and mention the bite. For a pet, call your veterinarian if the spot looks infected or your pet seems sick.

How to avoid tick bites

From the CDC's tick prevention guidance:

• Use an EPA-registered repellent such as DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, PMD or 2-undecanone. Don't use OLE or PMD on children under 3.
• Treat boots, clothing and gear with 0.5% permethrin. Permethrin is for clothing and gear.
• Walk in the center of trails and avoid high grass, brush and leaf litter.
• After coming inside, tumble dry clothes on high heat for 10 minutes, shower within two hours and do a full-body tick check: under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, behind the knees, in the hair, between the legs and around the waist.
• Check pets, coats and backpacks. Ticks ride inside and attach to someone later.

Getting rid of fleas and ticks around your home

For both pests, the fix has three parts: treat your pets with your veterinarian's help, clean up the places they develop indoors, and make the yard less friendly to them. Ticks are mostly an outdoor problem: tall grass, brush, leaf litter and the edge where the lawn meets the woods. Fleas live on pets and in pet beds and carpet, and outdoors in shady spots under decks and shrubs. Our step-by-step guide to getting rid of fleas and ticks in your yard covers what to do.

Flea and tick exterminator in Oklahoma

Emtec Pest Control has been helping Oklahoma families and their pets with fleas and ticks since 1979. We inspect your yard and home for the places fleas and ticks are living, treat those areas, and point out the yard changes that keep them from coming back, while you handle your pets' prevention with your veterinarian. We are the flea and tick exterminator for Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Sapulpa, Stillwater, Oklahoma City, Edmond and nearby towns. See our flea and tick control service or contact us to schedule an inspection.