Pet Advice

Fleas

FLEAS – WHY DO THEY KEEP COMING BACK?

The reason fleas are such a problem is because they are tough little critters that lay dormant in your pet’s environment until just the right moment. By the time you notice fleas on your pet, even if it is only a couple, there are probably tens of thousands of them ready to hatch! Some facts :

  • Fleas live for about 100 days 
  • If you see one flea on your pet there are usually about 100 more in their environment
  • They lay between 2000 & 4000 eggs 
  • They can lie dormant for as long as 10 months in a cocoon
  • Fleas breed all year round

A control program needs to be instituted ALL YEAR ROUND

One of the biggest problems with fleas is that they eventually grow resistant to whatever treatments we come up with.  At Tweed Coast Vet, we understand this and tailor make flea-control programs to suit your pet, environment and lifestyle. 

 Our flea control programs cover at least 3 points:

  1. Adult Fleas. There are a range of ways to kill adult fleas, and we take the time to work out what will suit you best. . We have a new product available for dogs - a once a month tablet that really works. Being a tablet, it wont wash off when you take your dog for a surf, is safe around your kids, and it lasts for a month. Most modern ‘spot-ons’ are also fairly water resistant and are good for long-term low to moderate level control. They generally take 10-12 hours to kill adult fleas. If there has been a recent hatch, the infection rate may overwhelm the kill rate temporarily. In this case, the ‘spot-ons’ can be supplemented with short duration, quick-acting sprays or tablets. (such as Capstar) You need to consult your vet to determine which combination is safe for your pet.
  2. Environments Control:Treat your environment to destroy and sterilize as many eggs, larvae, cocoons and adult fleas as possible. Inside the house & garage etc – ‘flea bombs’ containing permethrin and an insect growth regulator (IGR) several times a year. Thorough cleaning is required before treatment. Outdoors & kennels can be treated with a UV stable insecticide spray after removing as much litter, rags, debris etc from pet resting areas as possible. THIS INCLUDES UNDER THE HOUSE. Sometimes, the only way to sort out this area is to wire it off so the pet can no longer has access. Dessicants such as lime spread liberally on sandy soils may aid in egg destruction.
  3. Break the Breeding Cycle: We can also stop fleas breeding by using insect growth regulator (IGR) preparations (such as Program or Sentinel) which interrupt the flea cycle. They come in tablet form or injections. These type of programs are excellent for long term management and control, stopping the next generation of fleas from ever occuring.

What doesn’t work for flea control Most flea collars, shampoos, short acting sprays, flea powders and the like will usually give only partial chance of long term flea control. Similarly, a program based on short-term intermittent use of any product is unlikely to be of much use. In conclusion, it is actually unreasonable to expect that pets in our north coast environment will never get a flea, no matter how good the extermination effort put in. However, with dedication to the cause, you can greatly minimize the flea burden and avoid many of the severe long-term health problems they cause.