Getting off on the right paw
What do you do if the bundle of fluff you have brought into your home comes with fleas?
If you are new to pet owning or haven’t owned a pet for some time there is often a lot to learn. Advances in pet care mean that it can be hard to keep up with latest thinking. Perhaps you want to know what flea control programme you need to put in place to keep your new puppy, kitten or adult pet healthy? Or maybe you’ve seen a flea and want to take action? We’ve got some helpful tips here.
Seen a flea on a newly acquired pet?
The first step is to find out if your pet has already been treated by the breeder, rehoming charity or previous owner. There are no flea products that actually stop fleas from jumping onto your pet so you could be seeing a new flea that has just jumped on and is in the process of dying. If your pet has already had a flea treatment then you should not usually treat again straight away. The minimum time interval between using FRONTLINE® Spot On or FRONTLINE® Plus and any other product is 4 weeks. If you are unsure about what to do then do talk to the outlet you purchased from or give our Flea and Tick Advice Centre a call.
If a flea treatment hasn’t been given then you should treat your pet, as a flea can lay as many as 50 eggs in a day and your house can quickly become a home for more fleas. Make sure you follow all the on-pack instructions - for instance puppies and kittens under 8 weeks cannot be treated with FRONTLINE Plus or FRONTLINE Spot On, and pets must also be over the minimum body weight for treatment (2 kg for puppies and 1 kg for kittens). If you use FRONTLINE Plus on your pet then it’s good to know that it contains active IGR technology that stops flea eggs from hatching and larvae developing in your home, as well as treating the adult fleas on your pet.
You might also want to consider whether there is a flea infestation in your home that has been dormant - with the flea pupae staying safe in their cocoons. The presence of your new pet might be enough to encourage them to hatch out into adult fleas and feed. If that’s the case then you might also want to consider using a household spray like FRONTLINE® HomeGard which kills adult fleas and larvae in your home and prevents eggs and larvae developing there for approximately 12 months.
Want to put in place a flea control programme for your new pet?
It’s better for your pet to have a regular preventative programme in place so that fleas cannot build up on your pet and in your home. You should also think about tick control as ticks are becoming an increasing problem and can carry diseases like Lyme disease and canine babesiosis. Both FRONTLINE Spot On and FRONTLINE Plus treat fleas and ticks on your pet, with FRONTLINE Plus providing additional flea protection for your home. It is best to treat against fleas and ticks all year round, with FRONTLINE Spot On monthly or FRONTLINE Plus every 4 weeks.
