While everyone looks forward to the arrival of spring, the season also brings to pet owners the need to protect their animals from nasty pests. A veterinary flea and tick prevention product used on a monthly basis year-round is the best method of pet preventative care. It is also important to educate yourself about flea and tick control in order to prevent future problems.
However, this task isn’t always easy. Fleas and ticks are pests in the truest sense of the word – not only for your furry friend but for you as well. Unfortunately, fleas and ticks can easily make a home for themselves in your animal’s fur, and they can lay their eggs inside of rugs, carpets, cracks in flooring, bedding and even your clothes.
In order to keep your pet flea and tick-free, we’ve compiled a list of helpful tips and tricks to help keep your pet happy and healthy year-round!
Basic Preventative Care Tips
The first step is to prevent an infestation – treat all animals in the household with a monthly application of veterinarian-recommended flea and tick products, applied year round. There are also several things you can do and routines you can adopt that will go a long way in keeping your pets and your home pest-free. Here are a handful of preventative tips that are proven to be effective in keeping fleas and ticks at bay:
- Vacuum on a regular basis, especially the areas of your home that your pet has access to.
- Vacuum the carpet, area rugs, bare floors, upholstered furniture, pillow, your pet’s bedding and your own bedding (if your pet sleeps on the bed with you).
- Dispose of the vacuum contents somewhere outside immediately.
- Comb your pet regularly with a flea comb.
- Mow areas of the lawn where your dog or cat spends time.
- Wash pet bedding weekly.
- Wash your pet with pesticide-free pet shampoo.
Preventative Repellants
In addition to doing your best to keep a clean home and in turn a clean pet, there are several products that you can apply to your environment and pet bedding, as well as directly on your dog or cat. One option is to apply sodium polyborate powder to your carpets and wood floors. This is one of the first things you can do if you notice a flea infestation – it gets rid of the tiny pests at the larval stage. Should you not notice the infestation until it’s at a more advanced stage in your house, it is crucial then to contact a pest control company such as Orkin or Termanix to treat the environment.
If your pet ends up getting fleas or ticks even after the above preventative measures have been taken, contact your vet to get the best recommended treatment path. There are numerous shampoos, sprays, spot-on products, flea collars and medications that are designed to treat fleas and ticks safely, but as stated before, a vet-recommended treatment applied monthly and year-round is the best way to go.
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