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 The creeping, crawling, gnashing, nasty nibblers are on the march! They’re everywhere - in your carpet, between your floorboards even in your garden and the bloodthirsty blighters are seeking out your pets too.
Yes, the Ferocious Aussie Flea is back - and with a vengeance. Stop your pet suffering from these parasites and hop into serious flea control.
Fleas are miserable little parasites.
They suck blood, make animals, especially puppies, anaemic, they spread tapeworm and cause serious skin irritations. Some unlucky pets are also allergic to fleas.
Thankfully, ridding your pet of fleas is a lot easier than it used to be and there is now a large range of ‘state of the art’ products available which are effective and safe.
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'Spot on the back of the neck' preparations
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Most pet owners are now turning to the ‘spot on the back of the neck’ preparations, such as Advantage, Advocate, Advantix, Frontline Plus and Revolution.
These products come in small vials that you squeeze onto your pet’s neck, or sometimes onto its back, once a month. The convenient means of applying these flea preparations has proved a winner and they are effective and popular.
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- Advantage, for instance, is very good at eliminating adult fleas in dogs and cats (also in rabbits and ferrets). However, another benefit is that micro-crystals of the preparation drop from the animal's coat into the areas that the pet visits, such as its bed and its resting spots in the garden. These micro-crystals are like 'mine fields' that will bomb the developing flea larvae. Therefore, while controlling adult fleas on the animal, Advantage also controls the developing larvae that are hatching from eggs - and this is occurring right now in your house and yard. It makes you feel kind of creepy doesn’t it?
- Advantix is a new product that combines the active ingredient of Advantage above to control fleas along with permethrin to repel and kill ticks, including the paralysis tick.
- Advocate is another new multi-purpose product that combines imidacloprid (Advantage) with moxidectin so it kills fleas, as well as prevents heartworm, hookworm and roundworm in dogs and cats, plus whipworm in dogs, and controls lice and ear mites in cats, and mange and lice in dogs with monthly application.
- Frontline can also be used on dogs and cats. It is available in two forms. The first is Frontline Spray and the second is Frontline Plus Top Spot. The spray form is very effective and one spray should eliminate fleas for two to three months. You need to apply it properly by thoroughly rubbing it into the animal's coat with a gloved hand. This does take a bit of work but it's worth the effort. If this is a bit too difficult, then the Top Spot version, which is used every month, is easier, particularly with cats. Frontline Plus Top Spot combines a longacting adulticidal compound (fipronil) with an insect growth regulator ((S)-Methoprene) so adult fleas are killed for at least one month plus all flea stages in the pet's surroundings, giving even better flea protection. An additional benefit of using Frontline on dogs is that it also gives ticks the flick. The spray should give good tick control for three weeks and the Top Spot should control them for two weeks.
- Revolution (selamectin) also has a multiple action. While it controls adult fleas in puppies and kittens and in dogs and cats, it also prevents flea eggs from hatching, and kills flea larvae in the environment. Furthermore, it controls heartworm in dogs and cats, ear mites in dogs and cats, sarcoptic mange in dogs and, in cats, controls roundworm and hookworm. This is quite a novel way to control most of the common pests that affect our pets. Like Advocate, Revolution is aiming to eliminate the need to use separate flea and heartworm preparations each month.
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Tablets
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The product Sentinel Spectrum has a multiple action, too, but is a monthly tablet for dogs only. It combines an insect growth regulator (luferenon) with a heartworm preventive (milbemycin) as well as a tapewormer (praziquantel). Used monthly, Sentinel will control fleas, heartworm and intestinal worms (including tapeworm) in dogs. Its flea control effect relies on preventing flea eggs from hatching. However, it will not kill adult fleas directly so another preparation may be needed to them until Sentinel has zapped the eggs in the environment.
Sentinel works well with Capstar, a sister product from the same company. Capstar is a tablet flea killer for dogs and cats that kills fleas very quickly but has no residual action.
Proban is an insecticide tablet given twice per week and is effective against fleas on dogs and cats (and ticks on dogs).
Program is a monthly tablet for dogs or oral suspension for cats that sterilises flea eggs. For best long-term results, use Program all year round and Capstar as needed as a flea adulticide.
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Rinses and shampoos
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Permoxin is a popular rinse that can be used weekly on dogs or that you can make into a spray for daily use. It will also control ticks when used weekly.
Flea shampoos deserve a mention. There are many on the market including Fido’s Free Itch Shampoo. They will clean your dog and cat and will kill fleas present at the time but usually will not give any residual action. Therefore shampoos will not usually affect fleas once the pet's coat is dry.
Flea control is a complicated topic. A large range of flea control products exists other than those mentioned above. Seek your veterinarian’s advice and give fleas the flick.
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Controlling fleas in the environment
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With severe flea infestations, controlling the flea eggs and larvae that are in the house and garden is also important.
A single flea will lay hundreds of eggs. The eggs drop from the animal's coat and are thereby spread around the environment the animal lives in. They hatch into larvae which progress through a pupal stage to adult fleas.
The eggs and the larvae are quite sticky and will adhere to carpet and the pet's bedding. They will also lodge in cracks and crevices around the pet's environment.
The first step to controlling fleas in the environment is to do a thorough spring clean up. This involves removing as much dirt and debris from the pet's environment as possible. Vacuum the house, paying attention to areas near the skirting boards and under furniture as this is where the eggs are known to accumulate. Naturally concentrate on any area in which your pet sleeps.
Dispose of the dirt from the vacuum cleaner into a rubbish bag, add some insecticide spray or flea powder and then place it in the garbage bin.
The next step is to kill the glacial mounds of flea eggs and larvae that abound in the environment.
Thankfully, if the products mentioned earlier are used, even if flea eggs do hatch the adult fleas will be killed quickly once they get on the animal's coat and usually before they can lay eggs.
If you are having a major problem with fleas, you may like to use a product containing an insect growth regulator such as methoprene. Growth regulators inactivate the flea eggs that are in the environment and prevent them from hatching. A variety of products are available containing this compound and most also contain a version of pyrethrins that will also kill adult fleas (and other insect pests). The most useful forms are produced as a fogger aerosol used to 'bomb' the house.
Good flea control will make your animal a much happier pet.
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Dr Cam Day BVSc BSc MACVSc, Animal behaviour veterinarian
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