Spring and Fall are the Seasons for Fleas
How to Prevent and Kill Fleas on Your Dog or Cat
Bathing your cat or dog is always a good way to keep any fleas that could be on your animal from causing an infestation. Make sure that the animal is fully submerged from the neck down for two to three minutes. This ensures that the fleas will drown.
There are also many flea shampoos on the market that will not only kill fleas, but through residual action, prevent fleas from jumping onto your pet for up to six weeks.
As spring and fall are the seasons when fleas tend to strike, taking extra precautions at this time is wise. Even if your pet rarely goes outdoors, such as, for instance, an indoor cat, flea prevention should still be taken into consideration. Fleas often come into a household by hitching a ride on shoes and clothing, and then find a new home on your pet.
Flea collars have been a mainstay on the market for flea prevention. When choosing a flea collar, opt for the more expensive ones. Cheaper flea collars tend to not do a thorough job, as they keep fleas away from the head and neck of the animal, but not the hindquarters.
Veterinarians can give your dog or cat pills to keep fleas from biting them. There are also products like Advantage, which are drops that can be put at the back of the animal's neck that keep fleas off of the animal for a month.
If you don't want to visit a vet, Zodiac makes a very effective over the counter flea prevention drops that are available at most pet stores.
Even with the best of efforts at prevention, your dog or cat may still get fleas. Doing a thorough job of treating the animal and the surrounding area will ensure that your household will not be left vulnerable to re-infestations of fleas.
The animal must be treated first. Shampoos, powders, mousses, and sprays are available on the market and work well when used properly. Again, cheaper products are often less effective. Pyrethrin is usually the active ingredient that kills fleas in these products, and more expensive products usually contain more pyrethrin, thus making them more effective.
Statistics show that if there is one flea on an animal, then there are usually nine others in the surrounding area. This means that if your dog or cat has fleas, there are probably nine times the amount that are on the animal living in your house. If these fleas lay eggs in your household, you could be facing a major flea infestation.
To prevent major flea infestations, everything should be vacuumed and washed, especially bedsheets and anything on which the animal was sleeping. Remember to throw away the vacuum bag immediately.
Next, a premise spray should be used to kill any fleas hiding in the household. A premise spray is a chemical that is sprayed around the perimeter of the household. The residual action of a premise spray can kill fleas and flea eggs for up to six months.
You should never breath in a premise spray, and leave the room until it dries, which usually takes a half an hour. The sprays are not harmful to humans once they dry.
Also remember to cover any fish tanks, bowls, or birdcages, as premise sprays are harmful to fish and birds before they settle and dry.
Following these steps towards the prevention and eradication of fleas will ensure that your dog, cat, and household will be free of fleas.
Adult male Orosylla Montana flea
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