Fleas are one of the most common and irritating pests that affect both pets and pet owners. They are happy to live in your house and feed off your pet, all the while causing discomfort and disease. Fleas are more than a nuisance; they are the main cause of skin problems in dogs and cats. They can also spread disease, transmit tapeworms, cause anemia, and even lead to death.
As a loving and responsible pet owner, treating and preventing flea infestations is essential not only for providing comfort and relief to your pets, but for maintaining their health as well.
Getting rid of fleas can be a frustrating process. It can take several steps over a period of time to get the situation under control. This is because fleas must be treated at each stage in the life cycle, from the adults, to the eggs, and the larvae. It is also necessary to eliminate the fleas from your home and yard, not just the ones on your pet.
When possible, it is much easier to prevent fleas with regular use of flea control products, than to wait until there is an infestation to take action. The oral and topical medications being sold today are very effective and easy to use. They and can help pet owners treat and prevent fleas before they get out of hand.
Medications, shampoos, powders, and more...
Whether you are shopping for a product to get rid of a current flea infestation or to prevent them from taking up residence, there are many products available that can help you treat and prevent fleas from living on your pet and in your home. The types of flea products available include oral or topical medications, shampoos, dips, powders, sprays, and collars.
Many of the shampoos, dips, and sprays will kill any existing fleas on your pet fairly quickly, but they offer no preventative protection. For prevention, the topical medications are often the recommended choice as they continue working for up to one month after applying when used as directed.
Features to Consider
Deciding which flea control product to buy will be determined by your pet, environment, and flea activity. If you are unsure about which method or type of flea is best for your pet, it is always best to ask your veterinarian for a recommendation. As you shop for and compare flea products, it is important to understand the indications of use, method of treatment, the advantages and disadvantages.
Features to consider when choosing flea control products:
- Your pet - is it a dog or a cat? Flea products are pet specific for safety.
- FDA/EPA Approval
- Veterinarian Recommended
- Indications of Use: does it treat adult fleas, flea eggs, flea larvae, ticks, heartworms
- Method of Treatment: topical medication, oral medication, shampoo, dip, powder, spray, collar
- Ingredients
- Safety
- Effectiveness
- Water Fastness
- Treatment Frequency
- Size of Pet & Dosage
- Cost
Over-the-Counter Flea Products
While you can find many brands of flea products in supermarkets and pet supply stores, many of them contain ingredients, organophosphate insecticides (OP’s) and carbamates, that are harmful to animals and children. Using these toxic products, including many brands of flea collars, can cause more harm than the fleas.
Most Americans seem to believe that if a pet product is sold in the store it must be regulated by the government and approved for safety, but this is often not the case. If you read the labels, you will find that the active ingredient in many major pet pesticide brands is one of the seven toxic OP’s, namely chlorpyrifos, dichlorvos, phosmet, naled, tetrachlorvinphos, diazinon and malathion. Do not assume that a product has been tested or safe just because it is sold in a store.
Recommended Flea Products
Before buying or using any flea product on your dog or cat, check the ingredients and talk to your veterinarian about the safety of use. Most veterinarians recommend the newer and safer oral or topical insecticides for dogs and cats, including imidacloprid (in Advantage and K9 Advantix), fipronil (in Frontline Plus and Frontline Top Spot), and selamectin (in Revolution).
Tick Control
Many flea control products also work at killing and preventing ticks. Ticks, which are cousins to spiders, attach themselves to your pet to feed on their blood and can transmit many serious diseases, including Lyme disease. If you live in a tick prone area, you may want to consider a flea and tick combination product, such as K9 Advantix, FrontlinePlus, and Frontline TopSpot.
Shop for brand name pet medications at discount prices. Find a complete selection of quality pet products from the leading drug manufacturers for the health of your pets, including flea and tick control, pain relief, heartworm preventives, nutritional supplements, and more. These are the same medications available at veterinary hospitals, but at a fraction of the cost.
