Flea and Tick Guide - The Animal Hospital

Flea and Tick Guide
September 2013
Fleas and Ticks are a constant battle in our hot, humid environment.
Everyday we get dozens of calls from our clients to see what to do to win the battle against these pests.
Here are some fun facts and our best recommendations :
Fleas: Fun Facts
-Fleas live both on pets and in your environment
-Fleas can be in homes and environments even when the animals do not go outdoors
-Overall it is much more cost effective to try to prevent flea infestation(s) by using preventatives than to battle a home
populated with this pesk
-It's at least a 3 month battle to get rid of an infestation once it's in your home environment
-Adult fleas compose only about 5% of the total population of the fleas in your environment
-A female flea consumes 15 times her own body weight in blood every day
-Fleas can jump up to 150 times their own length. To put that into perspective, if a human competed in the Olympic long
jump with that ability, that athlete would certainly win the gold medal with a gravity-defying 1,000 foot long jump
Dr Dorsch's Flea Control Recommendations
Apply a monthly flea preventative product to each pet in the family
once a month every month year round. This is the best way to
prevent fleas and stop unwanted infestations.
If you've seen live fleas, step it up a notch. Continue to apply or
catch up all the household pets on their monthly preventative
products and also...
-Consider an Insect Growth Regulator in your home to help battle
flea eggs that have been deposited in the environment. These
products are typically an aerosol spray that last for several weeks
and kill both adult fleas and flea eggs.
-Consider an oral product that will kill adults on your pet's body for
several days as your preventatives and in home sprays begin to
work.
-Wash and dry in a hot dryer any bedding or linens that may have
flea dirt contamination- pet's bedding, your bedding, curtains, throws,
cotton rugs, etc....
-Vacuum your home and toss the contaminated bag or bagless detrus
in a sealed bag in the garbage. Flea eggs can stay dormant in a
vacuum bag for several years and are wakened when the heat and
vibration of the vacuum stimulate them
Still confused about flea control or need advice on products?
Call us, each of our staff members is well versed and happy to
talk to you about flea preventatives and control and help you
decide what you need in your home.
919-967-9261
Ticks!
There are NO fun facts for Ticks!
-Ticks are numerous and found year round in North Carolina.
-This area of NC boasts 4 species of Ticks
carrying diseases such as Lyme, Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichia and
Cytauxzoonosis with more diseases being
researched and discovered every day.
-It's very important to check each pet daily
for ticks and remove them as quickly as
possible.
-A tick's external skeleton is very thick and
even the best topical preventatives can
take up to 48 hours to penetrate the
parasite and kill it.
TICK LIFE CYCLE
New Information in the area Flea
and Tick disease transmission
Listen here to a talk by a top Tick Bourne disease researcher from NCSU
CVM, Ed Breitschwerdt, that we heard recently on tick and vector borne
disease from the People's Pharmacy.
The Animal Hospital of Carrboro Newsletter
112 W. Main St.
Carrboro, NC 27510
(919) 967-9261
www.theanimalhospital.biz
[email protected]