Flea Prevention

Fleas can be identified in a number of ways. Many times your vet may advise flea treatment or diagnose a flea infestation when they are not directly visible, as in early stages they are in smaller numbers and hard to see. If fleas are easily found on your pet, then your pet requires immediate care as the infestation is most likely quite advanced.

Here are some flea signs to look for with your pet:

• Unusual or Excessive Scratching, Biting, &/or Licking
• Flea Dirt (small reddish-brown or black specks on your pet’s body or around your home)
• Tiny, Red Bumps on their Skin (examine them closely as sometimes they can be hard to see)
• Visibility of Adult Fleas
• Unusual Red Patches on Skin
• Loss of Hair
• Pale Gums

Fleas tend to prefer the following areas on your pet so make sure to check:

• Behind Their Ears
• Abdomen
• Base of the Tail

If confronted with a tick problem, here are some signs of ticks from your pet:

• Discover a Small Bump on your Pet
• Unexplained Scabs
• Spot a Tick Somewhere in your Home
• Pet Develops a Fever (signs of weakness, shivering, loss of appetite, or unusual panting)
• Excessive Head Shaking

A flea problem on your pet is a problem for your home and family and treating your pet and home for fleas or ticks is a serious matter. Aside from itching, fleas and ticks pose a danger to your pet and families as they can transmit both disease and parasites, some of which can affect humans. These include ‘cat scratch disease’, Murine Typhus, and tapeworms to name a few. Fleas increase the risk of anemia and other health conditions for pets. If untreated, these can lead to death.

Ticks can cause Lyme disease, which although there is a vaccine for dogs, currently there is not one yet for humans. It is not unheard of for ticks to carry up to three different types of disease at one time. When it comes to your pet’s and family’s health or safety, no one takes it more seriously than we do.

Commercial over-the-counter sprays, powders, collars, and shampoo treatments for fleas have been widely used for a number of years. Shampoos can be great to help treat irritated skin on your pet from flea bites. But some of these can be toxic or ineffective, so reach out to our experts for recommendations.

When treating your pet for fleas or ticks, we use topical and oral treatments and recommend:

• Medication and Oral tablets (when applicable)
• Spot-on Flea Treatments
• Tick Collars

With over 2,000 different species of fleas and thousands of ticks species, many of today’s over-the-counter insecticides or treatments have been tested on and effectively treat only certain species. This makes treating some flea or tick problems difficult and in some cases, seem unmanageable. At Dr. Phillips Animal Hospital we use a variety of flea and tick treatments and insecticides, meaning regardless of the infestation or your pet, we can help.

When treating your pet, please follow our instructions by administering or following up on flea treatments to ensure its effectiveness. If using over-the-counter product, please always ensure to read the directions, safety warnings, and use or apply the product as is directed to ensure your pet’s safety.

Your pet can get fleas and ticks from a number of ways, including from within your home. Ticks are more prevalent in summer, but in Florida, both can be contracted year-round. Fleas and ticks can be transferred from wild animals (raccoons, squirrels, or feral cats), pets of friends or family members, human guests, the outdoors (especially wooded areas), and even from your front or backyard.

If a flea infestation is discovered on your pet, your environment (home, apartment, condo) needs to be treated as well as your pet. How well you treat your home against fleas will directly impact the effectiveness of your pet’s treatment, and there is a variety of over-the-counter flea treatments and insecticides available.

You can treat your home for fleas by:

• Vacuuming your home several times a week (make sure to empty the bag as eggs can hatch and crawl out)
• Vacuuming and cleaning your car
• Laundering and cleaning your pet’s bed regularly or the areas they frequent
• Getting an exterminator or bombing your house with an insecticide

Remember that for every one flea you find on your pet, there could 50 hiding around your home, yard, or car.

If your pet has been treated for fleas and they return, this can be due to a number of factors beyond the effectiveness of the treatment. Fleas returning can be due to still being present in your home, car, new infestations from another animal, or improper application of the preventative. If your cat is not a house cat, they may have also contracted fleas from a neighbor’s home, yard, or pet.

The cost for flea or tick services – diagnosis, prevention, and treatment – varies, and all pricing will be provided during their appointment or additional information can be provided upon request.