Bingle Veterinary Clinic

Understanding Fleas

Fleas Bite!

Flea control products dispensed by our clinic:

kill fleas fast and help end an indoor infestation.
may not eliminate fleas instantly.
are working as they should, even when fleas continue to be seen.
kill newly arrived fleas on pets from an infested environment.

Note - Once a flea infestation develops, it can take 2-3 months to run its course once treatment has commenced. Every dog and cat in a household must be treated in order to eliminate an infestation.

Flea Control as Preventive Medicine

It is much easier, and more cost effective, to kill fleas on the pet before they can establish an infestation, than to deal with an existing infestation. Some outdoor flea infestations cannot be eliminated, but keeping all household dogs and cats on a flea-control product can help prevent them from becoming indoor infestations that can be time-consuming and expensive to resolve.

Flea Control for the Infested Pet

If your dog or cat already has fleas, you need a flea-control program, not just a flea-control product. It is important that we understand certain aspects of the problem and its solution, as typified by these sample dialogs:

Where do fleas come from?

"Remember, the fleas you see on your dog or cat emerged out of cocoons or pupae, which came from larvae, which came from eggs generally laid 6 to 8 weeks earlier. The flea that is on your dog or cat has never been on another dog or cat. These fleas may be coming from outdoors or indoors, and they jump on the first host that goes by."

How does that recommended product work?

"FRONTLINE Plus kills fleas and sterilizes their eggs, providing an integrated approach to a flea-control program. FRONTLINE Plus begins working on fleas once they come into contact, although the fleas are not killed instantly. Fleas usually die before they can lay eggs, but even if they do lay a few eggs, these eggs will be sterile, so new fleas cannot develop."

How long will it take to eliminate fleas?

"If it took 6 to 8 weeks for a flea factory to produce the fleas you see today, it will take at least that long for the supply of eggs, larvae, and pupae to become exhausted."

What should the pet owner expect to see?

"Fleas! That's right: You should expect to see fleas because, by the time you notice them, your pet has come in contact with a 'flea factory' - most likely in the home or yard - where many more fleas will continue to be produced. These new fleas will be killed in the treated pet and, without a fresh supply of eggs, an indoor infestation will eventually disappear. If the flea factory is outdoors, and you cannot identify and eliminate its source, then whenever the pet goes back to the hotspot, new fleas will jump on."

What is the biggest "Must Do" of flea control?

Every dog and cat in the household must be treated with its own dose of FRONTLINE Plus every month. If you do not treat every potential flea host, every dog or cat within that home or yard, you cannot win this war."

What else can be done INDOORS?

"Modern flea control makes use of the pet itself as a kind of living 'vacuum cleaner' that, by attracting and killing fleas, helps to extinguish an infestation. In addition, environmental control measures can help with the problem, but are not effective solutions alone."

Repeated vacuuming of carpets, furniture, and floors to mechanically remove flea eggs and larvae from the environment
Steam cleaning to reduce flea larvae in carpeting
Mopping floors, with particular attention paid to cracks and crevices where organic debris and flea eggs accumulate
Laundering of animal bedding and human bedding frequented by pets in a washing machine in hot water for 10 minutes to physically remove all flea life stages; or washing and drying bedding at the maximum heat setting to ensure flea death

What else can be done OUTDOORS?

"Flea larvae can dry up and die when exposed to direct sunlight and heat, while shady areas - the very places where stray and feral animals seek shelter - are more hospitable to flea development."

Are you wondering - is this flea control product really working!

If you are concerned whether FRONTLINE Plus is working for you, we have a few questions for you:

Are all the dogs and cats in your home or yard being treated? How often?
How are products being applies? Any difficulty with any of the pets? (cats)
On which pets are fleas being seen? How many fleas on each pet?
When are fleas typically being noticed? After the pet has gone outside? When the pet has been in a specific room of the house? After the dog has been to the dog park, in the backyard or side yard?
Do other animals have access to the yard? - Neighbor cats or dogs, opossums, raccoons.

Let me explain how the flea product works.

The fleas visible on the pet are in the process of being killed, but it's not immediate.
An indoor infestation can be eliminated with monthly treatment of all the dogs and cats in the affected household.
- Fleas on the treated pet will be killed and, without a fresh supply of eggs, an indoor infestation will eventually disappear.
- Two to three monthly treatments are often required to solve the problem.
- Not all fleas from an infestation can be expected to be gone after just one treatment.
If a source of fleas is outdoors, fleas will continue to be seen on the pets.
Infestations originating outdoors may be impossible to eliminate.
- Steps that can be taken include preventing pets' access to areas under the house, porch, deck, etc.