Pet Health News
Fleas: Not only are fleas a
nuisance to you and your pet, they are also a health
risk. Fleas cause excessive itching witch can lead
to skin sores, they can lead to tapeworms, and they have
also been know to cause pets to become anemic. No
pet is safe from fleas unless they have flea prevention
on them. Yes, even indoor house cats can get
fleas. We can carry fleas into our home, they can
also get in open doors, windows and they fit through
screens. Once you have fleas in you home, they
will not not go away on their own. Here at Minster
Veterinary Service we recommend using flea foggers,
followed up by an area spray to reach any area the
foggers may miss. You also need to use a flea
prevention, Frontline is the product we recommend, on
all of your pets. There is an injection available
for cats that you would get you cat in the spring.
Call the office in April or May to set that up. There
are a number of ways to check your pet and home for
fleas. One fast and easy way is to come your pet
with a flea comb. The comb will pick up flea dirt
( black specs) , and live fleas. Another quick way is to
bathe your pet. If you notice the water has a red
tint that is an indication of fleas. The feed on
the blood on the pets so when you wash the feces off of
the pet it turns the water red. If your pet has
fleas, your home has fleas. There are ways to
check if you want to. One thing you can do is to
stomp around your home in white sock. Fleas are
attracted to the white socks and if you stomp the
vibrations cause the pupae to hatch. You may also
choose to set out small bowls of soupy water over night.
The fleas will jump into the bowls. The adult fleas that
you see only make up 10% of the entire flea population.
The eggs, larvae and pupae make up 95% of the flea
population.
Once you have confirmed you have fleas it is time to get
rid of them. You will need to take care of
the environment. You can choose to have an
exterminator come out or you can do it yourself.
If you have an exterminator be sure they guarantee the
work they do. If you choose to fog your self be
sure that the fogger will kill adult fleas, eggs and
larvae. There is currently nothing available that
will kill the pupae stage. Once you have fogged,
follow up with an area spray under couches and beds, in
your closets and anyplace you feel the fogger may have
not reaches. Flea will even lay eggs between tile
and hardwood floors. Once the house is taken care
of bath your pet(s) with a flea shampoo then follow up
with a flea prevention. Keep in mind that severe flea
problems may take 3-4 months to see results and you may
need to fog your home again. If you would have
questions about fleas please give us a call. You can
click on the following links for more information.
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