Pets, dogs or cats, bring happiness to every owner. Sometimes, they become more than just a pet and live inside households like a normal person. And like a common individual, they too need grooming to keep their hygiene in check.
Regular bathing or a trip to the grooming salon can take care of a lot of problems for pet owners: overgrown nails, dirty ears and external parasites. Though sometimes, fleas and ticks need more than grooming and may persist if left untreated.
There are a lot of natural and veterinary products that are available to rid your pets of fleas but before using them, it would be very helpful if you know a little about fleas to better help you with their prevention and treatment.
The life cycle of fleas:
*The life of a flea is composed of 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult and can be completed on the average of three weeks.
*An adult female flea can lay as many as 50 eggs on the host and these may fall off onto the environment where it stays until it becomes an adult and looks for a host to feed and mate on.
* An adult female flea can lay eggs immediately 24 hours after its first feeding.
How to prevent fleas on pets:
1. Spot-on treatments: This is a reliable way to control and prevent fleas on pets. There are different preparations but basically all are applied at the back of the neck of the animal. And most can be effective for preventing fleas on pets for at least one month.
2. Collar, powder or spray formulations: Collars tend to control the flea population only around the neck region, powders can be slightly difficult to apply on the fur of animal as your dog or cat will probably just shake them off. Also, both spray and powder can be licked by the animal and may cause problems for you and your pet.
3. Flea shampoo: Since, bathing is a great way to control flea infestation on your pets, partnering it with a good flea shampoo can do wonders. Regular bathing with medicated shampoo can keep your pets from scratching although the effect can only last for a week or two. Most specially, such products should be used with caution as not all can be used for puppies or kittens. On the other hand, cats or kittens can be difficult to bathe.
4. Oral medications: Fleas can be controlled with tablets too and all you have to do is choose the best product. Some brands can only prevent the egg from hatching but does not affect adult fleas (which do the sucking and reproduction). If such is the case, oral medications should be used in conjunction with other flea treatments.
But still, there are products that can kill all stages of the flea. Oral medications are very effective since owners do not have to worry about flea developing resistance against it. Also, since it gets distributed in the animal's blood stream, sucking fleas will surely be affected at every bite.
Flea medication and treatment can easily be given to your pets. All you have to do is get the best advice on what is suitable for your dog or cat and then treat your pet properly.
There is more information on how to get rid of fleas on the web and also with regard to fleas on humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment