Fleas aren't only present in summer but all year long. They can be brought into your house by your pets, on your clothes or they can come through using the front door. Once they are in your home, they can lay eggs and when those eggs hatch you can have a infestation that is very hard to control. One thing that I have heard people say is that pets who swim in pools that have chlorine are less likely to get fleas. This is a myth.
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| Swimming doesn't prevent fleas but look how fabulous I look in the water |
Some flea facts to consider:
A flea can bite its victim over 100 times in one day.
They normally bite over 400 times on the first day!!
A female flea can lay 50 or more eggs a day, can you imagine a week of eggs in your carpet??
Did you know they have found flea fossils over a 100 million years old?? Can you imagine the size of a dinosaur flea?
Fleas spend most of their time OFF of a animal. This means they are on your floors, furniture, shoes for most of the day.
When fleas hatch out of their eggs they are white and legless. Its similar to a larvae stage.
Fleas do not like light spaces. They hide in
Did you know they have found flea fossils over a 100 million years old?? Can you imagine the size of a dinosaur flea?
Fleas spend most of their time OFF of a animal. This means they are on your floors, furniture, shoes for most of the day.
When fleas hatch out of their eggs they are white and legless. Its similar to a larvae stage.
Fleas do not like light spaces. They hide in
I have seen pets brought into our humane society spay/neuter clinic that are infested with fleas. The eggs of a flea are hard and black. What you might think is a black scab on an animal could very well be a nest of eggs. Many times those animals who have a infestation will anemic.
Some of the disease that fleas can cause are discussed below.
Anemia-A condition from when the red blood cells can not produce fast enough to keep the body healthy. Fleas feed on blood. This condition can be risky to those pets who are older, smaller pets or those whose immune system is weak.
Tapeworms- Tapeworm infections are caused when your pet swallows a flea that has tapeworm eggs in it. The tapeworm can grow to several feet inside a pets small intestines and absorbs nutrition that the body should be absorbing. This can cause a nutrition deficiency , weight loss and weakness.
Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD)- This is one I know well because Scooby Doo suffers from it. Its called "drive the pawents crazy" syndrome. Some pets are highly allergic to flea saliva. One flea bite can cause a pet to itch and scratch constantly.
With all the diseases and discomforts that fleas can cause , what should you do to prevent them. You can use topical solutions that are applied monthly or you can use the Seresto collar for up to 8 months of protection.
We have been using Seresto collars for a few months now and have stayed flea free. Jenny Sue had her collar a few months before Scooby and I had ours. Her collar needs to be replaced. She has gotten about 7 months of protection out of it.
Frequently asked questions:
Will I continue to use the Seresto collars?? Yes!
Did you have any reactions to it? Jenny Sue and Scooby Doo both had minor irritation with the collars. They both developed small red irritations on their neck but this went away after ma took the collar off for a day. The next day she put it back on but loosened it by one notch and they didn't have any more trouble.
Would you change anything about the collar?? I would love if it protected me from mosquitoes also and if it came in purple. Maybe they will do this in the future
How long did it protect you from fleas and ticks?? Jenny Sue's collar protected her for almost 7 months. We are still protected since I got my collar and Scooby got his the same week in May.
So how do you control fleas and ticks?
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| No fleas here. He just wanted to be in the blog post. :) |
This post is sponsored by Bayer / Seresto and the Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Seresto product, but I, Carma Poodale only shares information I feel is relevant to my readers. Bayer / Seresto is not responsible for the content of this article.
