Let's talk Fleas and Ticks........Ewwww.....

Fleas and Ticks.... not a fun topic but an important one.

Fleas

• Small flightless insects
• consume blood of their hosts
• A female can live for several weeks on a host and lay up to several thousand eggs during her life span.
• They thrive in warm, moist environments
• They have 4 main life-stages......Eggs, Larva, Pupa, Adult
• Cycle ranges from a couple of weeks to several months depending on the environment
• Your dog can get tapeworm from ingesting a flea, watch for small rice like specks around your dog's anus and sometimes in their stool.
• Some dogs are severely allergic to flea saliva and when they get bit they have a reaction causing them to scratch and bite until their skin is raw.
• Check for flea dirt, which will be red or black and fleas on your dogs rump. There is a good amount of hair there for fleas to hide.
• A good flea comb is essential

Adult Fleas

• Very flat with three pairs of legs
• They are jumpers
• Live on host

Eggs

• Will fall off animal onto carpets, bedding, soil, floorboards

Larva

• Will live in carpets and bedding
• Stage lasts 5 to 8 days... then spins cocoon and pupates

Pupa

• Emerges from cocoon in 3 to 5 days
• Last stage before adult

Fleas are troublesome little insects that are tough to get rid of. Your best defense against fleas is a good offense. By that I mean prevent them from ever becoming a problem. Treat your dog with a Veterinarian recommended flea and tick treatment. There are many out there, sprays, topicals, pills, collars. All of them are great to use. some dogs may have sensitivity to one or another of them but discussing it with your Veterinarian will help you choose the bast one for your dog. Vacuuming daily is suggested as well as washing your dogs beds and blankets once a week. All of these things in combination will help you to keep fleas away.

Ticks

• Ticks are arachnids, which means they have a body segmented into two regions and have eight legs.
• They carry and transmit some dangerous diseases including Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Tick paralysis, encephalitis and hepatozoonosis.
• Will grab on and burrow into the skin to feed.
• Check your dog everyday for ticks

Removing Ticks

• Remove quickly, it takes 24-72 hours before disease transfer
• Wear gloves
• Put a little rubbing alcohol on tick to make it pull out a little
• Grab tick near the head with forceps, tweezers or a tick removing tool.
• Make sure you have the whole tick
• Drop in rubbing alcohol to kill
• Disinfect the area with a cleanser such as povidone/iodine
• Wash your hands

Many of the products that are used to control fleas are also for ticks. Ask your Veterinarian for what will work best for your dog.

Keeping your yard clear of leaves, sticks and extra debris and foliage will help to reduce where ticks can hide. Mowing your yard regularly will also help.

That's it for fleas and ticks....

Thanks for reading

Teri

Next Week... Why spaying and Neutering is important.