If your home or your pet or both have fleas, you might be feeling a bit
hopeless. Because of the abundant number of eggs that fleas lay during
their lifetime, it can be a challenge to get rid of them
completely. Even thoroughly removing all the fleas from your
home is not sufficient, since you need to also get rid of all
of those eggs and future fleas. Don’t despair: with a few
cleaning tactics, and some powerful pesticides, you can solve
this problem, and get yourself, your home, and your pet back to
a flea-free state.
Treatment Options for Fleas:
There are a few different options available for flea prevention for dogs and cats -- note
that it’s important to check if your treatment method is for use on cats or on
dogs since medications and treatments aren’t
necessarily interchangeable.
- Flea Powders: Flea
powders are applied directly to your pet and repel the
fleas using chemicals. They can be a bit messy to apply.
- Flea Shampoos: Flea shampoos
eliminate fleas, but aren’t a preventative. In order to be
effective, you’ll have to bathe your pet fairly frequently if
they are in contact with fleas -- the merits of this treatment
will depend somewhat on your pet’s disposition when it comes to
baths.
- Flea Collars: Flea collars,
like Seresto, are used around
your pet’s neck, and destroy fleas. However, it’s important to
note these collars aren’t always very effective toward fleas
that land elsewhere on your pet -- like their legs, stomach,
and behind.
- Topical, Spot-on Treatments: Topical treatments, such as Revolution, are applied directly to
your pet’s shoulder blades and ward off fleas. They spread the
medication over your pet’s entire coat through the oil on your
pet’s skin.
- Oral Medications: Pills from
brands like Capstar and Trifexis can stop the eggs from
hatching -- used in combination with another treatment that
goes after the adult fleas, this can be a good way to halt the
perpetuation of the flea life cycle.
Removing Fleas From Your Home:
If you have fleas on your pet, in all likelihood, they are
inside your home as well. In order to get your home flea-free,
start by cleaning carefully with an extra focus on areas where
your pet commonly hangs out. Vacuum thoroughly, use the nozzle
of the vacuum to get in cracks and crevices and to go over
furniture that can’t be washed otherwise. Put fabric -- like
couch covers, the pet’s bed, and rugs -- in the washer and
dryer. You can also use a spray with an insect growth
inhibitor, which will prevent the eggs from hatching, stopping
the life cycle of the flea.
If fleas in your yard are a concern, keep grass well-trimmed.
Fleas don’t like bright sun, so eliminate shady areas to make
your backyard inhospitable. There are also chemical treatment
sprays that can be used in your backyard to disrupt the life
cycle if fleas are a problem out there -- make sure to avoid
using these sprays near anything that you or your pet might
eat. You can likely target your use of these sprays to shady
areas in the yard, where fleas may congregate.
Flea Repellents in Topicals vs. Flea Pills
Flea treatment for pets
comes in several different forms, like pills, collars, and topical medications also called spot-on.
Topical medications are medicines that have to be applied to
your cat or dog's skin, usually by taking a single-use packet
and squeezing the medication out onto your pet's back.
So which one is best, and how do they work? Take a look at this
video from the makers of Advantage II that explains
how topical
treatments can be more effective than pills at
stopping pests before they bite your pet.
More on Treating for Fleas
My Dog Still Has
Fleas!
Flea and Tick Prevention
and Treatment Options
Combining Flea Treatments: What's
Safe
Get Rid of Fleas in 8 Steps
Infographic
