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Flea And Ticks

About Flea and Ticks

What is the most desperate part of being a pet owner? It is not the broken vases or the scratches on your leather sofa. Because with a little caution, you can avoid these collateral damages of owning a pet. But, one of the most common and annoying things that would happen is pest infestation. What makes it difficult is that it is not easy to prevent it. But various flea and tick treatments can help a lot.

Fleas are parasites that generally use the body of animals as a host. But they won’t mind thriving on human bodies either. To make things even worse, they can multiply at an exponential rate and can become a major issue in your house. Their bites can be irritating and can cause allergies in some people from the toxin in their saliva. And when the pet breaks its skin from all the scratching, you have a whole another issue of the infections to take care of. Read this article to find out more about these medicines. Having a better understanding of them will help you choose the right flea and tick medications for your pet.

Flea and tick treatments in dogs and cats

Most of the time, what makes the flea infestation become more severe is that it will take you some time before you notice that issue in the first place. Apart from the most obvious skin irritation and swelling, they can also cause anaemia, tick fever and tick paralysis in extreme cases. Flea and ticks are too small to notice at the early stages of infestation-if you are not careful. The easiest way to find out and treat flea and tick infestation is to find it out and treat it in the beginning stages. The infestation can spread from one animal to another much faster than it can spread to you. So, you have to be extra careful if you have more than one pet.

Signs of flea infestation in animals

It is easy to miss the earliest signs of flea and tick infestation in pets. But if you are careful enough to notice the not so common behaviour in the pets, you will be able to treat the infestation before it becomes a serious problem. You should look for signs of fleas if your pet scratches the head and ears more than usual. They may also lick the underside of their bodies and resort to chewing and biting themselves to relieve the irritation. Also, you should be careful if your pet is losing hair and has frequent redness on its skin. You might even find black particulate on their fur from the dead fleas and ticks.

Preventing flea and tick infestation

It is almost impossible to eradicate these tiny blood-sucking monsters on your pets completely. But with proper care, you can prevent them from becoming a serious issue to an extent. The first step is to avoid going to places where your pets can catch ticks. Tallgrass and shrubs are the breeding grounds for fleas, so prevent your pets from hanging around in these places. But when the need arises, make sure that you have flea and tick treatment on them. There are different kinds of interventions ranging from sprays to shampoos. Another thing is to monitor the animals that interact with your pets. You can fence the yard to keep stray animals away.

Flea and tick treatment in dogs and cats

There are two types of treatments for fleas and ticks. As the first step, you can bathe the pets and use flea prevention on them. Then clean their bedding, the carpets and furniture. Look for ticks inside their fur and pull them out using tweezers. This can be a time-consuming task, though. But if you can show these ticks and fleas to the vet, they will be able to treat the problem accordingly. Also, check the blood of your animal a month after to make sure that it does not have any tick-borne disease. This is because these tiny beasts can act as a carrier for a host of diseases that are found in animals.

Preventing infestation in the house

If your pet is suffering from the infestation, there is a high chance that it can spread to humans interacting with them as well. You should take the necessary steps to prevent this from happening. Basically, this includes cleaning anything and everything that your pet is around. As a first step, vacuum the floors and furniture and safely dispose of the vacuum bag after sealing it. Apart from vacuuming the carpets, steam them to kill any remaining insects. You should take special care of the bedding of both your family and the pets. Ticks can easily hide between the stitches of the beddings and can use this as a breeding place.

Tips on how to buy Flea and Ticks Treatment Products

Fleas and ticks are difficult to deal with. But when you try to save your pets and home from these annoying creatures, you should be careful not to harm your pets. That being said, it is not impossible to find the right medicine either. But, in order to do that, you should know what factors to consider in them. Following these tips will help you when you treat your pets against insect infestation. These tips, along with our retail search engine, will help you find the right products.

  • Consult a doctor before using medications – This applies to animals as well as humans. You should not use any kind of medication on your dogs or cats that is not prescribed to them by a qualified doctor. The symptoms that you have understood as flea infestation could be something other than that.
  • Separate products for cats and dogs – Don’t use the products that you use for your dog on the cat as well. Cats are much more sensitive to chemicals. This includes shampoos, sprays and other external and internal medication.
  • Try preventive measures – Frequent cleaning of the beddings and the carpets is important to avoid the spread of fleas and ticks. Also, bathe and comb your pet regularly. And take special care during the summer months as these are the months when these insects spread fast.
  • Try natural remedies – Natural remedies are not as effective as other medicines. But they can be good enough for mild cases and as a preventive measure. They also do not have any side effects either. Adding apple cider vinegar, cloves, and brewer’s yeast are some of the few natural remedies that you can try.

However, you need to wash your hands with soap and water after handling the medication. And never apply more than one product to your pet at the same time. This might cause severe reactions in some cases. Also, monitor the animal for any adverse effects. The common signs of sensitivity are vomiting, tremors, foaming at the mouth, or lack of appetite. Find a variety of flea and tick treatment products and other animal pharmacy supplies here. Take a pick from brands like Frontline, Elanco, Seresto, PetMeds, Bayer, Merial, Dr Mercola, NexGard, Merck, Zoetis, Virbac. You can also check out other amazing products from the pet supplies category. Happy shopping!

Question & Answer

Are flea and tick collars effective?

As the first point, flea and tick collars are to prevent infestation, not to cure them. Moreover, they are more efficient at preventing ticks as compared to fleas. There are two types of collars; one that emits gases that are toxic to the insects and the other that uses the fat layers of the dog’s or cat’s skin to release insect repellants. But these collars can cause allergic reactions in some animals, especially the older types of collars. Newer collars are safer and more effective than older ones. But it can be harmful to other pets who might lick on each other’s collars.

Can flea and tick treatment cause seizures in dogs?

Some of the drugs used to treat fleas and ticks have the potential to cause seizures and muscle tremors in dogs. But the thing is, not every dog will have these reactions to the medicines. So, as a pet owner, you can take care of a few things to avoid harming your dogs. Firstly, don’t use any medication on your pets without a prescription from a veterinarian. Secondly, while your dog is on the medication, look out for the possible signs of uncoordinated muscle movements, like difficulty in walking or balancing. As these drugs are meant to affect the nervous system of insects, there is a small chance that they may affect your pets as well.

How do I prevent fleas and ticks from my pets?

Because no medication against insect infestation is without side effects, prevention is the better strategy. The most important strategy to keep the fleas and ticks away is regular cleaning. Clean the areas where your pets hang around and also keep vacuuming your house regularly. This will reduce the life cycle of insects. And be extra careful during the breeding season. Most types of insects thrive during the summer months. Also, keep your pets away from areas of tall grass and wild shrubs. One way of doing this is to mow your lawns before the grass grows too tall.

Can I pet my dog after flea and tick treatment?

This depends on the type of treatments you are using. Some flea treatments are safe to touch, while some are not. So, you should check the warnings on the medicine before you handle it. If the medicine is not safe to touch with bare hands, use gloves and dispose of them carefully afterwards. And after applying for the medicine, be careful not to allow the children to pet or play with the animals. Allow some time before you touch your pets again so that there is enough time for the medication to dry and get absorbed by the skin.