Flea Control

Fleas are a serious health problem to both dogs and cats. Apart from the obvious pain and irritation of flea bites, fleas suck blood, carry other parasites and can also lead to a serious skin problem known as Flea Allergy Dermatitis. Commonly know as "eczema", this is the most common skin complaint we see in dogs and cats and one of the most distressing. In fact, fleas cause more skin problems in dogs and cats than all other causes put together. And your pet may be suffering from flea-related dermatitis even if you think they have no fleas!

The Flea’s Life Story:

Flea control is possible. It just takes an understanding of the life cycle of the flea, and how you can stop it.

When an adult flea first jumps onto your pet, it must take a feed of blood before breeding and laying eggs. Having done this, it continues to bite and feed regularly, and can lay up to 50 eggs per day. Whilst an adult flea will normally have only a short life, it can easily lay several hundred eggs. These eggs fall into the bedding, carpet or grass, concentrated into the areas where your pet spends the most time.

You generally can't see the tiny white eggs. The small black specks that you may see in your pet's coat are actually faeces (flea poo).

Within just a few days, a small hairy larva will hatch from the egg. The larvae live deep in the base of the carpet/grass/bedding, feeding on organic material like crumbs and flea faeces. They later form a pupa (cocoon) in which the new adult flea develops. The pupa provides great protection for the flea, hidden deep in the carpet or grass and impervious to insecticides. Under the right conditions a new adult flea will emerge from the pupa. This requires warmth, humidity and vibration - created by the movement of animals or people. The new adult flea detects a passing animal and jumps on. The whole life cycle then starts over.

Fleas are usually a much bigger problem in summer. They don't live longer or bite any more often, but they do breed much faster, so there's lots more of them! In the heat and humidity of summer (or heated indoors in winter), the whole life cycle can take as little as 3 weeks, and just a few fleas can breed into thousands. Outdoors in winter, the pupa may lie dormant for several months, but they are growing in number all the time, ready to hatch when the conditions are right.

Adult fleas only make up 5% of the fleas' population that exists in your home. So, you'll see that the adult fleas on your pet are actually just the tip of the iceberg.

So, how do you stop them?

For effective flea control, you need to do two things:

1. Control the immature stages in the environment,
2. Kill the adult fleas on your pet(s).

It's vital to treat all dogs and cats in the household (even if they don't appear to have any fleas).

We'll first discuss the various types of products that can be used to achieve these two goals. Then we help you to gauge the severity of your flea problem and recommend which product(s) to use in your situation.

1. Immature stages in the environment can be very difficult to kill. It is important that you wash your pet's bedding regularly. Environmental sprays and flea bombs may be required in severe cases. But usually it is preferable to use a product on your pets (all of your pets) that will stop the fleas from breeding.

   Insect growth regulators such as lufenuron (found in Sentinel and Program) and methoprene (in Frontline Plus) are birth control for fleas. Effectively sterilising the female flea, yet totally safe for your pet, these products ensure that the flea eggs will never hatch. But they do not kill adult fleas.

2. To kill the adult fleas on your pet, you need to apply an insecticide. The most effective products are safe and have a long residual action (which means they continue to kill fleas long after they are applied).

   We recommend Frontline Spray, Advantage, Frontline Plus and Revolution.

   These products also help to control the environmental stages. Small amounts shed with the hair kill some eggs and larvae in the bedding. (Also, if an insecticide is really effective and kills adult fleas quickly enough, there'll be fewer eggs. Dead fleas can't lay eggs! Unfortunately no insecticide is 100% effective.)

   Other products worth considering may include:
   Capstar Tablets, Permoxin Spray or Rinse (dogs only) or any good quality shampoo containing permethrin (dogs only) or pyrethrins.

   Products that we do not generally recommend include:
   flea collars; flea powders; wool-wash, any shampoo or rinse containing organophosphates, eucalyptus or tea-tree oils; and tablets containing cythioate or garlic.

How severe is your flea problem?

Mild: You can't see any fleas on your pet or they have only the occasional flea or flea dirt. Scratching is rare.
Moderate: You can see some fleas and flea dirt (and there's sure to be a lot more that you haven't seen).
Severe: You can see a lot of fleas on your pet. In very severe cases, fleas may also bite humans in the home.
Flea Allergy Dermatitis: Scratching/biting is severe because your pet has an allergic reaction to flea bites. You may not see any fleas on your pet. But just one flea bite every 1-2 weeks can keep them scratching all the time. Dogs may develop hair loss and dermatitis especially on the rump and the backs of the hind legs. Cats may develop small scabs over most of the body.

Note that the level of scratching and biting is not a good indicator of the number of fleas on your pet. Some animals may have lots of fleas and show few clinical signs, whilst others develop an allergy to flea bites, and scratch continuously from very few fleas.

Recommended Flea Control Programs

We can tailor a flea control program using the best product(s) to suit your needs and your budget. The following are our most common recommendations.

• Prevention & mild-moderate flea problems
  Dogs: Sentinel Tablets every month stop fleas from breeding, prevent heartworm and control intestinal worms. Frontline (Spray or Plus), Advantage, or Capstar can be used initially to kill adult fleas, and continued until the problem is under control. With Sentinel stopping the breeding cycle, you need to use these products only occasionally (over summer or if you see fleas).
  
  Cats: Revolution applied every month to the back of the neck will not only kill fleas, but also prevent heartworm infection and control intestinal worms.
  If you want only flea control, we'd suggest either:
  * Advantage or Frontline all year round, or,
  * Advantage or Frontline initially plus Program Injection every 6 months to stop fleas breeding.
• Severe Flea Infestations
  Use Frontline Spray every 2-4 weeks until the problem is under control, and then continue as described above for moderate flea infestations. (If you can't use a spray, try Advantage or Frontline Plus every 2 weeks.)
  For indoor pets, you should vacuum the house thoroughly including all carpets, crevices and furniture fabrics. Then treat the house with several flea "bombs". Be sure to treat under the furniture.
• Flea Allergy Dermatitis
  Seek veterinary attention as your pet is in a lot of discomfort and needs diagnosis and medical treatment.
  Use Frontline Spray every 2 weeks until the problem is under control and then every 4 weeks indefinitely.
  Treat every dog and cat in the home (with Frontline Spray, Advantage, Frontline Plus or Revolution) and encourage your neighbours to do the same.

Recommended Flea Products

• Sentinel Spectrum monthly flavoured tablets for dogs - stop fleas from breeding, prevent heartworm and kill intestinal worms too. It is usually our first recommendation for dogs, but does not kill adult fleas. Sentinel may not be appropriate if your dog has regular contact with other untreated animals.
• Revolution is a small amount of liquid applied to the skin on the back of your pet's neck. It also prevents heartworm, and in cats it controls intestinal worms too. It is usually our first recommendation for cats.
• Frontline Spray is the most effective insecticide against adult fleas. It is applied all over your pet. It lasts up to 6-8 weeks on cats, and up to 3 months on dogs, but the effectiveness does fade over time.t is waterproof, so long as you don't bath your pet within 2 days before or after applying it.
• Advantage is applied monthly to the skin on the back of your pet's neck. It's not quite as effective as Frontline Spray and doesn't last as long, but it's much easier to use, particularly for cats, or for dogs that are large, uncooperative or thick-coated.
• Frontline Plus is also applied monthly to the back of your pet's neck. It is just as effective and easy to use as Advantage. It also includes an insect growth regulator, giving integrated flea control in the one product.
• Program is birth control for fleas and is given by injection to cats every 6 months. It is also available as a liquid (for cats) or tablet (for dogs), to be given with their food once a month.
• Permoxin concentrate (for dogs only) can be used as a rinse, or diluted to make up a flea spray. It's cheaper than Frontline, but lasts only a few days.
• Capstar tablets provide a quick and easy way to kill fleas on your pet. A single dose will kill most fleas on your pet within 30 minutes. But it has no residual action, so we recommend it only if used in conjunction with Sentinel or Program.

Important things to remember:

• Prevention is better than cure!
• Treat all dogs and cats in the household.
• Maintain flea treatment all year round.
• Carefully read and follow all product directions.
• If in doubt, ask us for advice.