The best way to keep the fleas away is PREVENTION! Prevention is the absolute key when it comes to fleas. Do not think for one minute that Princess or Fido is immune to them. If you are not taking preventive measures there WILL come a time where your furry friend WILL pick up fleas.
Let’s start with a little bit of flea fun facts:
- The Flea, not the rat, was responsible for the deaths of 75 to 200 million people in 1350. This was the Bubonic Plague. Hard to believe such a tiny critter could create so much devastation!
- The Cat Flea is the species of flea that we find on our pets
- It can jump 150 times its own body length and 9-15” high
- Adult fleas CANNOT survive or lay eggs without having a blood meal
- A female will eat 15 times her body weight in blood per day
- Fleas carry Tapeworms. If your pet ingests a flea he can develop Tapeworm
- There are 4 stages in the flea life cycle: Egg, Larvae, Pupae, Biting Adult
- A female can lay 15-50 eggs PER day (and up to 600 in her lifetime) depending on how well fed she is! That’s A LOT of fleas!
- Fleas live anywhere from 2 weeks – 4 months
- If your pet has only 10 female fleas for 1 month they can multiply to one quarter of a million fleas in various life stages! Ackkk! Think about that next time you see even ONE flea on your pet!
- Fleas reproduce on your pet (not in the home). The female takes her blood meal and lays her eggs on the pet. As your pet moves around through the house those eggs are shed into the environment. The flea will continue to develop within the environment. Once it hatches into a new adult that adult seeks out your pet. It jumps on and the cycle starts all over again. This is why it’s important to treat the home as well as the pet if an infestation occurs
- Fleas can be present ALL YEAR ROUND within the home environment and will continue to reproduce as long as there’s a victim supplying blood.
- YOU can be a carrier of fleas. If you are in a location where fleas are present you can EASILY carry a hitch-hiking flea back into your own home and create an infestation.
Ok…so now that you have the facts you can see why preventing the odd straggler on your pet is so much easier than cleaning up an infestation when there’s potentially millions to deal with!
Please always keep in mind that cats are very sensitive to Pyrethrins (used in flea products!) If the product is NOT used 100% according to the label it can be lethal. I personally have witnessed many cats go from seizuring to death on the table due to misuse of flea products (even by well-intentioned owners) Please read and follow instructions very carefully!
The best option is to choose a Veterinary Prescribed product. Prescription products are subjected to scrupulous and rigorous testing and trials to ensure their efficacy and safety. Non-prescription products are NOT as well researched and tested. Veterinarians and staff are not trying to sell these products to “make a buck”. Due to the fact that someone must pay for this intense testing, veterinary clinics will sell the recommended products at rates to compensate for that and keep them relative to the pricing in the area. We are genuinely concerned about the safety of your pet as well as your finances since we can guarantee that if not done correctly the first time that you will need to repeat the treatment which will cost you more in the long run. We also want our clients to avoid the financial ramifications for medical treatment in the event of a toxic or allergic reaction to the products you’ve chosen.
There are various products available on the market from monthly oral tablets to monthly topicals, daily oral tablets, collars, home and pet sprays and even injections (6 month intervals) for cats. Do it right the first time! Save yourself the expense and aggravation by speaking to your veterinarian or staff for advice on which product is best suited to your and your pets’ needs.
