FLEAS! These tiny creatures are everywhere all the time! They are sending our pets into a biting, scratching frenzy. Bite, scratch, bite, bite scratch. Powders, injections, bombs, shampoos, tablets, collars, – we know we have to kill them but they are very tough, very clever and breed like…FLEAS!

First, some facts. Once you see an adult flea on your pet you can be sure there are thousands more eggs, larvae and adults in the environment and in your home. There is simply no such thing as ‘a couple of fleas’. Adult fleas jump onto pets to feed and may quickly jump off again. They suck blood by biting and then pass it through their system and it comes out their other end as black grit or ‘flea dirt’. You can see this and the tiny white eggs throughout the coat and bedding. They especially like the areas behind the ears, near the rump and tail and around collars. Flea dirt falls off the dog or cat and into the carpet, bedding and surroundings where it becomes food for the larvae. Eggs can remain dormant for over a year until suitable conditions develop.

Therefore there will always be fleas! Both dogs and cats suffer fleas although dogs tend to have more serious reactions. If one of your pets has fleas then they all do. Flea bites become red and itchy and may develop into flea allergic dermatitis. Fleas also transmit intestinal tape worm, which needs to be treated with a three monthly worm tablet. Your pet may become anaemic due to blood loss and bite marks are often scratched into nasty sores.

We humans have tried all sorts of methods to kill these little beasts with varied success. Powders, tablets and shampoos kill some adult fleas but they are messy and often fleas just jump off or gather on the face. These products give relief for a day or so but do nothing to eradicate eggs or larvae, so there is an army waiting to jump on. Collars and herbal remedies are also ineffectual.

Some brands of flea tablets are quite helpful for entirely inside pets but if your pet goes outside even only into your courtyard, if a feral or neighbour’s cat can cross that yard then there will be fleas.

The best products for a flea free life are the once a month small volume drop on the skin treatments such as ‘Frontline’. These products are safe and very effective for dogs and cats of more than eight weeks old. The drops are applied to the back of the neck, where tongues cannot reach, and are distributed through the skin. Adult fleas are killed and the ‘dirt’ is infected so the larvae are wiped out as well. Eggs are either neutralised or killed.

Beware of supermarket products. Some of these products, although labelled “Flea Control For Dogs” have writeen in tiny little print on the back of the packet that they do not kill adult fleas! The supermarket products may seem cheaper but, if they work at all, may only last for two weeks and are not always waterproof. Read the labels carefully as they can be extremely toxic for cats and smaller dogs. Veterinary drop-ons average around $10 per month. Some veterinary lines have extra ingredients incorporated to kill ticks, heartworms and some intestinal worms. Although these are useful in certain circumstances, there are better, and cheaper, ways to achieve the same ends. We recommend Frontline to control and kill fleas, and Drontal to kill intestinal worms, including Hydatids. Heartworm has not been detected in this area yet, so protection from this disease is only required for travelling dogs.
If the flea control products we have for you are used correctly and consistently there are very easy solutions available. When faced with a heavy infestation, or moving to a new house, it may be advisable to use a ‘flea bomb’ to get a head start.

Fleas are a preventable burden your furry family doesn’t need. We do not have to accept them as part of owning an animal. Often our pets sleep inside, travel in our cars and have close contact with us and our children. Their fleas aren’t invited! Where there is one there are many; and there’s the scratch, scratch, bite bite, scratch, bite, scratch, bite, bite, bite…