Pet Passengers – Are Fleas and Ticks an Issue?

At last!

The warmer weather is on the way, but beware – any flea eggs lurking in carpets and bedding or outside in parks and gardens, will start to hatch and develop into adult fleas! Worse still, adult fleas are very able hoppers and will quickly make their home in your pet’s coat, where they will repeatedly feed on their blood.

Fleas

Fleas can cause a multitude of problems including skin itchiness, rashes, infections, hair loss and in extreme cases, anaemia. And if this isn’t bad enough, they can bite us as well. Most troubling of all, a single adult flea can lay around 50 eggs per day! These fall off your pet and are deposited in carpets, bedding and also in outside areas. Whilst the eggs can sometimes remain dormant for many months, in warm weather they will rapidly hatch out and develop (via larval stages) into adult fleas.
As a result, it is easy to see how a small number of flea eggs can lead to a flea problem of epidemic proportions in just a few weeks!

Ticks

Ticks are another problem to contend with at this time of year.
In contrast to fleas, ticks live in areas of long grass, woodland and heathland, waiting to attach themselves to passing pets. Once attached, ticks feed on your pet’s blood, sometimes for several days.
Ticks can cause problems in two ways: firstly they can sometimes cause quite marked tissue reactions at the attachment site and secondly, while feeding, they can transmit dangerous inflections such as Lyme disease and Babesiosis. Don’t let pesky parasites make your life a misery!

Make sure you are up to date with flea and tick treatments – please let us advise you on the best form of flea an tick control on your pet.