Fleas
When it comes to fleas, America spends about $1 billion a year on preventative medications.1 Apparently, our hatred for histamine-releasing, itch-causing fleas runs deep. That said, approximately 46% of American pets2 still have some level of flea infestation despite all those powers, dips, spray on products, and flea bombs. Find out how - and why - it’s so important to rid your life (and house) of these pests.
Where your pets are picking up fleas
No matter how meticulous you may think your house is, dogs and cats are exposed to fleas – and it’s likely from the backyard, playground, dog park, beach, or boarding kennel. Fleas have an incredible jumping ability, and while you may not suspect so, they leap onto any four- (or two-) legged victim with voracity and speed (after all, they don’t have wings, and need to be able to jump high). Once they grab a host (i.e., your dog or cat), they crawl to safety, hidden under all that fur and dander. After biting your pet for a blood source, fleas are able to produce “flea dirt” or dried blood – which their eggs, pupae, and larvae then survive off of as their future meal.
How to spot them
Fleas are the size of the tip of a pencil, and can be seen with the visible eye – provided you can see through all that hair and undercoat. Common areas where fleas hide on your pet include the lumbar region, the area near the tail, the belly, the inner thighs, and the neck. The best way to find if your pet has a problem is to purchase a flea comb, which has fine teeth to snag those fleas and flea dirt. An easier way to spot a flea problem is to look for flea dirt – those small black specks that look like ground pepper. If you see this, you have a flea problem - and it’s in all your pets, not just one - as fleas will rapidly infest the environment. These black specks are dried blood, and if you moisten these specks, you’ll notice a blood-red color on the towel.
What damage fleas cause
When a flea bites you or your pet, the bite results in a small raised, reddened, itchy hive that crusts over. However, it’s the saliva that a flea injects into the skin that can be a problem – it may result in flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) – a sensitivity reaction in some pets that can cause a severe allergic reaction that results in intense itching and chronic hair loss. In pets with FAD, it only takes one flea bite to cause a problem. Some dogs (especially those long-haired breeds) develop a moist dermatitis (the dreaded hot spot) instead - that’s because they get so irritated from the antigen in the saliva that they chew their skin raw. Regardless, flea bites are an uncomfortable feeling for all, and flea problems should always be treated. Not only will you relieve your pet of annoying itchiness, but you’ll help reduce tapeworm problems, the risk of transmission of other rare diseases, and anemia (from getting all the blood sucked out!). Because the flea acts as a host for the tapeworm egg Diphylidium caninum, your pet can ingest a flea (while grooming and chewing), allowing the tapeworm to grow in your pet’s intestine. Within a few weeks of ingestion, you’ll notice small, white, rice-like, sticky segments of tapeworm hanging out by your pet’s rectum – all thanks to that flea. Likewise, some outdoor cats (particularly those who live in the Southwestern region of the USA) are often infested with the rodent flea Oropsylla montana, which can carry the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. While treatable, this is a serious disease, as it’s contagious to people, reportable by law to the CDC, and also used as a chemical warfare agent! Finally, I’ve seen some kittens so severely infested from fleas that they die from anemia - which could have been easily prevented with one convenient dose of flea product.
How to treat them
When it comes to fleas, you want to nip the problem in the bud before it results in a severe environmental contamination of your whole house. Thanks to veterinary prescription spot-on treatments, you can help avoid those chemical home and lawn sprays, flea collars, defoggers, powders, shampoos, and dips. While there are OTC products, they aren’t quite as effective and can be quite toxic to your other pets (especially for cats! Remember dog-specific flea products should never be used on cats). It’s definitely worth splurging on the “good stuff” and getting the safer prescription products (which come in either an oral or topical form). There are different products you can use, and they basically either act as birth control (or insect growth regulators – or IGRs) or adulticides (which kill adult fleas). IGRs [like lufenuron (found in Program) and methoprene (found in Frontline Plus)] work by preventing certain stages of the flea (the egg, pupae, and larvae) from being able to develop into a full blown adult. This is important because one adult flea produces 40-50 eggs a day, and up to 2000 in one flea’s lifetime.3 These IGRs are very safe, as they don’t affect your pet’s body at all, but again – only kill future fleas. Some flea products contain both an IGR and an adulticide, such as Frontline Plus (fipronil + methoprene). The adulticides are typically chemicals like fipronil (Frontline), imidacloprid (Advantage), imidacloprid with permethrin (Advantix), selamectin (Revolution), and oral nitenpyram (Capstar). Confused by all these chemicals? Check out some great resources by the FDA to help you decide.4 These chemicals aren’t systemically absorbed in your pet’s body and work by being absorbed in the hair follicles and skin oils instead. Unfortunately, the fleas have to bite your pet to get killed off, but it’s the easiest, safest, and most effective way of reducing the flea burden on you and your pet.
HINTS:
• Despite what you think, Brewer’s yeast and essential oils don’t effectively reduce a flea problem, according to veterinary parasitologists. In fact, some essential oils can cause severe allergic reactions in some pets - especially cats - so use them with caution!
• If you do have a flea infestation in your house, vacuum frequently to help suck up those eggs, larvae, and pupae lying on the carpet and pet beds. Make sure to throw that vacuum bag away immediately, or they’ll hatch in the bag and crawl out, re-infesting your house.
• Splurge when it comes to flea products – veterinary-prescribed products are safer, more effective, and more environmentally friendly. The key to treating fleas is prevention, prevention, prevention!
Signing off flea free,
Dr. Justine Lee
References
1 Brakke Consulting, Inc., The U.S. Flea Control and Heartworm Markets Report, 2006.
2 Lilly pet owner market research, January 2006, http://www.comfortis4dogs.com/about-fleas/, accessed March 7, 2009.
3 M.W. Dryden, Integrated Flea Control: Flea Control for the 21st Century; presented at the North American Veterinary Conference, January 2001
4 http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2001/petchart.html
Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.
Where your pets are picking up fleas
No matter how meticulous you may think your house is, dogs and cats are exposed to fleas – and it’s likely from the backyard, playground, dog park, beach, or boarding kennel. Fleas have an incredible jumping ability, and while you may not suspect so, they leap onto any four- (or two-) legged victim with voracity and speed (after all, they don’t have wings, and need to be able to jump high). Once they grab a host (i.e., your dog or cat), they crawl to safety, hidden under all that fur and dander. After biting your pet for a blood source, fleas are able to produce “flea dirt” or dried blood – which their eggs, pupae, and larvae then survive off of as their future meal.
How to spot them
Fleas are the size of the tip of a pencil, and can be seen with the visible eye – provided you can see through all that hair and undercoat. Common areas where fleas hide on your pet include the lumbar region, the area near the tail, the belly, the inner thighs, and the neck. The best way to find if your pet has a problem is to purchase a flea comb, which has fine teeth to snag those fleas and flea dirt. An easier way to spot a flea problem is to look for flea dirt – those small black specks that look like ground pepper. If you see this, you have a flea problem - and it’s in all your pets, not just one - as fleas will rapidly infest the environment. These black specks are dried blood, and if you moisten these specks, you’ll notice a blood-red color on the towel.
What damage fleas cause
When a flea bites you or your pet, the bite results in a small raised, reddened, itchy hive that crusts over. However, it’s the saliva that a flea injects into the skin that can be a problem – it may result in flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) – a sensitivity reaction in some pets that can cause a severe allergic reaction that results in intense itching and chronic hair loss. In pets with FAD, it only takes one flea bite to cause a problem. Some dogs (especially those long-haired breeds) develop a moist dermatitis (the dreaded hot spot) instead - that’s because they get so irritated from the antigen in the saliva that they chew their skin raw. Regardless, flea bites are an uncomfortable feeling for all, and flea problems should always be treated. Not only will you relieve your pet of annoying itchiness, but you’ll help reduce tapeworm problems, the risk of transmission of other rare diseases, and anemia (from getting all the blood sucked out!). Because the flea acts as a host for the tapeworm egg Diphylidium caninum, your pet can ingest a flea (while grooming and chewing), allowing the tapeworm to grow in your pet’s intestine. Within a few weeks of ingestion, you’ll notice small, white, rice-like, sticky segments of tapeworm hanging out by your pet’s rectum – all thanks to that flea. Likewise, some outdoor cats (particularly those who live in the Southwestern region of the USA) are often infested with the rodent flea Oropsylla montana, which can carry the bacteria Yersinia pestis, which causes plague. While treatable, this is a serious disease, as it’s contagious to people, reportable by law to the CDC, and also used as a chemical warfare agent! Finally, I’ve seen some kittens so severely infested from fleas that they die from anemia - which could have been easily prevented with one convenient dose of flea product.
How to treat them
When it comes to fleas, you want to nip the problem in the bud before it results in a severe environmental contamination of your whole house. Thanks to veterinary prescription spot-on treatments, you can help avoid those chemical home and lawn sprays, flea collars, defoggers, powders, shampoos, and dips. While there are OTC products, they aren’t quite as effective and can be quite toxic to your other pets (especially for cats! Remember dog-specific flea products should never be used on cats). It’s definitely worth splurging on the “good stuff” and getting the safer prescription products (which come in either an oral or topical form). There are different products you can use, and they basically either act as birth control (or insect growth regulators – or IGRs) or adulticides (which kill adult fleas). IGRs [like lufenuron (found in Program) and methoprene (found in Frontline Plus)] work by preventing certain stages of the flea (the egg, pupae, and larvae) from being able to develop into a full blown adult. This is important because one adult flea produces 40-50 eggs a day, and up to 2000 in one flea’s lifetime.3 These IGRs are very safe, as they don’t affect your pet’s body at all, but again – only kill future fleas. Some flea products contain both an IGR and an adulticide, such as Frontline Plus (fipronil + methoprene). The adulticides are typically chemicals like fipronil (Frontline), imidacloprid (Advantage), imidacloprid with permethrin (Advantix), selamectin (Revolution), and oral nitenpyram (Capstar). Confused by all these chemicals? Check out some great resources by the FDA to help you decide.4 These chemicals aren’t systemically absorbed in your pet’s body and work by being absorbed in the hair follicles and skin oils instead. Unfortunately, the fleas have to bite your pet to get killed off, but it’s the easiest, safest, and most effective way of reducing the flea burden on you and your pet.
HINTS:
• Despite what you think, Brewer’s yeast and essential oils don’t effectively reduce a flea problem, according to veterinary parasitologists. In fact, some essential oils can cause severe allergic reactions in some pets - especially cats - so use them with caution!
• If you do have a flea infestation in your house, vacuum frequently to help suck up those eggs, larvae, and pupae lying on the carpet and pet beds. Make sure to throw that vacuum bag away immediately, or they’ll hatch in the bag and crawl out, re-infesting your house.
• Splurge when it comes to flea products – veterinary-prescribed products are safer, more effective, and more environmentally friendly. The key to treating fleas is prevention, prevention, prevention!
Signing off flea free,
Dr. Justine Lee
References
1 Brakke Consulting, Inc., The U.S. Flea Control and Heartworm Markets Report, 2006.
2 Lilly pet owner market research, January 2006, http://www.comfortis4dogs.com/about-fleas/, accessed March 7, 2009.
3 M.W. Dryden, Integrated Flea Control: Flea Control for the 21st Century; presented at the North American Veterinary Conference, January 2001
4 http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/2001/petchart.html
Biography:
Justine Lee, DVM, DACVECC is a veterinary emergency critical-care specialist and the author of It’s a Cat’s World…You Just Live in It and It’s a Dog’s Life… but It’s Your Carpet.
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