The Importance of Treating Fleas on Your Pets
Signs of Flea Infestation and Preventative Flea-Control For Your Pet
May 3, 2009
Fleas that generally affect cats and dogs are the ‘cat flea’ ctenocephalides felis and the ‘dog flea’ ctenocephalides canis. It is important to treat fleas on your pets as fleas can cause your pet discomfort and can also transmit disease such as tapeworm infestation.
The Lifecycle of the Flea
The females flea mates and lays eggs while on the host (dog or cat). She can lay up to 600 eggs a day and these eggs fall off your pet and into the environment, typically on and around bedding. The eggs hatch anywhere between 2-14 days and the flea larvae will feed on skin debris, adult flea faeces and other organic matter. After approximately a week's time, the flea larvae will create a cocoon and pupate.
An adult flea will emerge from this cocoon from 10 days or up to several months after pupation has occurred. The timing depends on conditions such as weather and in particular, if the flea can feel vibrations in the environment, which would indicate that there was a host available.
How Can I Tell if My Pet has Fleas?
- Constant scratching and/or chewing at skin
- Visual sighting. Fleas are approximately 3mm long so visible to the naked eye. Look for fleas on your pet during grooming or when petting.
- Comb your pet with a fine tooth comb whilst he or she sits on a white surface or white piece of paper. You may see small black dots fall onto the paper as you comb, which could be adult flea faeces.
- Look for any inflamed/flaky parts of skin. If your pet is particularly sensitive to fleabites, you may notice bald patches, flakiness or redness on your pet.
What Can I Do to Prevent Fleas?
The easy solution is to use flea control. There are many forms available, including:
- Flea collars
- Powders
- Shampoos
- Sprays
- Spot on ampoules
Some products are more effective then others. Flea collars aren’t very effective, as they tend to only keep fleas away form the neck/collar area, as the active ingredients don’t spread over the entire body. Fleas will move to the other end of your pet. Shampoos and powders tend to be short lived and need to be reapplied quite frequently, especially if your pet gets wet.
The best and most convenient products are the ampoules that are placed on the back of your pet’s neck. They spread over the entire body (although, if you have a very large dog, you may need one ampoule at the neck and another near the rump, to ensure full coverage), and kill adult fleas. Speak to your veterinarian about the best product to suit your pet’s needs.
Also, ensure you use flea control on all of your pets, and vacuum regularly, particularly around your pet’s bedding. Please see Flea Allergic Dermatitis in Pets if you think your pet may have an allergy to fleabites.
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