Flea Season - Take Control This article was published in the Orlando Sentinel.
By: Dr. Wesley Borgman
With our warm weather and recent rains, pets and their owners are
seeing a reemergence of of flea problems. What can be done to protect
your pet and family?
Pet owners statewide are flooding into their veterinary clinics asking
for help to control the fleas that are making their pets' lives
miserable. Many owners have been caught by surprise this year, fleas
are back and worse then ever.
Once a flea infestation gets established in your home environment,
it's tough to bring under control because the adult fleas produce
thousands of offspring. The adult fleas you see on your pet are only
5% of the total flea problem. The other 95% of flea life cycle include
tiny eggs, larvae and pupae (or cocoons) which live and hatch in your
home or yard. These life cycle stages can be found anywhere the pet
has been and are so small that they are difficult to see. Most
surprisingly they can survive up to 325 days in your home environment.
The pupae to emerge quickly when weather conditions are right and even
after all the adults have been killed on your pet or in your home.
These factors make pet owners think their flea control products have
failed them. This is why flea control needs to be an ongoing treatment
for all pets in the household even when you think the fleas are not a
problem.
Pet owners should know some basic facts about fleas:
One flea can produce 2,000 eggs in its lifetime.
95% of flea life stages are present in the environment rather than on
the pet. These environmental stages can survive up to 365 days.
Fleas can reproduce year-round in Central Florida.
While pets can become re-infested from sources other than the home,
the majority of control requires a focus on what is happening at home.
Flea control products should be used at the correct dosage and usually
year-round.
Fleas are more than a simple nuisance; they can cause disease in both
people and pets.
Control requires killing the adult fleas, and the other life cycle
stages you can't see.
Your veterinarian is best suited to help you control fleas on your
pets and in your environment.
Pet owners wanting to see a "quick fix" when it comes to flea control
are many time disappointed, when the products are not used correctly.
It usually takes several doses of flea control to break the flea life
cycle. This is because fleas in the insecticide-resistant cocoon stage
may hatch out after the 1st dose of flea control has worn off, making
it look like your flea control product is not working.
Now for the good news - effective flea control is available. Unlike
years ago when you had to treat the house, pet, and yard and the flea
control was rarely effective, products found at your veterinary office
today can provide a very high level of effectiveness. The prescription
flea control available at your veterinarians office work on
neroreceptors that only fleas have killing 98-100 percent of adult
fleas. Since pets and humans don't have the same type of neroreceptors
the products available at your vet are safer for you and your pet.
However, look alike knock off flea products that can be found
elsewhere are toxic to pets and humans and less toxic to fleas.
Since there are no generic flea controls available, Flea dips and
knock off flea treatments simply uses the toxic compounds that have
been around for decades and only kill 60% of the fleas. Theses older
flea treatments can be toxic to pets and there owners. Some of the
toxic spot on treatments are packaged and marketed to appear to be the
same as the safer and more effective prescription flea controls. The
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a
warning about counterfeit pet pesticides that may be sold online and
by stores in the U.S.
Pet owners should remember that the appearance of adult fleas on a
treated pet may mean they are simply not treating all the life stages
or there is tremendous "pressure" from intense flea populations. Be
sure to treat all the pets in your household every month to control
and prevent re-infestation. Other key points where failure can occur
is incorrect application or using a product that washes off. Many
products require the use of a soap free shampoo. Your veterinarian has
extensive training and the proper products to help you solve this
yearly problem.
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Dr. Wes Borgman is a veterinarian at the Seminole Animal Hospital on
HE Thomas Jr Pky in Sanford. Dr. Wes can be reached at 407 330 PETS
(7387).