Zoombak ™

What You Should Know About Flea and Tick Prevention

Written By Timothy Sexton

See those little fleas crawling around deep beneath the fur of your dog or cat? Here's a sobering thought: each flea you see on your pet means a thousand more hiding somewhere in your house or yard. If you don't see any fleas, however, don't think you are out of the water quite yet. Give your dog or cat a nice long, healthy petting and then take that hair you've got in your hand and rub it against a newspaper, then run the newspaper under a light stream of water. If you find red smears on the newspaper, your pet has fleas.

Flea prevention in pets used to mean nothing more complicated than taking a trip down to the store and buying a plastic flea collar. While the ease of this approach was a godsend to pet owners everywhere, the ugly truth was finally revealed: the toxins used to kill the fleas were not exactly healthy for dogs and cats, either. Making matters even worse, the fleas began to build up an immunity to the poison as a result of overuse on the part of pet owners. About a decade ago the war on fleas used a strategy of triangulation that involved treating the dog or cat itself, along with the yard and the interior of the house. Recently, however, the movement in flea and tick prevention has focused on the introduction of insect growth regulators (IGR).

IGRs represent a new, safer direction in the field of battling all those little critters that make your pet scratch itself silly. The whole point of the IGR attack on fleas is to launch a battle against the parasites themselves. The very first insect growth regulator on the market was Methoprene, and later came recognizable names like Program and Nylar. Program comes in a once-a-month pill form, while Nylar is used like a traditional fogger or a spray applied directly to the animal. The greatest triumph of these products is that they have proven far more successful in killing the eggs. If you don't kill the eggs, the relief your dog or cat (or you for that matter) experiences will be a temporary thing.

Tick control differs somewhat from flea control and is definitely more important since ticks can carry diseases that can actually be fatal to your pet. Rocky Mountain spotted fever and lyme disease all derive from ticks. The good news is that a tick must be attached to your pet for a minimum of 24 hours and as much as 36 hours in order for the infection to be satisfactorily transmitted. Therefore, when looking for a tick prevention product it is always a great idea to look for one that has the ability to kill the tick or offer protection against these diseases within that constricted time frame. If you and your pet live in a region of the country that is known to be susceptible to the ticks that cause lyme disease you can increase your protection by getting your dog vaccinated.

In addition to tick prevention products, it also just makes good sense to vacuum regularly if you have carpeting. Believe it or not, but a simple vacuum run over your rug can collect as much as 90 percent of flea eggs and 50 percent of flea larvae that live within. Also remember that the warmer the environment, the longer the eggs and larvae are able to survive.

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