Tried & Tested Flea Control Measures to Prevent Flea Infestations
The best way to get rid of fleas or to ensure your pet’s life is flea free is to adopt a holistic flea control protocol. A flea preventive only treats the pet infested with fleas not the environment he is living in. It is a fact not hidden from many pet parents that the problem of fleas lies in the pet’s environment. Therefore, it is always stressed that along with flea preventives, regular cleaning of the house is important to check flea menace more effectively.
Moreover, a pet parent is required to keep an eye on his pet’s behavior to track any signs of flea infestation in him. The flea saliva, which causes itching sensation in the body of a dog, forces him to indulge in continuous scratching and itching. This itching sensation if not cured on time can lead to serious skin disorders such as hair loss and Flea Allergy Dermatitis in your pet.
Therefore, it becomes imperative on part of a pet parent to groom his pet. A simple ritual such as tracking flea signs in your pet through flea comb will prove to be an important weapon in eliminating this menace from your pet’s life. Signs like red patches along with flea dirt on your pet’s skin will indicate that your furry pal has fleas.
The life cycle of a flea goes through egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Thus, the best way to fight this enemy of your pet is to disrupt the flea life cycle. This can only happen if your pet’s environment does not become a safe breeding ground for these parasites.
The Most Tried and Tested Flea Control Measures to Follow
Treating Home Environment
It is a fact not known to all that only adult fleas reside on a pet. The other stages of fleas live in your home environment, waiting to turn into adults. Hence, it is very important to check flea infestation in your home environment.
The home environment includes both an indoor and outdoor pet environment. It is natural for fleas to find a safe haven in your house. They find warm and ‘heavily stuffed environment’ conducive for their reproduction and development process. This is where you have to work on by de-cluttering your house and vacuuming it thoroughly once a week.
Carpets are favorite spots for fleas. Treat them by steam or flea sprays, which check their growth.
Make sure that you leave no void in cleaning every corner of the house including your pet’s bedding and utensils, toys, etc. To make this exercise more effective, use hot water for cleaning.
For cleaning an outdoor environment which includes yard and kennel area use insecticides to get rid of fleas. Here, you can take help of your vet to determine the best insect growth regulator products to treat fleas in the environment.
Treating Flea Infestation In Pet
Whether your pet is surrounded by fleas or not, putting him under the protection of an effective flea preventative is must prevent flea infestation. This flea treatment can be in the form of an oral treatment such as Capstar or in the form of spot-on treatments such as Frontline Plus or Advantage Multi. While oral treatment takes less time in helping a pet getting rid of fleas, spot-on treatments are more popular among pet parents.
Let us dig deep into different types of flea control products.
Flea Spot-on Solutions
Flea spot-on treatments have to be applied on the skin without touching the fur. These treatments are highly effective in controlling adult fleas as well as different life stages of fleas. This helps in reducing flea population and even controls various skin issues like flea allergy dermatitis. Some of the top spot-on are Frontline Plus, Revolution and Advocate.
Flea Collars
Apart from spot-on solutions, flea collars are also available that are highly effective in treating fleas and ticks. Collars are easy to put on dogs and have no side effects.
Apart from topical treatments, flea oral treatments are also available for treating animals that are not compatible with topical treatments. Flea oral treatments come in chews or tablets to treat fleas and ticks. Some of the top oral treatments are Nexgard, comfortis, and capstar.
Nexgard
Nexgard is one of its kind flavored chew for controlling fleas and ticks on dogs. It is highly effective in treating flea infestation and protecting dogs against the tick-borne disease for complete one month.
Along with the above treatments you need to groom your pet well. A shampoo meant to remove dirt from his coat and a flea comb to track fleas present on his coat are some grooming options to put your dog in top form. Regular grooming is important as fleas can be easily spotted on a neat and tidy pet.
Vet’s Role
Veterinarian plays an important role in flea control as he is the only person whom you can rely on getting right information regarding products and measures to treat flea menace. His useful insights are important to make the above measures more effective in controlling fleas from adding discomfort in your pet’s life. He can guide, which flea products work best for your pet depending on his breed and which product can cause side effects.
The possibility of fleas in your pet’s life can never be ruled out. However, it is always better to be ready with flea control measures, to lower the rate of flea infestations.
