applied correctly every month to each pet in the household. With good flea control, fleas are unable to breed on pets, lay eggs and infest the environment.

Total Flea Control—Solutions to an irritating insect
Text Box: Which Flea Product to use? Generally the best flea control products are the ones advocated by veterinarians—they know which ones work. The ‘brand name’ topspot products like Advantage, Advantix, Frontline and Revolution are the most effective. They kill the adult fleas before they have a chance to breed, and stop infestation of the environment. Topspots are easy to apply on to the back of the neck, but usually take 24 hours to spread. The topspots give month-long protection against fleas. Frontline spray does not need to spread, but does need to be applied all over the pets, including around the head, making sure to rub the spray well into the coat and onto the skin. It should be applied liberally, wetting the animal thoroughly. Frontline spray will last for up to 6 weeks against fleas. Capstar tablets are given into the pets mouth, and kill fleas within 30 minutes of application. They offer fast relief. However Capstar tablets only last for 24 hours and need to be given daily.

Autumn has seen a large explosion of fleas locally, with ideal breeding conditions as the weather cools a little, and the humidity increases with the rain we’ve had.
To prevent outbreaks of fleas in your environment, all pets need to be on good, year round flea control.

The good quality top-spot products like Advantage and Advantix offer great flea control, provided they are

small newly hatched adult ‘hitch-hiker’ fleas on pets.

To reduce the number of fleas in the environment, wash pets bedding regularly, clean around dog beds and kennels and vacuum in the house—especially ‘low traffic areas’. Flea larvae love to hide in corners of rooms, under benches, in lounges etc.

Often pets will pick up fleas from the outside environment. Any untreated animals can harbour fleas. This includes neighbourhood cats, dogs, possums and untreated family pets. Fleas will breed on these animals, with flea eggs dropping off into the environment and replicating the cycle.

Advantix—the only flea and tick control product that repels ticks

The cat flea—Ctenocephalides felis
Text Box: Hint 3 Treat the environment to reduce numbers of adult fleas. Washing pets bedding, vacuuming the carpets and floorboards, and spraying around kennels will reduce the numbers of adult fleas—however it won’t affect the eggs or pupae. Hint 4 Wake up the fleas before bombing. Flea bombs will not kill flea pupae. They are pretty much impenetrable to everything. Vacuuming the floors first, will wake up the fleas allowing them to be killed by a bomb. Remember that remaining pupae will still hatch to adults—so expect to see fleas even after a flea bomb. Hint 5 Don’t bother with flea collars. Flea collars and powders don’t work very effectively. We used to use them in the 80’s when we didn’t have anything better. Stick to the good stuff. Hint 6 Don’t expect overnight success. Flea products aren’t repellants (if they were the fleas would look for another host—ie people). Fleas will still jump onto pets after they hatch, and die off within 24 hours. Small fleas will still be seen. Its expected. It can take up to 4-6 weeks to rid an environment of fleas (the time it takes for flea eggs to hatch to larvae, larvae to pupae, pupae to adults and then jump onto the pet). Text Box: Flea Control Hints Hint 1 The essential element of good flea control is to apply flea control products to all pets, monthly, all year round. Fleas breed all year round, even in winter. Hint 2 Don’t use a detergent shampoo. Advantix, Advantage and Frontline all spread through the oils in the pets coat. Using a detergent shampoo will prevent the product spreading properly, leading to product failure—and fleas! Use a soap free oatmeal based shampoo ie Epi-Soothe—available at Roseville Veterinary Surgery.