Fleas!
One of my favorite things to do is follow dog pages on Instagram. Particularly, texts from dogs. They are the BEST. I think they do a wonderful job of depicting the thoughts of dog and if they could talk. My absolute fave? The fleatles. Check it out:
The unfortunate part of this is that in Charleston, flea shampoo doesn’t cut it and I can guarantee you that your dog does NOT want to name his fleas, but rather be rid of them.
You may or may not be aware that I work for a local veterinary clinic. A good portion of the phone calls that I get each day (and we get a TON) are in regards to the fact that their dog or cat has fleas. Even though they don’t go outside. Even though they have never had fleas in all of their many years of living in Charleston. Even though they use a flea prevention, most times.
I am going to give you the same flea talk I give my clients that call our office. I am going to tell you what I use for my dogs. I am going to tell you about treating your house (YES IT IS NECESSARY). I am going to tell you about the products that I prefer and why. This post will be a little long and jam packed with information, but rest assured. This will get you through flea season- which is All. Year. Long. Welcome to Charleston.
SAY “NO” TC to OTC
Any kind of flea protection you can buy OTC (Frontline, Advantage, etc) is not going to cut it down here. OTC products that you can purchase at your local pet store are great for places that don’t have a flea population that could rival that of the human population in Asia. We have SO many fleas, and they don’t go away. It doesn’t get cold enough here to kill off the population long enough. So the first thing we need to establish is that you’re going to need something more effective. I have ONLY seen efficacy with veterinary or prescription grade products. I know, I know. There are warning labels on everything. We will get to that. I know, you don’t like giving your pets medicine. You would rather use something safer like essential oils. I know, so would I. But, let’s be real here, they aren’t working, are they? That is why you’re reading this. So when you’re tempted to swing over to Petsmart to get some flea meds, pull a u-turn into your local Starbucks for a puppacino-and maybe a drink for yourself ;) Say NO to OTC meds!
1…2…FLEA…
Second, did you see one flea when you were combing your pet or are you seeing numerous fleas all over your pet? Is your pet just scratching and you don’t even see fleas? Totally valid info here: if your pet is on any sort of prescription or OTC flea medication, 9 times out of 10 the flea needs to BITE your pet in order to die. There are only a handful of products out there that actually have a repellency in them that start to kill the flea if it comes in contact with the product. Sometimes the repellency does not kill the flea fast enough (kill-time of an adult flea needs to be much faster here). So, if you only saw one flea and you’re using a flea prevention, you should be ok. If you’re not using a flea prevention, you could very well be on your way to having a flea burden in your home. If you are actively seeing fleas and are or are not using an OTC flea prevention you need to treat your environment— primarily inside the house. Later on that. If you are searching and cannot find any fleas but your pet is still very itchy, it’s time to bring them to the vet or try some Benadryl. Charleston is the home of all external allergies and your pet may be reacting to something that is blooming right now. Something blooms all year round so it’s very possible to find that your pet has an allergy in December!
THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!
Ok, the dreaded topic, treating your environment. Some of this information may be hard to hear but you need to know it so you can stay ahead of the game. If you’re already dealing with a flea burden, this information will help you clear it and never deal with it again. The amount of fleas you see on your pet is only 5% of the population in the environment. ONLY FIVE PERCENT. The rest of the population is in your carpets, your beds, between floor boards and tiles, all over. One female flea can lay up to 500 eggs PER DAY. That is one flea dropping 500 baby fleas in your environment every day. Think about all the other female fleas you already have. They are all dropping fleas. So even though you don’t see fleas in your environment, the beginnings of them are there and as soon as they hatch they are coming for your dogs and cats. And if you have too many fleas in the area, they’ll come for you too (but that is only if you have a SERIOUS flea burden).
Now, I don’t recommend flea bombs. They explode and the poison flies up and then drops straight down ON TOP of everything. Those flea eggs and larvae are hiding UNDER everything. I would recommend a powder instead. Flea Busters is a great product to purchase online. You sprinkle it down, leave it down and then vacuum it up. It’s even safe for the kids and pets to be around while you use it. Diatomaceous Earth is also a great sprinkle down product. It is also safe to be around while using it. FYI, I have heard though that it clogs your vacuum. You can also use boric acid but I recommend removing yourselves and your pets from the home while it’s doing its job. When you sprinkle any of this stuff down, you need to make sure it gets sprinkled in all the dark spaces in the floor (hardwood floors are not safe from fleas either), all over carpets, couches, beds, special hiding spots, pet beds, etc. Washing bedding in hot water can also help take care of some of the population, but don’t forget to get under the bed! IF you have enough leftover, you can sprinkle some of it outside in the yard. You can even have the yard professionally treated! The only issue is raccoons, squirrels and other wildlife will bring more fleas back into your yard so that’s a hard battle to keep up. But maintaining your home and your pets on the right flea adulticides is going to be your best bet at winning the war.
Also note, in order to catch any of the remaining fleas in the environment and more that will drop into the environment when they land on your dog and lay eggs, you should be treating your house every 3 weeks for at least 3-4 months in order to break that lifestyle. THIS IS PERTINENT TO CLEARING YOUR HOME OF FLEAS!!! One treatment probably will not suffice. Also, I know. Your cat doesn’t go outside. None of them do. They have been inside all their lives and you’re dealing with fleas. We can track them in on our shoes. Here in Charleston, we recommend even the indoor kitties to be protected, that way you don’t have to start from zero while cleaning out your home of the fleas.
FAVORITE PRODUCTS
Seresto Collar: An 8-month flea and tick repellant/killer. It does need to be tight on the skin because it is heat activated. You should be able to slip only one finger under the collar when it is applied correctly. For those of you concerned about your outdoor cat and the collar getting stuck on things, the collar is a breakaway so it will break if it gets caught on anything. This is the ONLY OTC I break rules for. Fur-realz. Don’t do anything else other than this one.
Nexgard (Rx): An oral chewable beefy treat that kills fleas and ticks for 30 days. Super easy, super palatable, and it kills fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs. That quick. But again, the fleas need to bite to die so you may see fleas on your dog before they are dead or while they are dying.
Trifexis (Rx): PROS: An oral heart worm, intestinal parasite, and flea pill that works for 30 days. The flea prevention is VERY GOOD and very effective. Cons: it’s a white stinky pill that most dogs do not like to take. Also heart worm prevention: it’s not safe for heart worm positive dogs so missing doses and then giving Trifexis again is not recommended. If you’re one of those people who forgets a couple months of preventions here and there, I would recommend something a bit safer to give like Nexgard or Comfortis (and a heart worm prevention like Heartgard).
Comfortis (Rx): PROS: The same flea prevention in Trifexis, but it doesn’t have the heartworm prevention in it so if you miss doses it’s ok. You can give to cats! CONS: Still not as palatable as Nexgard but is extremely effective. It is a large pill and sometimes is very hard to get the cat to take or even get down their throat. It typically needs to be broken up into pieces but be careful of that since they need to get the entire dose in one sitting and not spaced out over the course of a few hours.
Cheristan (Rx): A topical flea prevention for cats that is the liquid version of Comfortis, very effective!
Vectra-3D (Rx): Topical prevention for dogs that kills and repels fleas, ticks, lice, mites, mosquitos and biting flies. Folly Beach has a lot of biting flies and this prevention definitely helps. It works for 30 days but if you have multiple animals (like an indoor cat that doesn’t get any preventions) it may seem much less effective. Ceva (the company that makes Vectra) does say that every pet in the household needs to be treated with a flea prevention for Vectra-3D to be its most effective. Both of my dogs are on this primarily because of the mosquito repellency (also, mosquitos carry heartworms, so double duty prevention there! But they are both still on heartworm prevention).
Bravecto (Rx): An oral flea and tick prevention that lasts for 12 weeks. It is basically the 90 day equivalent of Nexgard. I prefer the Nexgard over the Bravecto because there have been studies done that show the efficacy of the flea prevention decreases toward the end of the 12 weeks. Plus, if I already have to give a heartworm prevention every 30 days, it helps me to remember that I have to give the flea prevention too and not have to remember when I last gave the Bravecto. Bravecto also makes a topical 12 week prevention for cats!
Frontline Gold (Veterinary Only): A topical flea and tick prevention for 30 days. My office only carries the feline version since we have Vectra-3D for dogs. Frontline Gold is the veterinary-grade frontline, so you can only purchase it through your veterinarian. The kill-time of the fleas is much better than anything over-the-counter. It is also like Nexgard in that it kills the fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs.
Vectra Cat (Veterinary Only): A 30 day topical prevention that kills the entire flea lifecycle! That’s right, the adult fleas, the eggs, the larvae and the pupae. Bet you didn’t know there were 4 stages for fleas but this bad-boy-prevention does them all. No tick protection though.