FLEAS- WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

When you see a flea, what’s the only thing you want to know?

Yep, there' s an "oh, no" moment when you realize your pet (and house) have a problem. After that all you want to know is: how do I get rid of them?  You do need to know how to get rid of them, but you also need to know how to prevent them in the first place.

 

DOES YOUR PET HAVE FLEAS?

First step is to know what you’re looking for when you examine your pet to know if she’s got fleas. Fleas are little brown insects that jump. They’re about the size of the head of a pin. Sometimes you can find them on your pet. Sometimes you can’t because your pet may eat them as soon as they are detected (hence the stop-drop-and-chew phenomenon we see with an infested pet).  You might see what we call “flea dirt” which is black debris left by fleas. To confirm dirt isn’t just dirt, take a few pieces of the black debris, put a small dab of water on white paper and rub the debris through this. If there is a red smudge then that menas it’s digested blood from fleas. And confirms the fleas are present.

Fleas also cause a distinctive pattern of hair loss over the base of the tail, back, tailhead and thighs (especially the inside).

WHAT HARM CAN FLEAS DO OTHER THAN ITCHING?

Fleas are more than just itchy pests. They can cause a few serious issues including:

• Anemia
• Flea allergy dermatitis and flea allergy
• Infection  - tapeworms, typhus, tularemia, plague, and bartonellosis (cat-scratch fever)

LET’S GET RID OF AND PREVENT THE FLEAS!

First two points of flea treatment:

1) Treat ALL pets in the household year round with effective flea control.

2) To eliminate an established infection treat all pets at once and treat the environment.

What works to clear fleas? In our area we have what we like to call “super fleas.” They are resistant to many flea control products (e.g., many fipronil-containing products like Frontline Plus, Frontline TopSpot, and their knock-off prodcuts). What works: For an oral preventive Nexgard, Bravecto, Comfortis, and Program (the flea control in Sentinel). If you want an effective topical product then use Advantage (imidicloprid), Revolution (selamectin) or Frontline Gold or Frontline Tritak. The Serresto collars are the only effective collar.

For the environment, you can certainly hire a pro, which can be vital in super infestation situations. Otherwise what works well is vacuuming. Vacuum your entire house (hardwoods, carpets, all flooring) every 2 to 3 days for several weeks.

If your pet has a serious skin infection and fleas, then an exam with your vet is necessary.

 

 Posted by Zoe Forward, DVM, Dipl. ABVP (canine/feline)

Image sources:

1) Oh No- https://pxhere.com/en/photo/607469

2) Itchy - istockphoto.com