Infestation Prevention

Spring has finally arrived! We think anyway. We are definitely somewhere between winter and summer. Sometimes it seems like we have all three seasons in one 24 hour period! Even though us humans are all stuck inside our homes, outside, the flea and tick populations are exploding! This time of the year, it is not uncommon for groomers to see a vast increase in the number of dogs needing baths due to flea infestations. Unfortunately, this year, we are not available to help at the start of the season!

Prevention is more important than ever this year. If you are one of the many people who only treat their dog with preventatives during the warmer months, it is time to start! Even if you planned to start next month or even the month after, start now. Vet offices and pet stores can still take orders for flea collars, chews, or drops. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

While we cannot currently take our dogs to the dog park or even out to the city parks, fleas and ticks can abound everywhere. Squirrels, deer, fox, raccoon, and coyotes can all live in suburban and urban areas. Wildlife quite often carry fleas and ticks. If a deer has crossed the road just before you walk your dog through the area, there is a chance that they could have dropped fleas. Those fleas could then jump onto the next living thing that passes by: you and your dog!

It only takes a single flea to start an infestation in your home. You will likely never see the first one too. By the time you start to see actual, live fleas, your home and your pets are already infested. Once your home in infested, it can be an extremely long and difficult process to completely eliminate all the fleas. No one wants strangers coming into their homes right now. However, complete eradication of a flea problem will often require the services of an exterminator.

Ticks are harder to get rid of since they tend to live in long grasses, brush, and on certain types of trees. While they are not likely to cause an infestation like fleas do, they can still carry some pretty serious diseases. With veterinarian offices also on lock down procedures, it might take a while for them to see a dog suffering from a tick borne illness. So the best thing to do is to get all of your pets on a reliable preventative! Also, keep up with your yard work, especially if your home backs up to an open field or a wooded area. By keeping the grass in the areas your dog frequents short, it is much less likely that ticks will be present. Try to keep your pet out of longer grasses, weeds, and dense brush as well. If you do suspect your pet has been bitten by an infected tick, be sure to call your vet right away so you can get into to see them as soon as possible. For many tick borne illnesses, the faster your pet receives treatment, the less likely they are to suffer from life-long complications!

Not sure what preventative is the best to use in your area? Give your vet a call or send them an email! Even though they are busy sanitizing their offices multiple times a day, they will still be happy to offer suggestions of what products to use and where to get them!

Fleas and Ticks: Start Now To Avoid Infestations This Spring!

With spring on the way, it is time to start thinking more about fleas and ticks, especially if your pet is not on a preventative during the colder months.

Missouri’s wacky weather means it does not always get cold enough for long enough to really kill off any fleas and ticks that could be lurking in our yards. It is a good idea to keep your pet on some sort of preventative year round for this reason.

Even if your pet is on a preventative, the spring pest boom can mean that they still have a few problems. The very best way to prevent a full on infestation is to check your pet and your home constantly for unwanted visitors.

The fastest way to check your pet for fleas is to use a fine toothed flea comb. The teeth on these combs are spaced so closely that fleas and flea dirt cannot slip through them. The downfall is that if your pet has a very long or dense coat, you may not be able to get down to their skin but we will cover that in just a minute. Using the flea comb, make a single swipe from the base of your pet’s neck all the way down to the base of their tail. Upon looking at the comb, you will hopefully see nothing more than a few stray hairs. You may, however, see a live flea or two or just small, black specks. If you see a flea, talk to your vet immediately about the best ways to get rid of them. If you only see specks, you will have to do a little more detective work. Tap the specks onto a white paper towel. Add a few drops of water directly over the specks and wait. If nothing happens, these are probably just little flakes of dirt your pet has picked up by rolling around. I know mine love to roll in the dirt and often have me questioning! If the specks start to dissolve and turn a rusty reddish color, it is flea poop AKA flea dirt. This means there are fleas on your pet, even if you can’t find any with the comb.

For your longer and thicker haired pets, if you cannot get a comb down to their skin or through their coat, part the hair at the base of their tail. This is the most common place to find flea dirt. If you see those tell tale black specks, try to pick a few off and do the paper towel experiment. The belly is another common place to see live fleas. If you flip your pet on their back, you may catch a glimpse of a flea or two scuttling away to safety. You may also notice small red bumps where fleas have been biting them. These can be present anywhere on the pet but are easiest to see on the belly.

Sometimes, despite your best efforts to find something, you won’t and your pet will still be scratching at their necks or chewing on their legs and hind quarters. This might be a sign of fleas but it could also be a sign of a skin or joint problem. If you have any doubts at all, talk to your vet. 

Should your pet have fleas on them, it is almost guaranteed that you have fleas in your home. The life cycle of a flea goes through four stages: eggs, larva, pupa, and adult. While most products will kill larval and adult fleas, the eggs and pupae can be harder to eliminate. This can cause a vicious cycle where you have treated your pets and your home, you don’t see any more live fleas, the itching has stopped so you breath a sigh of relief and relax. Six weeks later, your pet is once again chewing on their hind quarters and there are more adult fleas! The infestation is not back. It has simply continued because the recent crop of eggs and pupae survived. When treating your home, approach it as though the home is infected for at least three months, even if you are not seeing any live fleas. Keep your pets up to date on their preventatives. Wash their bedding constantly in the hottest water possible. Use sprays, bombs, and powders on a regular basis. Or, call an exterminator. The benefit of spending all the money on an exterminator is that they will likely guarantee their work. If the fleas come back in six to eight weeks, the exterminator will return to fix the problem. Even if your pet has never had fleas and shows no sign of fleas, make a habit of checking their bed regularly. You may spot some flea dirt or even dead adult fleas. Dead adults can mean that their preventative is working but there may be a bigger flea problem in your home or yard than you think!

To further combat the issues, you may want to have your yard treated as well. However, keep in mind that while you will be killing the fleas and ticks, you may also be killing beneficial insects as well. In the case of an extreme infestation, there may be no other choice of course.

Ticks can be harder to track down and eliminate since they are not as mobile on your pets as fleas are. Ticks prefer areas with easy access and/or high blood flow. Common places to find ticks are the groin, feet, lower legs, armpits, chest, and around the face and ears. Many times, you can find ticks on your pet simply by patting them. If you feel a lump, part the fur and check it out. If you find ticks, you can remove them carefully with tweezers or with various tick “key” type products available at most store. After removing ticks, keep an eye on the bites. Watch for changes in bite size, skin color, skin temperature, and to be sure any raised lumps are not getting larger. If you have any doubt as to whether or not something is normal, have your pet checked out by a veterinarian. If you have found a large number of ticks on your pet, it is a good idea to have a vet check them out anyway since ticks can carry some gnarly diseases!

To help keep ticks at bay, keep all tall grasses and brush mowed down in areas your pet frequents. Be sure their preventative covers ticks as well, especially if they run in the woods and fields. Did you know that Virginia Opossums eat ticks in your yard? If you have a friendly neighborhood possum, don’t chase it off! Allow it to hunt through your yard at night! You’ll have fewer bugs in the long run!

As the weather yo-yos toward warmer temperatures, keep your eyes open and be proactive! Help your pet, your family, and your groomers have a comfortable spring by preventing any infestations before they start!