9 Tips to Keep Your Pet Flea Free

Dogs’ and cats’ warm bodies and furry coats are a perfect breeding ground for fleas. They get to have their fill and stay unnoticed for a long time. But it’s not a comfortable situation for your pet. Fleas are not only annoying; but can also cause serious health problems if they go untreated.

Therefore, it’s your responsibility as a pet owner to keep your pet flea free. You can do this by ensuring your environment is free of fleas and taking different measures to ensure your pet is not at risk of infestation.

This is crucial because a lack of prevention puts your pets at risk of diseases such as tapeworms, flea allergy dermatitis, and anemia, to mention a few. Fortunately, with the right prevention strategies, you and your pet never have to worry about fleas.

Our Top Nine Tips to Keep Your Pet Flea Free

Your best bet for safe and effective prevention solutions is to consult a veterinarian. A vet who is up to date with the latest tick and flea prevention methods can offer you effective treatment solutions.

However, apart from investing in treatments, it is also crucial to ensure your home isn’t inviting for these pests. Follow the tips below to keep these pesky pests at bay.

1.    Practice Flea Prevention All Year Round

If you’re not a new pet owner, you’re probably aware that fleas are more common in hot climates. These pests thrive in temperatures between 65 and 80 degrees. However, this doesn’t mean you should only treat fleas in the summer.

As you get winter dog shoes, you may also want to grab a few flea treatment products. Certain breeds of fleas can survive in cold climates, including winter. Therefore, vets recommend treating fleas throughout the year.

Apart from using flea prevention treatments, it’s also advisable to check your pet for fleas often. Consider running a flea comb all over their fur before they get into the house to reduce fleas on them. It’s also best to trim your pet’s hair often if it gets too long. 

2.    Keep Your Yard Clean and Groomed

Fleas love to hide in tall grasses and shrubs. This way, it’s easy for them to hop onto your pet’s fur when they’re out playing in the grass. One way to ensure this isn’t a problem is to keep your yard mowed and clean.

Don’t forget to rake all the leaves and clippings from the yard as well. These droppings also provide warm, organic, and shady environments that fleas love. If there’s no hiding place for the pests, infestation won’t be a problem and your pet will stay flea free.

3.    Clean Your Home Often

Fleas thrive in the dark, warm environments, and your carpets and rugs offer excellent breeding grounds, especially in the three stages of immature fleas (eggs, larvae, and pupae). If you don’t clean your rugs and carpets often, these insects will have plenty of time to grow into maturity and infest your pets.

You don’t want it to get to that point. Therefore, the best solution is to ensure your home is always spotless. Vacuum your carpets and rugs at least once a week and pay attention to other hidden areas that may serve as flea breeding grounds.

4.    Treat Your Pets and Environment at the Same Time

The American Kennel Club also recommends treating your pets and surroundings at the same time. If you treat your pet and forget to treat your yard and get rid of all the shrubs, there’s an excellent likelihood that your pet will be infested again when they play in the area.

Therefore, it is best to treat everything all at once. Thoroughly clean the sofas, carpets, rugs, yard, beddings, and any other area that may be infested and finish off by treating your pets as well.

5.    Treat Your Pets at the Same Time

It’s also essential to treat your pets at the same time to prevent cross infestation. Also, it’s best to keep your pet away from other animals during the flea season. And if it’s inevitable, ensure you follow proper flea prevention practices to keep your pet flea free.

6.    Use the Right Products

If you have cats and dogs in your home, it may be tempting to use the same product on all your pets. Don’t do this unless the product label indicates that it is suitable for both feline and canines. And if you’re not sure, it’s best to consult a professional vet on which products to use.

7.    Inspect Your Pets Regularly

If you’re using flea prevention medication, it’s easy to assume it’s working and not examine your pets. However, it’s crucial to inspect your pet regularly to ensure these sneaky pests didn’t get onto your dog or cat’s fur.

Inspect the pet’s feet, tail, armpits, around the eyes, collar, and throughout the fur to ensure there are no fleas. This practice helps you change the treatment if it’s not working and allows you to catch the pests in time before they cause serious health problems.

8.    Get Regular Checkups

Prioritize having your pets examined by a professional vet. The vet will examine your pet for signs of any parasite infestation and determine whether the treatment you’re using is the best for the animal.

9.    Learn How to Get Rid of Fleas

Sometimes, even with the best flea prevention methods, your pet may end up infested if some areas were not adequately treated. Therefore, it’s crucial to know how to get rid of these pests so that you can take prompt action. By doing this, you’ll prevent the problem from becoming a serious health condition. You’re already one step closer by reading this blog.

Now Go

As you can see, it’s not enough to only keep your pet on flea prevention medication. Follow the tips mentioned above to keep the environment free of these pests to reduce the likelihood of infestation. Don’t wait until these pesky pests are a problem, nip the problem in the bud, and keep your pet stress-free.