We are hearing that a lot of pet owner are having flea infestations. Fleas are around all year long in our environment but come out in force in spring and summer.
Please note, as I work from home, and do not want other clients getting fleas too, we do not take pets for grooming with a flea infestation. We understand that you may not notice one or two, and we can pop your pet straight in the bath most of the time if we notice at arrival, but your pet spreads the eggs just by walking into our parlour, so sight of fleas means we must spray our whole environment, give your pet extra washes and tell the owners that are booked in around your pet, so therefore charge a flea fee.
For treatment of fleas for dogs we recommend a monthly flea tablet, such as Comfortis, we have seen this tablet work much better than the spot ons on the market. If you already have a spot on treatment, combine it with the use of capstar, a daily tablet, for a few days to help the spot on work, and repeat the spot on in 2 weeks. Capstar can be purchased from most pet shops, vets, and even Excelpet make a Capstar that works just as well. We do not recommend supermarket spots ons, flea powders, flea rinses, or flea collars, as they are not strong enough to work and are actually known to cause allergic reactions to you and your pet.
For flea treatment on cats we recommend as spot on such as Advocate or Frontline, use in conjunction with a Capstar tablet for a few days. Make sure you use a CAT ONLY product as permethrin is highly toxic to cats and can kill them within an hour.
We do not recommend flea rinses/shampoos on cats as they are very sensitive to these chemicals in these products and can get very sick (or worse). If you have a lot of fleas or flea dirt (flea poo) on a cat I would recommend a degreasing flea bath where you wash the cat at least 3 times with a cat shampoo such as chubbs bars that will kill the fleas (or most of them).
Most of the fleas are in the environment living in the sand, carpet or bedding, so will jump back on your pet if you do not clean the environment and use flea prevention at the same time.
Keeping up your monthly flea prevention is the best way to battle fleas. One flea jumping on your pet while you walk your dog, or a neighbourhood cat jumping in your backyard can start a cycle in your environment so prevention is the key!
Fleas carry the tapeworm so remember to also tapeworm your pet every 3 months and when fleas are present.
Please note these are my findings and have worked for me and my clients. It is up to you how you use this information. Talk to your vet before starting any treatments for your pet.