Fleas
Flea treatment should be carried out monthly, throughout the year. Fleas will begin to lay eggs which contaminate your dog or cat’s environment within 24 hours of being on your pet, so by the time you notice fleas on your pet, you may already have a build-up of flea eggs in the environment such as in dog bedding, carpet, garden area etc. The fleas that you see on your pet are about 5% of the problem. Environmental flea problems are very difficult to get rid of, so prevention is much better than cure!
If you do find yourself with a flea problem you can try a range of products.
Spot on Treatments
- Advantage - Kills fleas by spreading through the hair coat via oils on the skin. Bathing and swimming will decrease effectiveness.
- Advantix - NOT FOR CATS. Kills fleas, ticks and mosquitoes by spreading through the coat via the oils in the skin.
- Revolution - Kills fleas and treats heartworm by entering the blood stream where it is distributed around the body.
Tablets
- Capstar – Kill adult fleas on your pet in as little as 30 minutes. Does not disrupt life cycle so need to use with a spot on or chewable treatment such as sentinel.
Chewable Treatments
- Comfortis – New Product, NOT FOR CATS. Kills fleas within 30 minutes, 100% within 4 hours and lasts one month. Works through the bloodstream, new adult fleas will be killed before they can lay eggs.
- Sentinal – Kills fleas, prevents heartworm and all intestinal worms. Sentinal works through the bloodstream; it will not kill adult fleas but will prevent viable eggs being laid and pupae developing into adults. Use with capstar to kill adult fleas.
Control The Environmental Problem
Flea eggs and larvae can be found in the ground, carpet, and bedding - this can contribute to ongoing flea problems in your household.
- Vacuum carpet daily. The vibrations of the vacuum will cause flea eggs to hatch thus reducing the number of eggs in the carpet. Is it important to keep vacuuming consistently to remove larvae as they erupt.
- Wash bedding and dry in direct sunlight for at least 24hours on each side.
- If your dog is an inside dog you may wish to employ a pesticide company to spray your house.
- If your dog is often outside spray area’s where the dog commonly lies with a safe insecticide. Concentrate on garden beds (if your dog lies in them), under the house (especially if there is dirt), and between pavers etc.
