Fleas Are More Than Nuisance: Learn to Protect Your Pooch

Fleas and ticks are the bane of many of dog owner’s existence. When your dog has a flea infestation, you’ll be the first one to notice his or her misery. Fleas can literally drain your pup of energy, leave him or her scratching endlessly and be the cause of several other issues. It’s not only important that you take care of a flea infestation as soon as it begins, but it is crucial that you prevent the spread of fleas and ticks. When one dog becomes infested, it can quickly infest your other pets. Not to mention, fleas and ticks can infest your entire home. Before you panic, this guide is here to help you through the misery of a flea and tick problem.

How an Infestation Starts

If you have a flea infestation, you may be scratching your head wondering how it happened in the first place. How did the fleas get this bad? How did your dog pick them up in the first place? The truth is that animals easily pick up fleas and ticks from the environment.

Fleas spread from animals to the environment and then to the next animal. For instance, say that a flea-infested animal walked through your yard or neighborhood. The flea’s eggs are now all over the environment. These fleas may come from other dogs, from wildlife like raccoons or other animals frequenting the area.

Dogs pick up ticks because they are in the environment that carries them. For instance, ticks like to hide in shrubs and high grass. They crawl onto the grass and then when a dog walks by, the tick dislodges and attaches to the animal instead. Ticks literally wait around for an animal to use as a host.

What Complications Flea and Tick Infestations Carry

When it comes to fleas and ticks, there are the initial and obvious infestations. Fleas and ticks feed off of the blood of your pet. Not only can this lead to anemia in severe cases, but fleas cause a lot of itching and irritation when they bite and crawl on the skin. In addition, when fleas feed, they inject saliva into your pup’s skin. This saliva causes an allergic reaction in most dogs and cats. The most common complication of a flea and tick infestation is that the dog will lose hair. Even if your dog doesn’t have many fleas, this can still be a problem.

Ticks can cause an even bigger problem than fleas do. There are diseases that ticks can transmit. Ticks can spread Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease and more. These are extremely dangerous diseases for dogs and cats to contract.

Why Fleas Are a Bigger Problem in Some Areas

Fleas are a problem in most places, but you will find that some areas have less of a problem than others. Likewise, some seasons may see a rise or drop in flea infestations. When it comes to location, you need to keep in mind that fleas are easy to dry out. This means that they prefer climates where there is some humidity in the air. In addition, fleas tend to like warmer and wetter climates.

Ticks on the other hand, have different behaviors than fleas. For instance, you may find a Lyme disease tick more often in the Northeast and upper Midwest. You may also see a lot of ticks in the south! Every location is different. It is important to know what type of tick problem you have in your particular location.

How to Prevent Fleas and Ticks

The best way to fight fleas and ticks is through prevention! If you want to make sure that you don’t have to worry all year round, then you need to take preventative measures to ensure that you don’t have to worry. First, you need a treatment plan for your pet. There are a lot of different flea and tick preventative measures nowadays. You can choose from a topical flea and tick preventative methods to oral medications that your dog can take. Some of these can be purchased over the counter, whereas there are some veterinarian prescribed methods.

In addition to medications, you can also find bug blocker suits for dogs. These suits do not only keep bugs from attacking your pet, but they can also help block harmful UV rays. These suits are extremely flexible so that your dog is never restricted.

To protect your home, make sure that you vacuum regularly. You can also use sprays or powders to kill and prevent infestations in your home. If your home has fleas, then it is very difficult to stop a flea infestation. Once you have one, you need to figure out how to protect your home. In addition to protecting the indoors, you can also use outdoor sprays or keep your yard clean of overgrown plants to prevent outdoor fleas.

Your pooch’s health and wellness is a top priority in your household. A flea or tick infestation is common but it doesn’t make it less of an irritant or less unhealthy for your dog to undergo. Not only can fleas be extremely uncomfortable but they can lead to other illnesses and problems for your pets. It’s important that you take flea and tick prevention seriously. Remember that even in the winter months, fleas and ticks can still be a problem. It is better to have your pet on some form of preventative medication all year round. In addition, there are a lot of different tricks that can help you cut down on the flea population and avoid an infestation.