Flea Prevention

Fleas live on your pet's blood. A flea bites your pet for its blood meal and then lays its eggs in your dog's or cat's skin. The eggs fall off everywhere your pet goes - your carpet, your furniture, your car, your bed. The eggs hatch and soon your entire environment is infested with new fleas who bite your pet. In addition, many pets develop an allergic reaction to the flea bites (flea bite dermatitis) and can become very uncomfortable.

To stop the infestation cycle, we recommend giving a monthly flea preventative year round. Products such as Sentinel® for dogs or Capstar® are easy to give pills. Program® also comes in an injectable form for cats and offers protection for up to six months. Revolution® is a topical product for flea prevention. In our changeable weather environment, it is hard to determine when we are past "flea season". Even after the adult fleas have died off, their eggs can survive an additional 30 to 60 days or go dormant, leaving you exposed to an infestation at any time. The flea preventative differs from a flea treatment in that, rather than killing the adult fleas, it prevents the flea eggs from fully developing, thus ending the infestation cycle.

If you do find yourself with an infestation, we recommend the following to effectively deal with the adult fleas as well as their eggs:

• Treat all pets in the household with a product to kill the adult fleas (We offer flea baths for both cats and dogs).
• Immediately begin treatment of all pets with a flea preventative. Contact us to recommend and provide the appropriate flea preventative for your pet. 
• Spray your entire house, furniture, mattresses, etc. with a flea killing insecticide - be sure to include your cars if the pet has been in them. Wash all bedding in hot water. You may need to spray again in two weeks to deal with dormant eggs. Siphotrol, a safe and effective insecticide, is available at Cascade Hospital for Animals. 
• Vacuum all floors, furniture, bedding, etc. Discard the vacuum bag to avoid redepositing eggs.

You may, from time to time, see an adult flea on your pet, but, if you are giving the preventative monthly as prescribed, those adults will not be able to reproduce.