Ticks, fleas, and other parasites are common nuisances in your pet’s life and even yours. They are quite hard to deal with once they take root in your residency and even make life hell for your poor pets.
Although these parasites are resilient and quite destructive. There are many ways pet owners can keep themselves safe from such scrounge. It’s not as panic-inducing as it might seem at the start. Cat and dog fleas are the most common among pets and will need a lot of patience to deal with.
Fleas
Fleas thrive in summer and prefer to stagnate during winter. But their activity doesn’t stop in the winter, as they will seek out hosts to infest. These parasites live off blood and at higher temperatures, they lay eggs in extreme quantities.
The worst part is, when they are nowhere near a suitable host, flea eggs don’t hatch and can survive for few years. This gives them a very high chance of surviving almost every condition.
Fleas are known to carry diseases, and often killing the host with time.
7 tips to protect your pet and home
All of these tips are useful, but you must always get the approval of your vet, before trying any of these tips out.
1. Using anti-flea products on your pet
Products that work against fleas, for your pets are in abundance in the market these days.
Flea repelling, or flea-removing shampoos are quite effective. They often kill all the fleas with a good wash and leave your dog safe for a while.
Flea exterminating sprays are very good if you want a quick solution, but are not recommended in the long term.
Oral solutions are also available, with tablets that can kill parasite eggs before they hatch. Chewy toys with medicinal attributes, that have a similar effect as tablets.
There are even plushies and toys that have flea-repelling properties in one form or another.
3. Checking your pets regularly for fleas
Giving your pets check-ups for fleas on a regular interval is recommended. Especially if you have a yard, garden or take your pet to parks or walks near vegetation. There are always possibilities of fleas attaching themselves to your pet when they are roaming about.
Checking the folds between the pet’s skin, between its legs, in its ears, behind it, under the tail, and on the shoulder bones. These are harder to reach places and often need checking once every two days.
If by chance your pet is bitten and is acting differently from usual, after a bit of time. Then you might want to visit your vet with the pet, just in case you want to rule out any diseases transmitted from the bite.
4. Washing the beds, and toys of your pet
Cleaning and washing any furniture around your pet and its bedding frequently are always recommended. The curtains and pillows can be a colony for fleas, they need to be washed regularly.
Its often told to pet owners, that carpets are bad when you have a pet. Not only because removing fur, but the fecal matter is also a hassle. But fleas love carpets, they will build gigantic colonies right under your foot and cannot be killed simply.
The best way is to not have a carpet within your pet’s immediate reach, or not have carpets at all.
5. Cleaning the yard and mowing the lawn
Fleas most often come from out of your home, like the yard if you have one. This is not an issue for people in apartments most of the time.
Tallgrass is a perfect place for fleas to lay in ambush, waiting for your pet to pass by. Mowing the lawn keeps their population in check for the most part. Removing dead leaves and old wooden logs or sticks is another method of depriving them of the lawn.
5. Avoid giving dog products to cats and vice versa
It’s an obvious problem, but important to keep in mind. Dog’s anti-flea products are not meant for cats and the other way around. Some chemicals are toxic to cats in dogs products and cat products are harmful to dogs.
A pet owner with multiple species of pets might think it’s all the same, but it’s an ill-advised move. The ticks of one species will not be affected by products meant for other flea types. And on top of harming the pet is also possible.
6. Calling exterminators
Flea exterminators are common in countries that deal with these parasites. They offer professional help and at a reasonable cost, most often remove the infestation problem completely.
They either fumigate the whole house with flea-killing chemicals. Spray it anywhere that fleas might have colonized in. They also take care of the yard and the roof of the house.
This is often done after the family and pets leave the house for a week or so. The process is usually long-lasting, with the addition of thorough cleaning of the pet’s body of any flea or egg.
Pest exterminators are a great solution for flea problems. But they quite a bit more expensive, and you will need to let them access your house.
7. Veterinary solutions
Visiting the vet and having them check your pet for fleas, is the wisest choice. They can prescribe you the best medicine that wards of fleas and kills their eggs. Either tablets or injections.
They can also prescribe ointments, that are most effective for the specific flea infesting your pet.
And recommend some food, that your pet can consume to make their blood unappetizing to fleas. They can also find any diseases that your pet might have gotten from fleas early on and prevent further damage.
To conclude
These are some tips that will definitely help you to deal with fleas for good. Keeping your pets safer and flea-free.
