FLEAS
The flea is a wingless bloodsucking insect that causes great distress for both pets and owners. They cause scratching, itching, allergies, anaemia (in really bad cases) and can even transmit tapeworms!!!
Some pets can appear unaffected by fleas apart from the occasional scratch, others can have a really nasty reaction to the saliva of the fleas, and this is known as Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD). The flea bite causes scratching and itching and over time this results in inflammation of the skin (reddening) and if not treated then infections can set in and hair loss can occur.
The lifecycle: the female adult flea lives and lays its eggs on your pet. The eggs fall off and remain throughout your house, hidden in the carpets, bedding and cracks in floorboards etc (even in your pets outside areas). Here they will stay and eventually hatch into Larvae, they then develop into Pupae (these can stay dormant for a very long time) but they can turn into an adult within 19 days given the right conditions. Once an adult they can survive for up to 1 year without a blood meal!!!
This is why it is VERY important to kill the whole lifecycle of fleas and not just the adults that you see on your pet or in the environment. As for every adult you see there will be hundreds of eggs, larvae and pupae working their way through their LIFECYCLE!!
AN ADULT FLEA CAN LAY UP TO 40 EGGS PER DAY!! IT CAN TAKE ONLY 2-3 WEEKS TO TURN FROM AN EGG TO ANOTHER EGG LAYER!!! THAT’S A LOT OF FLEAS.
Treating Fleas: They can only be brought under control effectively by treating ALL of your pets ALL year round. You must treat both your pets and the surrounding environment both inside and out.
Most flea products on the market today are effective but ONLY if used correctly. If you are using a preventative product and you still have a flea problem there is usually a good reason for that. It can be as simple as not having the correct weight for your pet, bathing your pet with the wrong shampoo, not treating all pets (especially cats, even if they don’t go outside!!) and most importantly not breaking the LIFECYCLE ( see above). Remember it can take quite a few weeks to see a difference when starting new products so be patient.
As there are many different types of products on the market we understand it can become quite confusing, so do not hesitate to call and speak to one of our nurses, they will help find the right product for you and your pets and your circumstances.
Some tips and tricks: the following things are things to bear in mind when you are having flea problems.
Do you use your product all year around?
Have you weighed your pet recently? Therefore are you getting the right size?
Do not share a larger size between smaller pets!
Do not share between Cats and Dogs!
Do you wash your pet? If so what type of Shampoo do you use? For the “Spot on” application to work effectively it relies on the natural oils on your pet to spread the product. Therefore if you are using a product that is heavily soap or detergent based it will strip the natural oils and the product will not work effectively.
Do you wash your pets bedding etc? Make sure it is washed at over 70 degrees centigrade; it needs to be this to kill the eggs and larvae.
Carpets and rugs: Simple hoovering is not enough to pull out the eggs, pupae and larvae, although it helps. Steam cleaning at high temperatures is the only guaranteed way of killing them. We recommend checking with professional cleaners as to what temperature they use.