How to Get Rid of Fleas on Your Dog (4 Easy and Effective Steps!)
Nuisance is the word which best describes fleas.
Fleas are tiny parasites which suck blood and irritate your canine friend. Getting rid of fleas can be complicated but is completely doable.
Let’s see the most effective steps to get rid of them from your home, once and for all.
Flea Lifecycle
Knowing about fleas is key towards eliminating them. They go through four main life stages which are Egg, Larva, Pupa and Adult.
The fully grown, adult fleas live on top of animals like your dog. The adult fleas lay eggs on the dog which then tend to spread around the house. The eggs transform into larvae.
Cocoons are formed from these larvae, inside which they hatch and grow into adult fleas.
Flea products which treat the flea as per their life stages are different. So, reading the information label on the product is key before you can actually start using the product.
Prevention of Fleas
Prevention is the most proven method of dealing with fleas. The medicines for flea prevention kill the flea and prevents fleas from entering your home. Pills, liquid applicants and flea collars are just a few of the flea preventative products available in the market.
In case your dog is already affected with fleas, these flea preventatives are still effective on them. Prescription preventatives are more effective with their highly aggressive action.
You can also consider using fast-acting chemical treatments, pills or even specialised flea shampoo which can kill fleas within a few hours.
Purge Fleas
Ok, so you did manage to extinguish a lot of fleas from your canine friend. Actually, that’s just half the job done. You still, need to make fleas leave your house. A full-blown infestation can even take up to 4-5 months to be extinguished entirely as the fleas in all life stages should be dead. Taking the below steps can help to eradicate fleas from your house:
- Rinse all bedding materials in hot water with detergent
- Apply flea control which is environment-friendly or consider using a local exterminator
- Vacuum clean your home and its contents like linoleum, tiled floors, carpets and hardwood floors (remember to throw the vacuum bag in the garbage)
- Exterminate fleas from the yard with powerful flea control strategies like pellet, spray or non-toxic treatments
- Monthly preventative flea treatments should be continued
Consult Your Veterinarian
Consulting your veterinarian is the best way to find out about the many flea prevention and extermination ways. If you have been debating amongst the many ways of getting rid of fleas, consulting the vet can help you determine the best and the safest way to get it done.
Flea & Ticks Prevention Tips to Get Rid of Fleas and Ticks
Did you know that flea feeds on your canine friend’s blood and can even cause many health issues? Few of the issues which can arise are Lyme disease and skin infections.
Let’s look at the tips you can follow to cut the flea infestation and stop it from growing and spreading.
- Pick from the many veterinary-approved tick and flea formulations available in the market. Specific needs of your pet can be dealt with a variety of products like collars, shampoos and topicals.
- Carefully read the product label to make sure that the formulation is specifically made for cats and dogs.
- Make sure to do regular inspections of yourself and your dog to catch flea infestations as early as possible. After walks, you can note your pet’s feet, toes, lips, ears and eyes and under the tails.
- Identify how to remove ticks correctly. Using fine and specially formulated tweezers ensure that your friend remains safe from any secondary illness arising from tick bites.
- Keep your garden and yard grass mowed to short lengths to prevent fleas from being attracted to these areas.
- Check out the thinly coated areas on your dog for fleas as these areas are their preferred abodes.
- When you have multiple pets at home, treat them at the same time to avoid any cross infestation.
- Treat your home, its contents and your pets at the same time to eradicate flea infestation.
With flea and tick season coming year after year, knowing about fleas alone is not sufficient to help your friend, you need to get rid of them. Stopping the flea infestation in its tracks is important, and the above tips can help you get started immediately.
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In fact, the American Veterinary Dental College mentioned that by the time they are three years old, the majority of the dogs have symptoms of periodontal disease.
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