Fleas

Has your pet got fleas?

Fleas are a common problem in Sydney. Many people struggle to control fleas despite using every product known to mankind. Many pets are allergic to fleas, which increases the impact they have on the pets welfare. Fleas can be seen crawling on your pet and are small and black/brown in colour they are generally fast moving and can jump. Fleas will also leave “flea dirt” on your pet, this may look like dirt but in fact is actually dried blood and can sometimes even stain the pets fur browny red in colour if your pet chews at that spot or if the pet becomes wet. The most obvious indicator that your pet may have fleas is scratching.

How do I control fleas?

There is no way to truly eliminate fleas from coming in contact with your pet unless you intend to confine your pet to a flea free building. Fleas can be picked up on an evening walk, or even brought into the back yard by neighboring pets out for a stroll. The best you can do is ensure that no breeding of fleas occurs on your pets and that any fleas that do come in contact with your pets are quickly killed.

In order to achieve this you need a two pronged attack. Firstly use a product that rapidly kills any fleas on your pets. This includes Advantix, Comfortis, Bravecto and many other very effective flea killers. Secondly, you must be prepared to fight a battle of attrition with your current population of fleas at home. This can take months. Unfortunately, flea’s in their egg and pupa life stages are hard to eliminate. The best thing to do is decontaminate using a vacuum cleaner, flea sprays and mowing your lawn. Then let your pets do the rest by keeping them properly dosed with an effective flea killer. Each time a flea egg hatches they will jump on your pet and die before they can breed. Eventually no more fleas.

This may take months.

How do I stop them coming back?

In order to prevent a sudden resurgence, you need to also prevent breeding year round forever. Otherwise, with a female flea able to lay 50 eggs per day, it won’t take long and they will be back. Keep your pet on a flea control product with proven efficacy (available from your vet), and do not lapse, even when you cannot see any fleas.

Can pets be allergic to fleas?

The other part to the story is flea allergies. Many pets not only carry fleas and are irritated by the bites, they also develop severe allergies to them that require medical management. The allergy can normally be controlled for the few months that you a ridding your pet’s environment of fleas, after that good flea control should be enough.

Can I just leave fleas on my pet, can they harm them?

Fleas when left untreated can pose serious harm to your pet, if the burden becomes to great they can cause severe blood loss and anemia, especially in young animals. Fleas can also spread disease and other parasites such as tapeworm which also pose significant health risks to your pet.