Understanding Fleas & Pets

Protect Year Round!

Fleas are external parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts, which includes pets and people. Gross! These tiny parasites are out and about from temperatures as low as 40 degrees and warmer. Therefore, those once weekly days during the winter of unseasonable weather in the 40s, 50s or even 60s; are when fleas come out to party and look for their next hostess, which could be your fluffy friend in a nice warm cozy home like your own. Don’t get caught off-guard!

How can you tell if your pet has fleas?

There are a variety of different ways your pet can get fleas, even if they don’t go outside! And for those dogs considered “indoor only”, who only go outside to eliminate and come right back in; unfortunately they can obtain fleas in those few seconds/minutes they are outdoors, whether it’s in your yard or the sidewalk. Fleas are typically found on trees, shrubs, grass, unkempt foliage, wildlife (squirrels, possums, raccoons, etc) and even other unprotected pets that frequent the same area as your pet. Animals can pass fleas to other animals without ever coming in contact with them. Fleas can fall off the animal’s body, just as easily as a strand of hair falls off. As a result the parasite is left behind, awaiting the perfect opportunity when your pet walks by to jump on and find a new place to call home.

Unfortunately, just because you don’t notice fleas on your pet or in your house/environment outdoors, doesn’t mean they’re not there. Cats in particular, are very good self groomers and do a great job of getting rid of the evidence of fleas on them. So then how will you know if your pet has fleas?

Extreme itchiness – Fleas tend to love the neck or base of the tail, but you can find them anywhere on the body, especially if there is a flea infestation. You may notice a tiny black bug, about the size of a gnat, jumping or crawling throughout your pet’s skin (under the hair).
Abnormally dirty – You’ll find little black specks of dirt throughout your pets body or localized to just one area. This is known as flea dirt or flea feces. Fleas feed on animals/humans by biting them and ingesting the blood. Like any living thing that eats, it needs to defecate, resulting in flea feces/dirt which is the dirt you may notice on your pet.
Tapeworms – Tapeworms are a result of a pet ingesting a flea and can be visible in your pet’s stool, vomit or just moving on their body, typically near the rectum. Tapeworms are about the size, shape and color of a grain of rice. Very small and can be hard to see, but not as small as fleas. Most reputable flea/tick preventatives protect against worms (intestinal parasites) and fleas (external parasites).

If you notice any of these issues with your pet, contact your veterinarian for the best recommendations.

Prevention

There are numerous ways to prevent your pet from getting fleas that vary from oral tablets like Simparica Trio, to topical liquids like Revolution, or even a collar like Seresto. There are tons of other options available as well, most by prescription so be sure to maintain an active relationship with your veterinarian with once yearly checkups for your pet. And just because the product is cheap or has been on the market “forever” doesn’t mean it will be effective. Some of the cheaper options lack a lot of important ingredients needed to prevent/get rid of fleas (and ticks) and with the prevention that has been on the market the longest, bugs have become less affected by the product and its active ingredient; therefore the efficacy of the product is not good enough to do what it has done in the past, rendering the product ineffective. Please use caution with each of these products, while they are effective, if used incorrectly can cause harm to your pet, so be sure to consult your veterinarian first and follow their instructions for use of these products.

Fleas also lay eggs, an average of 40 eggs per day. So you may have gotten rid of the fleas living on your pet, but they are still in the environment – under couch cushions, cabinets, mattresses, carpet, rugs, baseboards, indents in the floor, etc. And flea eggs are so small that you can’t see them with the naked eye. It is important to get rid of all the fleas and eggs in the environment by vacuuming (whether you have carpet or hardwood) daily for several days in a row, in addition to washing all the pet’s bedding, blankets, clothes, etc in hot water. If you’ve gotten rid of the fleas on your pet but do not have them on a consistent effective flea/tick preventative, it only takes a matter of days for those flea eggs to hatch and you’ve got another infestation; you can get rid of the fleas and eggs in the home with proper cleaning but impossible get rid of them outside. And if there are multiple pets in the house they must all be treated regularly whether they go outside or not, otherwise the fleas will continue to transfer from one pet to the next in search of their next meal.

A pet with fleas, if left untreated, will lead to a flea infestation. An untreated flea infestation can lead to bacterial skin infections or allergic reactions, In more severe cases, can lead to anemia or a weakened immune system, which can cause then to be more susceptible to unrelated illnesses. It’s better to be safe than sorry and keep your pet protected year round!

Common Myths

There are no fleas in the winter
Pets cant get fleas if they live in the city
My cats never go outside so they cant get fleas
My dog is inside only, they only go out to use the bathroom so they cant get fleas
I’ve checked my pet for fleas and don’t see any so my pet doesn’t have fleas
I get my yard sprayed so my pet is not exposed to fleas
My pet never leaves the backyard
I always carry my pet when we go outside, they don’t ever touch the grass or ground