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Flea Season Is Upon Us

April 16, 2018 | General

It’s that time again…the ever-so pesky flea season is upon us. Are you prepared?

Flea Prevention Special

For the entire month of May, we offering 20% off on all the flea prevention products we carry. Stock up, and save! Protect your home and your furry friends from those pesky parasites. Your pets will thank you. Hurry, this offer ends May 31st!

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Flea Facts

  • Flea Season begins in May and lasts until winter. However, flea infestations can happen at any time of year!
  • Fleas can jump as far as 13 inches and as high as 7 inches. This means even your indoor-only pets are at risk of catching these acrobatic critters.
  • The fleas you see on your pet typically are only 5% of the infestation. The rest are lurking in your pet’s bedding, your home, and yards.
  • Fleas spend approximately 20% of their time on your pets and 80% of their time around your home.
  • Dogs and cats can have allergic reactions to flea bites. This results in hair loss and irritated skin.
  • An adult female flea can lay 50 eggs a day on average.
  • One flea is capable of biting your pet up to 400 times a day.
  • Fleas love to nest and accumulate in dark areas.
  • Fleas can transmit diseases such as the bubonic plague and “Cat Scratch Fever”. Fleas can also transmit tapeworms.

Overall, fleas can cause a wide variety of problems for you and your beloved pets, other than itchy bug bites. Left untreated, fleas can cause your pets serious health problems. So what do you do? How can you treat this issue? The answer is this: Treat your pet AND treat your home. Most topical treatments for pets cause the fleas to die AFTER they have bitten your pet, but don’t keep them off. Fleas that reside in your yards and carpets will still bite you and your pets.

Products

Where can you find products to bulk up your arsenal against the pests? You can find some right here at The Animal Keeper and Pet Suites! We carry a variety of products so you can find what would work best for your pets and home. Here are some of the items we carry (products may vary by location):

Flea Treats
Flea Treats are daily vitamin B complex supplement that contains no hormones or pesticides. In a few weeks your pet develops a natural repellent that keeps fleas away. This treat works on dogs & cats.

Vet’s Best
The Vet’s Best Line of products uses a unique blend of natural ingredients and essential oils that smell great, and keeps fleas away. Their line includes: Pet Shampoo, Pet Spray, Home Spray, and Yard Spray. The pet shampoo & pet spray is safe for dogs & cats!

Diatomaceous Earth
A naturally occurring substance that has multiple uses and is a bug killer. Diatomaceous Earth comes in many varieties. The best kind to use for Fleas is Diatomeaceous Earth that is “food grade”. This kind is safe to use in your home. “Food-grade” also means that it’s edible, although we don’t recommend eating it (it probably doesn’t taste very good).

Seresto collars
Seresto is an easy-to-use, odorless collar that kills and repels fleas and ticks for 8 continuous months. It also aids in the treatment and control of sarcoptic mange and kills lice. Seresto collars are for use on DOGS only.

K9 Advantix II for dogs
K9 Advantix II is a monthly topical application that kills and repels fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. It’s especially for broad spectrum protection against these ectoparasites that can transmit diseases. K9 Advantix II is a topical flea treatment that kills fleas through contact, so fleas do not have to bite to die. K9 Advantix is for use on DOGS only.

Advantage II for cats
Advantage II is a topical flea control for cats that kills fleas through contact, so fleas do not have to bite to die. Advantage II kills fleas rapidly within 12 hours of initial application. Re-infesting fleas are killed within 2 hours with protection against further flea infestation lasting for up to a month.

Flea Comb
Did you possibly see a flea on Fido after your walk? Use a flea comb to comb through your pets’ fur to help find any fleas or flea dirt.

Our suggestion

Powders? Sprays? Shampoos? How do you go about using all of these items? We’ve taken measures and have studied our variety of products and used them in our own homes.

We’ve come up with the following solution:

Start by a light dusting of diatomaceous earth  around your home, on your carpets, bare floors, and your pet’s bedding (or wherever your pet sleeps). You can even sprinkle some on your pet (take care to not get any in their eyes). Only use the food-grade quality as the pool filter grade is toxic. Give a little bit of time after sprinkling then vacuum everything. Be extra generous with the vacuuming. Follow up by spraying your floors with Vet’s Best Home Spray just to make sure you get any stragglers. Make sure to also treat your yards with the Vet’s Best Yard spray. Accessorize your pet with the Seresto collar. After they’ve worn it for a few days, start giving them the Flea Treat supplement. This should help clear your pets, and your home environment of those blood-sucking parasites. Please note that this is only a suggestion and results may vary. You can always tailor our suggestion to best suit your home, your needs, and your family’s needs.

Please note that if you decide to use any products that contain chemicals:

  • Be very careful to follow dosing directions on the label, and if your pet is at the low end of a dosage range, step down to the next lowest dosage. Be cautious with small dogs and do not apply a dog product to your cat
  • Don’t depend exclusively on chemical treatments. Rotate natural preventives with chemical ones
  • Monitor your pet for symptoms and adverse reactions after you apply a chemical product — especially when using one for the first time.

This advisory is per Dr. Karen Becker DVM. Check out her website for more information.

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