All pet owners dread flea season.
Dog owners especially dread fleas because dogs are usually outside more often than other pets.
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They also typically go outside and then in, several times a day bringing along with them the potential fleas that ride undetected into your home.
A flea infestation can be very difficult and costly to cleanse from your home and dog.
The remedy for fleas cannot only be costly; it can take time, patience and perseverance.
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If you are not familiar with what fleas are, they are brownish red in color, are wingless but hop, and have sharp bites that draw blood from the host dog.
They multiply rapidly so if you do not prevent them, or stop them quickly, you can have a terrible flea infestation rather quickly.
It is not just the adult flea that you must rid your home and dog of, but the flea larvae as well. The flea larvae live in warm climates and will even stay alive until the ground freezes in cooler climates.
If fleas make it to the inside of your home and are not killed, they can live on in your home, past the cold months.
How do you know if your dog has fleas?
All dogs scratch, but a dog with flea’s scratches almost non-stop.
Some dogs are allergic to fleabites and can develop terrible rashes that cause even more scratching.
Rashes from fleabites can become infected, which will be even more costly to heal.
Nipping the flea problem before it starts or at the very least as soon as you notice the problem, is essential.
If you do not control the flea population explosion, you will have a very nasty problem on your hands pretty quickly.
To detect the presence of fleas on your dog, use a wide tooth comb and run it through your dog’s coat and see if you find any “flea dirt”.
The “flea dirt” is actually dried blood flea excrement.
Your vet can recommend some flea products that work like Frontline PLUS Purple
It is better to get a recommendation from someone who has experience because you can easily waste your money on products that don’t work.
Tips and Home Treatments:
Use petroleum jelly on the wide toothcomb to gather fleas easier as they stick to the comb.
Comb your dog on a regular basis to remove any fleas the dog picks up from outside.
Put Garlic or Brewers Yeast in your dog’s canned food as this makes your dog less appealing to fleas.
There are no proven studies to validate the usefulness of either garlic or brewers yeast, but some dog owners swear by these supplements.
Stay away from products that contain “pyrethrins”. Pyrethrins are natural insecticides that are made from the chrysanthemum plant; ingesting or absorbing this into the skin of the dog can make some dogs very ill.
There is a risk of potential toxicity when using any product that contains pyrethrins that can spread beyond your dog to others in the household like other pets and even humans.
Follow label directions carefully and get the advise of a vet before applying any product on your dog.
Fleas need to be treated on all fronts: the dog, your yard, as well as any hard or soft surface in your home.
You must re-treat if fleas return.
See your vet for how often to treat your pet as treating sooner than recommended on the product label may harm your dog.