Fleas, Fleas & More Fleas!!!

This year we are going through a really severe flea season. Here are some interesting facts about fleas that affect our pets:

• In one day, a single flea can bite your cat or dog more than 400 times.
• An adult female flea lays 40-50 eggs per day.
• A flea can consume more than its body weight of your pet’s blood in one day.
• Fleas carry their own parasites such as tapeworms and the Bartonella that causes Cat Scratch Fever
• Flea Allergy Dermatitis is the most common allergy of dogs and cats, which results in severe itchiness, hair loss, and possibly skin infections.
• Flea eggs may take 6 months to hatch in your house.

Meteorologists are forecasting a warm autumn for CNY this year. This may mean the flea season will not end until mid- December. Most people think that the worst time of year for fleas is July and August. Unfortunately, what happens is the flea population continues to grow outside until the second good frost and winter temperatures are consistently below freezing. We are finding in recent years, that the flea problem is the worst in October and sometimes even November. This year Southern Hills Vet Hospital has seen a significant amount of indoor only pets with fleas on them. We do have a Flea Protocol Handout on our website to advise owners how to get rid of fleas on their pets and in their house. It is now recommended that topical flea prevention from your vet should be used year round. This is because the flea season cannot be predicted anymore, and most of the veterinary flea preventatives also take care of other parasites. Lastly, fleas CAN over winter in people’s homes very happily once they have come inside.

If your pet is allergic to fleas, it is necessary that a good flea preventative be used at all times. Even one or two fleas can make their skin flare terribly, which also opens them up to getting skin infections that will need to be treated. I recommend a preventative from your veterinarian that prevents both fleas and ticks for your pets. Please be cautious using over the counter flea/tick products as the EPA is currently investigating the safety and efficacy of these preventatives due to a large increase in pet deaths in recent years.

Lydia Aris VMD
Southern Hills Veterinary Hospital
TullyVet.com
315-696-6699
Questions can be emailed to DrAris@TullyVet.com