Fleas and ticks are nobody's friends

Prevention now, is much better than treatment later.

By Jacque Estes
| 12:00 p.m. July 11, 2016

Hercules, 31960626, is a 5-year-old, male shepherd/Labrador mix, available at Flagler Humane Society. Courtesy photo

Scarlett, 31243052, is a 4-year-old female cat, available at Flagler Humane Society. Courtesy photo

Jazmin, 31688612, is a 2-year-old, female cat, available at Halifax Humane Society. Courtesy photo

Kitty, 31774126, is a 6-year-old, female cat, available at Halifax Humane Society. Courtesy photo

Palm Coast Observer
Neighbors

I can say one word that will result in involuntary scratching – FLEA

Sorry, it happens to me too. As I write this I have this urge….

Every season is flea and tick season in Florida. Oh there might be a day or two in February where a frost gives us a reprieve. Also, the fires of 1998 taught me that mosquitoes don’t hang around. But we don’t want fires.

We also don’t want fleas and ticks. All animals have the opportunity to come in contact with these critters, even if they don’t spend a lot of time outside. One flea or tick can come in on someone’s clothing and you have a problem.

There are many excellent preventatives, from pills to topical applications, and one collar, Seresto, available at pet supply stores that work quite well in my opinion. They do cost $50 and up, but last eight months. The collars sold at the supermarkets? They don’t work – never have – again, in my experience. Advantix II is also popular.

Whatever you decided to use, consult your veterinarian, and read the packaging, very carefully. Never give dog treatments to cats, the dosage will be toxic. Buddy and Kodi’s weights differ and they each have their own heartworm medication, specifically for their weight.

If you do have fleas you need to do more than snap a collar on your pet. It’s time to clean. Vacuum upholstered furniture (under the cushions too), carpeting and beds. Wash your pet’s bedding on the hottest cycle. You may need to use a flea bomb, but first check out natural methods like leaving lights on and using a dehumidifier. Fleas don’t like dry areas.

You may have to repeat these steps a couple of times. If you absolutely have to use a flea bomb, take your animals (all of them) to a friend’s house for a few hours. After you have bathed them and removed any fleas of course.

Prevention is much easier than treatment. If you don’t have fleas and ticks, hurray! Get to your vet and spend a few dollars now to keep it that way. You will be spending more time and money if you wait until after you have an infestation.

`Fun flea facts found on the Internet

They can jump 10,000 times in a row (the length of three football fields).
When a flea jumps, it accelerates 50 times faster than a space shuttle.
The female flea can lay 2,000 eggs in her lifetime.
95% of flea eggs, larvae and pupae live in beds, rugs, carpets and sofas – not on your pet.
Just one flea can become 1,000 on your pet and in your home in only 21 days.
Fleas can be frozen for up to a year and then revive themselves.
A flea can live without a blood meal for 100 days.