Flea Prevention for Cats and Dogs
We’ve all heard the saying ‘prevention is better than cure’, and that’s certainly true when it comes to fleas. Flea problems can quickly escalate, causing our pets discomfort and being a real pain for us if they infest our homes.
As pet parents, of course we want to do all we can to keep our cats and dogs feeling their best, so here’s our experts’ quick guide to preventing fleas. The good news is it’s simple to do.
Three steps to preventing fleas on dogs, on cats and in our homes
1. Regularly use a flea treatment throughout the year
Think flea treating is just a summer thing? Sadly not. Warmer weather and central heating make year-round treatment a must.
Any gaps in treatment (in other words, not using the product at the recommended frequency stated on the pack) can give fleas the upper hand. If fleas aren’t being killed quickly, they have more time to multiply, whereas regular flea treatment with a FRONTLINE® product will mean fleas are killed quickly, within 24 hours – or just 6 hours if you’re using FRONTLINE TRI-ACT® for dogs.
2. Consider a pet flea treatment that also stops flea eggs hatching
Did you know that the fleas on your pet are only 5% of the overall flea population? 95% is in the pet’s environment because flea eggs fall off our pets wherever they go.
These eggs develop into flea larvae that burrow into carpets, furnishings and cracks before becoming flea pupae, where a cocoon protects the developing flea inside. When this new flea hatches out, the life cycle starts all over again.
Unless the cycle is broken, it will keep going around and around, leading to a full-on home infestation that’s much harder to solve.
Of course, killing fleas quickly gives them less time to breed and lay eggs. But for more peace of mind and better flea prevention for our pets and homes, there are flea treatments that go further.
There are advanced treatments that not only kill adult fleas but also tackle their eggs. FRONTLINE PLUS® contains an extra ingredient that prevents flea eggs from hatching, and so breaks the flea life cycle in two places.
Or, in the case of FRONTLINE TRI-ACT® , it kills fleas within 6 hours – before they can even lay eggs. Bad news for fleas, good news for pets and pet parents!
3. Use a household spray
For added protection, on top of regularly flea treating our pets we can also use a household flea spray to kill fleas, flea eggs and flea larvae in our homes. FRONTLINE HOMEGARD® does this and keeps on working for six months to provide long-lasting protection. So, using it twice a year helps keep our homes how we like them – free from fleas.
REMEMBER: Fleas multiply fast. A female flea can lay up to 50 eggs a day.
Three reasons why it’s better to focus on prevention
1. It can take three months to get on top of a home flea infestation
That’s three months or more of taking extra steps like regularly washing pet bedding at 60°C and vigorously vacuuming everywhere pets have been, all while putting up with being bitten. It’s far better to stop fleas becoming a big problem in the first place, if we can.
2. It helps keep pets healthy
As well as being miserably itchy, flea infestations can cause pets to suffer from skin damage. A heavy infestation can even cause anaemia, especially in young pets. Regular treatment means that fleas should never build up to such levels, thankfully.
3. It avoids flea life stages building up in the home
Regularly flea-treating pets all year round keeps on breaking the flea life cycle, giving us the upper hand against these pesky parasites.
Remember, it’s normal to see the odd flea on treated animals because it takes up to 24 hours for new fleas that jump on our pets from the environment to die. Find out more about this in our guide to why fleas are still seen alive after treatment.
Preventing parasites such as fleas is one of our duties as the responsible pet parents we are. Following these steps will keep our cats and dogs happier, while also helping our homes remain the havens we want them to be. It’s nice to think that doing such simple things can have such a positive impact.
