PETE WEDDERBURN Animal Doctor
need to read the fine print on the packaging. Many are designed to ‘repel’ fleas, not to kill them. While they may lessen the risk of your pet coming home with fleas if you use them regularly, they’re not strong enough to deal with a serious flea problem. If your pet has fleas or flea dirt in their coat, your local vet is the person who is best able to provide you with the right products to tackle the problem. A wide variety of flea killing products have been developed in the past twenty years, and the best answer depends on the individual nature of your pet.
For example, there are topical spot-on products and sprays that last for up to two months: some kill only fleas, others include roundworms, and others include lungworm. There are also new oral medications, including a tablet that provides three months continual protection against fleas. Studies have shown that these products will remove virtually every flea from your pet within 24 hours. All of these products are safe, as long as you follow the instructions on the label. Care is needed, of course: if a product for a large dog was applied to a cat, there’d be a risk of serious harm. It’s for this reason that the products are only sold through vets: professional supervision is important. Some people use these products just to treat their pets when they have fleas, but after a bad experience with fleas, many owners choose to treat their pets routinely, on a continual basis, to prevent fleas.
As well as treating the animal, it’s important to treat the place where the pets live. Adult female fleas jump off their animal hosts and crawl into carpets, furniture and cracks in floorboards. When they have found a cosy corner, they lay hundreds of eggs. Those eggs can remain dormant for up to six months. If your pet has fleas, your home also has fleas. Vets sell an effective environmental spray that kills adult fleas as well as stopping any flea eggs from developing into adults, protecting the home for up to a year.
Mary chose the long acting tablet to treat her dog for fleas, and she also took a can of the household spray. I was able to stop her dog itching immediately by giving an anti-inflammatory injection.
Of course it’s true that her visit to the vet cost money, but her problem has been solved. If you have a flea issue that you want to be solved quickly, talk to your vet.