Spring is on it’s way and with it comes tiny little pests that can affect our pets in a variety of ways, from common contact allergies to the potentially more serious pests we know as ticks and fleas. These little pests can cause problems from simple skin irritations to possibly causing more serious issues if left untreated.

Here’s everything you need to know about these pests and how they can affect your fur kid. Starting with understanding fleas and ticks in general and moving towards how you can protect and treat your pet against these pests.

All About Fleas:

Fleas tend to be more common in the spring and summer months but it’s important to remember that they can still be present during the colder months. If you have been experiencing a flea problem during the winter months, it’s the best time to sort out the issue and get rid of all remaining fleas – in order to prevent a bigger problem in the warmer months as this is when they tend to flourish.

To understand the impact in a better way, let’s look at understanding the “flea-population pyramid”

The flea you see on your fur kid is the ‘adult’ flea and only represents 5% of the problem. The rest is made up of the population as they move through the various life stages which is represented at 10% pupae, 35% larvae and 50% eggs.

In other words, for every flea you see, there are actually about 20 fleas. The root of the problem when treating fleas is that if you treat the adult fleas through drops on the neck, using flea collars or flea powders, you are only treating the tip of the iceberg. It’s of utmost importance to treat the whole environment (your home, pets bed etc) to get rid of all immature life stages.

To paint a bigger, one female flea can lay 50 eggs PER DAY for the 100 days of her life. As soon as the larva turns into pupae, it can survive for up to 12 months before developing into an adult flea. In other words, it’s important to treat your pets and environment against fleas throughout the year.

All About Ticks:

When it comes to ticks, it’s important to remember that tick-borne diseases (like babesia and ehrlichia) are present throughout the year. However, leading up to the warmer months, we need to be aware of the fact that ticks are very active in the warm and humid weather which is why protection against them becomes a common practice in spring and summer.

If not treated properly, these pests can cause serious problems for our fur kids.

Ticks on Dogs:

The reason we need to protect our fur kids against ticks is because there are certain tick-related conditions that can affect and impact our pets and be quite concerning as a pet owner. Specifically for dogs, we need to be aware of; babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and hyalomma.

Biliary:

Babesiosis is an acute disease that can make your dog sick very quickly and the symptoms that occur usually include inappetence, lethargy, pale gums and fever. It is easy to diagnose babesiosis under the microscope and, with the right (and early) treatment, dogs usually recover quickly.

Ehrlichiosis:

Ehrlichiosis is caused by the parasite and is more difficult to diagnose and treat. Ehrlichiosis usually starts with a fluctuating fever, lethargy and weight loss and later on we see a variety of symptoms, including bleeding from the nose, diarrhoea, nervous signs and infections. The sooner we start with treatment, the better the chance of the animal surviving.

Hyalomma bite wounds:

Hyalomma ticks have long mouthparts and their saliva contains a toxin that causes severe pain and skin necrosis. The necrotic (rotting) tissue can also lead to a secondary bacterial infection.

Ticks on Cats:

When it comes to our feline friends, the two conditions that can occur from ticks are babesiosis/biliary and feline infectious anaemia.

Biliary in cats:

Biliary in cats is not so easy to see and the disease often becomes chronic. The cat is usually lethargic and has pale gums and some cats may have a fever or develop icterus (yellow gums).

Feline infectious anaemia:

The disease is also known as Mycoplasma haemofelis. Fleas and ticks can transmit the parasite. Cats with feline infectious anaemia are lethargic, anorexic, lose weight and their gums are white or even yellow. They can also present dehydrated with a fever or can suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea.

If at any point you are concerned about your fur baby due to tick and flea problems, it’s always best to consult your local vet for their advice.

If you have identified or would like to protect your fur kid against these little pests, there are a number of products to assist when treating these pests on your pets as well as treating the environments. Take a look at the various options below.

Treating Ticks and Fleas on your pet:

Flea Shampoos: These kill the adult fleas and last for a day.

Dips: Most dips work against ticks and mites, but not fleas.

Normal Flea collars: Seresto collars – these collars work to repel and kill ticks and fleas and last for about 8 months.

Flea Powders: These powders tend to kill only the adult fleas and work for about 2-3 days.

Easy to Apply Treatments: These work for a month or 3 months. 

Tablets: Nexgard (it kills fleas and ticks on your dog and lasts for a month) or Bravecto (it kills fleas, ticks and mites on your dog and lasts for 3 months).

Treating the environment against Ticks and Fleas:

Vacuum daily! By vacuuming your house, you remove all adult fleas, eggs, larvae and pupae. Put a flea collar in the vacuum cleaner’s bag and empty the bag regularly.

Wash all bedding, clothes and furniture covers weekly at a temperature of 60°C.

Use insecticides (which kill all life stages) in your house and garden.

You can also look at options like Ultrum Duration Tick & Flea Home Spray or Tickless Home Tick and Flea Repeller