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Facts about Fleas

WILL YOU ALWAYS KNOW IF YOUR PET HAS FLEAS?

NO! In a recent survey, nearly half of all pet owners whose pets had fleas were totally unaware of the problem1.

Fleas are, in fact, a very common problem. If you have cats or dogs, the chances are they’ll experience a flea infestation at some time in their life. In summer 2005, more than one in fifteen dogs and one in five cats showed signs of a flea infestation or flea-related problems.

Protect your pets from fleas using regular effective flea treatments. Please talk to your vet or nurse to find out what products we recommend for your pet.

IT’S JUST AN IRRITATING BITE, ISN’T IT?

At the very least, fleas cause irritation and skin problems in pets – you’ll see this if your pet is itching, scratching or biting their coat. Newly hatched fleas will often jump onto pet owners causing discomfort for us too, but the problem doesn’t end there. Fleas can carry diseases that affect people as well as pets.

  • Some pets develop Flea Allergy Dermatitis, an allergy to flea syliva which can cause a nasty skin reaction requiring urgent vet treatment.
  • Fleas can carry tapeworm called Diphylidium caninum, which can infect cats, dogs and even humans. It is, therefore, always important to regularly treat your pet for tapeworms, especially if you’ve seen any fleas.
  • Fleas are involved in the transmission of Bartonella henselae2, a bacteria known to cause mild flu-like symptoms in people.
  • Fleas can also carry Rickettsia species2, a bacteria that causes fever and a skin rash in humans.

IS YOUR HOME THE PROBLEM?

If you see fleas on your pet then your home is almost certainly harbouring most of the flea problem? Adult fleas on your pet account for just 5% of the whole infestation. The other 95% consists of flea eggs, larvae and pupae that can be spread throughout your home by your pets and develop into new adult fleas in only a few weeks. A warm, centraly heated, house provides the perfect breeding environment, so fleas can be a problem all year round.

THE FLEA LIFECYCLE

  1. An adult, female jumps onto your pet when it is outside
  2. The flea feeds on you pet then, once in your home, can lay many eggs
  3. These eggs are laid in your pet’s coat but soon drop off on pet bedding, carpets or soft furnishings.
  4. In the course of her life an adult female can lay as many as four to five hundred eggs, usually in batches of up to 20 Flea eggs are sensitive to temperature and humidity so can take between 2 – 16 days to hatch.
  5. The larvae which emerge from the egg are very active, will hide from light and feed on adult flea droppings and household dust.
  6. This stage of the flea’s life lasts between 7-10 days
  7. When the larvae is fully developed it spins a cocoon to form a pupa in which the adult flea develops
  8. This stage lasts between 10-17 days but if temperatures are low this can take several months
  9. When the adult flea emerges from the cocoon it immediately seeks a blood meal and so the cycle continues

TAKE THE FLEA TEST.

If you wait until your pet starts scratching you could be facing an infestation in your home that’s hard to resolve. The problem ca be avoided by regularly treating your pet and regularly checking your pet for fleas.

You might see fleas in your pet’s coat by gently parting the fur, particularly around the base of the tail. However, fleas are often difficult to find as they hate light, so the best way to check is to look for ‘flea dirt’ – small black specks in the pet’s coat, which consist of dried blood excreted by the fleas.

  • Comb through your pet’s coat and collect any debris onto a wet piece of white paper or cotton wool.
  • If the specks that fall onto the wet surface dissolve to give red/brown swirls or patches, then your pet has fleas.
  • If you see no flea dirt and your pet is scratching or losing hair, consult your vet for help.

TAKE CONTROL.

If your pet has fleas, it’s important to tackle the whole flea problem, not just the adult fleas. The best approach is to use the ‘Integrated Flea Control’ method recommended by experts3. You
can achieve this by following three simple steps to effective control:

  • Protect your pet – A safe and effective topical animal flea product.
  • Protect your home – Environmental control is very important. Either use a topical product that includes this feature or use an environmental spray active against eggs, larvae and pupae
  • Ensure quicker clearance of any infestation – wash pet bedding on a hot cycle and vacuum regularly, and make sure the house is warm to encourage pupae to hatch.
  • If your dog swims or is shampooed ensure you have waterproof flea control. You may need to apply your control at a more regular interval to ensure adequate protection.

It is very important that any flea control strategy targets the different life stages – Adult, Egg and Larvae.  The topical product we recommend contains Selamectin which kills adult fleas, sterilises them so no more eggs hatch and the product falls off the animal and is eaten by larvae so they never become adults.  In severe infestations a house spray will be needed to stop any eggs and larvae from hatching.  Please talk to your vet or nurse for more information on effective flea control.

1 Merial Flea Survey 2005 in conjunction with Royal Veterinary College, London, unpublished data.

2 “Pathogen carriage by the cat flea in the UK” Shaw et al, Vet. Microbiol. 2004 103(3-4):183-8

3 Integrated Flea Control: Flea Control for the 21st Century, Dryden Michael and Broce Alberto B. North Am, Vet. Conference (2001).

Fleas — Last updated on August 13, 2011

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