Rain, Fleas and Ticks

So after the Flooding and Rains we get the Critters:  Fleas and Ticks

When you have a problem with fleas you have a lot of choices.  Some things you need to consider is the scope, the degree of infestation and your time frame.  Other things to consider are your dog’s age and weight if that is a factor, your yard, your pocket book, where your dog(s) live –in or out?  One of the more difficult decisions for some of you will be whether you want to go all natural or use chemicals or a little of both.  For most of us the issue is kill the flea – NOW!  (None of this applies to the pregnant dog, lactating or very small puppy)

If you have a reason to remove fleas immediately there is a product called CapStar that says “The fast-acting formula begins to work within 30 minutes and will kill nearly all adult fleas within 4 hours of administering to your pet. The effects of the tablet lasts up to 24 hours.- http://www.petco.com/product/105391/Capstar-Flea-Tablets-for-Pets.aspx  The major problem with a quick kill is the progeny.  Capstar addresses adult fleas but stresses you need to follow up with long term treatment.  You can give another Capstar once a day.  I would be concerned about the non adult stage fleas but this may be what you need.  This product says it can be put on a 4 week old puppy if it is heavier than 2 pounds.

Shampoos

There are a lot of shampoos for flea treatments out there.  If you have a puppy, always check the age and consider the weight of your puppy, especially if it is a small dog like a Toy breed.  When in doubt call the manufacturer. Many folks will bathe their dog and then treat them with a month long treatment.  This is a little bit of a double whammy in my opinion. There shampoos that offer to kill and repel fleas, too.    

Repellants

Lemons are a natural repellant as in Joy dishwashing soap with lemon.  Wiping your dog down with a halved lemon is suppose to work as is other measures to create a spritz of lemon juice.  There are many natural choices but whichever  treatment you choose last days not weeks.

Dog’s Age

Be more careful with older and younger dogs with all this, read labels carefully.  Pregnant and nursing dogs are often out of the loop with anything but mild, natural material.  Always check with your vet first.

Degree of Infestation

This year is suppose to be spectacularly bad for having fleas and ticks.  I would tell you that as soon as possible and when product will stay on the ground for a week without being washed away, treat your yard.    It is important to initially treat the yard about 10 days after the first treatment.  There is a lot about longer active products but my experience has been treat often in the spring (now) and the population will be much more manageable.  Sometimes we have late blooming fleas in August and again, a back to back treatment is necessary.  I have almost an acre in the city.  More than one year I have had to spray up to 4 feet along my fence and house with malathion and use something like Sevin in the yard. Fog in the house if you can or spray and vacuum areas of concern. Being vigilant, following directions and repetitive usage initially to destroy the adults, eggs and hatchlings will when the day but it is a multi-front attack: outdoors, the dogs, indoors if they are indoor pets.  Check your pets often.

Chemical or Natural

This is an individual issue because we all want the job done but how we feel about chemical vs. natural solutions may be a dividing factor here.  I’m OK with chemicals.  I am less OK with Natural methods which is why I called my friend, Patty Jicha (Eeeka).  Patty lives in Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee.  She is a Havanese breeder, extraordinaire!  We have bought a dog from her and she has bought one of our dogs.  We went to visit with her and she has visited here with us.  Patty has many great qualities but a couple of them include her doing things very well, no partly well done things for her.  One of her other really good qualities is her kindness and willingness to talk to anyone and answer questions about Havanese, natural solutions to things and so forth.  Patty does things par excellence so I trust what she tells me about treating her dogs and things like flea treatments with a more natural solution.  She also offers her own line of product as well as information about other products such as Wondercide, which works well for her.  I would encourage anyone to contact her (262)565-7588 or contact via email:  www.youngliving.org/patriciajicha.  If you want to see her dogs look them up @ So Cute Havanese  www.socutehavanese.com

When the weather warms up I treat my yard and then again 10 days later and watch for any growing problem to indicate I need to treat again.  I normally use Frontline Plus on my dogs but at the moment I thought I would try Comfortis.  It is a new tablet for killing fleas and preventing infestations.  It does not say anything about ticks so we’ll have to see and there are some side effects.   There is a product that has been out there forever called Adams Flea and Tick Spray available at Walmart.  I like this product and use it now and then for spot outbreaks on the dogs until I can begin with the yard, again.  There have been some troubles with these multi-kill products like heartworm preventative with flea killer, etc.  I’m not so comfortable yet with these products.  They are expensive and I just wonder about addressing more than one issue with a poisonous solution.  Are there multiple poisons or have they come up with one for all?  Is it more concentrated to kill a variety of parasites?  Does it really last 30 days?  Let me know your opinion and what works for you!  I have never had much luck with flea collars.

Fleas and Ticks

I wanted to provide you with a little extra oomph or inspiration to get on this issue.  I found Cesar Millan has a wonderful chart comparing fleas and ticks.  Just what I was looking for!  I wanted to share with you a few things I found interesting:  Fleas have many fewer hosts than ticks who can live on birds, snakes, rodents, deer and opossums to name only a few.  An adult flea can live for more than 3 months but a tick can live up to 3 years!  Fleas can lay up to 280 eggs a week for several weeks where a tick can lay possibly 1000s of eggs at one time.  Then the tick dies.  (No wonder!) Fleas can transmit tapeworms where ticks can transmit bacterial infections that can be quite serious and potentially deadly along with the possibility of Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.  The CDC has a list of 14 tickborn diseases (http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/diseases/). For more information go to http://www.cesarsway.com/flea-and-tick-awareness/The-Differences-Between-Fleas-and-Ticks The only flea I have found on one of my dogs did not act like a flea.  It did not run away from my finger.  It snugged down to the skin and it took me several minutes to pry this hardy thing off my dog more like a tick.  I am concerned if this is a hardier flea and how bad the season will be.  Act now.  Best Wishes.