| All dogs pick up fleas, ticks, and chiggers at one | | | | and horizontally up to fourteen inches. They have |
| time or another, usually during the warm weather | | | | piercing - sucking mouth parts and spines on their |
| months. Even a pampered city pet can pick up a | | | | body. Adult fleas cannot survive or lay eggs |
| stray flea from a potted plant. Hunting dogs often | | | | without a blood meal, but may live from two |
| return home with a collection of chiggers or ticks. | | | | months to one year without feeding. |
| Fleas hop from one dog to another with amazing | | | | In order to effectively control an infestation, fleas |
| speed and agility. Your pet only needs to greet | | | | must be removed from the pet, the home, and |
| one flea infested friend in order to acquire the | | | | the yard. Starting with the pet, there are |
| beginning of a flea colony of his own. | | | | shampoos, topical treatments, sprays, collars, and |
| External parasites are not a special affliction of | | | | oral medications. The least recommended is |
| dogs. The dog is simply a convenient host for | | | | shampoo, due to the grooming the pet does to |
| them. We would probably have them too, if our | | | | his own coat. The pesticides can be toxic if they |
| bodies were covered with hair and we ran around | | | | are consumed in quantity. Topical treatments are |
| without shoes and clothing and sat or slept on the | | | | better, along with sprays and collars, but the best |
| ground. Fleas are the most common, the easiest | | | | and most recommended is the oral medication |
| to detect and to get rid of. Fleas appear as black | | | | Lufenuron called "Program" from your veterinarian. |
| specks on a fine tooth comb, and a single one can | | | | To clean the home, all areas frequented by the |
| drive a dog crazy. | | | | dog should be cleaned thoroughly by vacuuming, |
| The worst part of fleas is that they act as hosts | | | | washing bedding and rugs and possible treatment |
| to tapeworm larvae, and if your dog swallows | | | | by insecticides. Treating your carpet with a Borate |
| one you may end up with a worm problem too. | | | | powder such as "Borax" laundry powder works as |
| You can trap fleas in a silky smooth coat with a | | | | a poison upon ingestion by the flea, simply sprinkle |
| flea comb, but fleas that nestle in the dense | | | | the powder on your carpets and leave it for a |
| undercoat of double coated dogs must be treated | | | | few h ours before vacuuming will rid most homes |
| with a product that penetrates the skin, and a | | | | of their fleas. A second treatment can follow if |
| regular mild treatment is safer than an occasional | | | | necessary. It's cheap, you can do it yourself and |
| severe one. | | | | there are no insecticides used. |
| In one day a single flea can bite your pet 400 | | | | To treat the lawn and around the homes exterior, |
| times, while consuming more than its own | | | | pyrethroids such as "Archer" or "Nylan", as well as |
| bodyweight in blood. Some dogs can contract flea | | | | fenoxy carb such as "Logic" or "Torus" can be |
| allergy dermatitis, an allergic reaction to the flea's | | | | effective. Outdoor treatment is usually only done |
| saliva. The severity and length of the flea season | | | | in extreme or severe cases of flea infestation |
| varies depending on what part of the country you | | | | and may not be necessary. You should however |
| live in, but it is best to treat your pet in early | | | | keep your lawn trimmed to create a drier, less |
| spring, (April - May). In northern climates, flea and | | | | ideal environment for flea larvae. If you don't |
| tick season usually lasts approximately 4 months, | | | | want to handle the pesticides yourself, any |
| but in the extreme south, fleas can live all year | | | | licensed professional pest control operator can do |
| long. | | | | the treatment for you. |
| There are more than 2000 species of fleas in the | | | | In summary, you should check with your |
| United States alone, but the one that attacks | | | | veterinarian before using any form of flea |
| most pets is the cat flea, Ctenocephalides Felis. A | | | | treatment. Never use products for dogs on a cat, |
| cat flea can lay up to one egg per hour, and | | | | as cats are more sensitive to the pesticide and |
| within two days, a wormlike larvae will hatch from | | | | they groom themselves more thoroughly. Never |
| those eggs. The eggs are oval, smooth, and | | | | apply pesticides to young, pregnant, or sick |
| about 0.5mm in size. The hatched larvae will range | | | | animals, and use alternative methods to control |
| from 1.5 to 5mm in length. The complete cycle | | | | fleas, such as combing frequently with a flea |
| from egg to adult takes approximately 30 to 75 | | | | comb, vacuum your home frequently and dispose |
| days depending on temperature and humidity. | | | | of the vacuum bag, wash all pet bedding regularly, |
| Adult fleas are about 1/16 to 1/8 inch long, are | | | | and bathe your pet with a pesticide free |
| dark reddish brown, wingless, hard bodied, have | | | | shampoo. Prevention is much easier than dealing |
| three pairs of legs and are flattened from side to | | | | with an infestation. |
| side. Fleas can jump vertically up to seven inches, | | | | |