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  • How to Keep Dogs Flea-Free

    How to Keep Dogs Flea-Free

    It’s nearly time for Spring, which means that all types of insects are waking from their months-long slumber. Most evil and devious among them is the flea, which dog owners of all kinds know and despise. Today, we’re going over some of the best ways to keep your pup flea-free and happy.

    Keeping Dogs Flea-Free

    Flea Collar

    Your first consideration in keeping the itchy little bugs off of your dog should be a flea collar. Flea collars come in various types, but the preferred ones come from respected brands like Soresto. These collars make your dog seem very unappealing to fleas, as they put off a smell that confuses and poisons the bugs.

    Remember, flea collars only do their job if your dog has one before the fleas try to jump on them. If your dog already has fleas, you’ll need to treat them as well as getting a flea collar.

    Pills

    There are pills your dog can take that help with fleas as well. These are given to your dog with their food and make them unappealing to fleas, much like a flea collar. Talk to your vet about which option you’d prefer. Some dogs can’t stand collars, while others won’t wake pills. It just depends on your dog’s preferences.

    Carpets

    If your home has carpets, these could be breeding grounds for fleas you’ve carried in on your shoes. Make sure you thoroughly clean and shampoo your carpets to kill any fleas hiding in there! Focus on rooms that don’t get a lot of foot traffic. Fleas love quiet, still rooms. Don’t let their eggs hatch in your house and terrorize your pet!

    Consider getting hardwood floors installed if you’ve got pets and want to cut down on fleas. Fleas can technically live beneath the board of hardwood, though it’s much more difficult for them to thrive in such a scenario.

    Treating for Fleas

    If your dog already has fleas, you can give them a flea bath. Flea baths come with medicine that not only kills fleas but also makes your dog smell terrible to fleas. Such a bath is usually available at any groomer’s shop, and will run you between $20 and $50 on average.

    For fleas in the home, consider using carpet shampoo or spreading diatomaceous earth, or D. earth. D. earth is a compound that is deadly to fleas, cutting up their exoskeletons and causing them to lose all moisture from their bodies. Food-grade D. earth is available on Amazon for a relatively inexpensive price, and works wonders at killing fleas.

  • Best Flea Prevention Methods for Dogs

    Best Flea Prevention Methods for Dogs

    If you see your dog constantly stopping and scratching, gnawing and itching, then they might have fleas. When the weather turns warm, it’s time for fleas to crawl back out and cause problems. When you’re trying to combat fleas, the awful little bugs can seem indestructible. Don’t worry, though. There are many effective ways to combat fleas on your pup.

    Beast Flea Prevention for Dogs

    Flea Collars

    One of the best things you can do is stop fleas before they get started. Give your dog a flea collar before they have fleas, not after. The collar will prevent fleas from jumping on your dog well before the infestation gets started.

    That said, you’ll want to give your dog a flea collar even when they already have fleas. This allows them to prevent new fleas from rolling up while you deal with the existing problem.

    Flea Bath

    When you dog has fleas, the best thing you can do for them is just give them a flea bath. Fleas aren’t indestructible, though they might seem that way. Their biggest weakness, it turns out, is drowning. Your dog simply taking a dip in the water can cause the fleas on them to all drown and die the horrible deaths they deserve.

    That said, there are also flea shampoos that are medicated to make your dog’s coat hostile territory for the evil bugs. Follow a good flea bath with a flea collar for double the protection.

    Shampoo the Carpet

    Once fleas have been on your dog, they’re in your carpet. You’ll have to wash your carpet to get them out. There are specially-made shampoos made specifically for killing dormant flea eggs and hiding adult fleas. Get this carpet shampoo and rent a carpet-cleaning machine and go to town.

    Make sure you hit rooms you don’t often walk in, as fleas love quiet, dark places to lay their eggs. Show those bugs no mercy: you deserve a flea-free home.

    Diatomaceous Earth

    Commonly abbreviated to D. earth, this mineral compound does a funny trick with fleas. When fleas walk over it, this material slices their exoskeleton to ribbons, causing the fleas to lose all of their internal moisture. Even if they find water, their compromised exoskeleton causes them to lose the moisture again.

    If this sounds brutally efficient, that’s the idea. Sprinkle food-grade D. earth all over your home, focusing on entryways, and watch your flea problems disappear. Remember, it’s better to be safe than sorry with fleas, and there’s no such thing as overkill.

  • Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Few situations are more annoying to pets and their owners than a infestation of fleas. Fleas are mean, evil, awful little bugs. They get into your carpets, lay eggs and stick around for interminable lengths of time.

    Quickly becoming a problem, fleas can infest homes in very short amounts of time, posing health risks and frustrating living conditions for both people and their pets.  All the while, they pester your animals, making them itchy and uncomfortable. What’s worse, some pets even have allergic reaction to the pests!

    While there are many products that can be used to combat flea infestations, it’s vital to choose the right products that are appropriate for severity of your pet’s flea problem — otherwise you’ll end up wasting time and money as the flea problem gets worse. Today, we’re looking at the best ways to fight fleas.

    Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Flea Collars

    Flea collars are a great first line of defense to keep your animals safe from the tiny pests. Using a combination of pesticides that are harmless to animals and scents that disgust fleas, these collars have a high success rating. While your animal might not like having to wear an odd-smelling collar, it will help them avoid the worst of the flea infestation! This is just one part of the fight, however.

    Flea Sprays

    Spraying your carpets and furniture for fleas is another effective strategy. A number of high-quality flea sprays are sold in pet stores and online. Such sprays not only kill fleas but also help to kill their eggs. The trouble with fleas is that you will often think you’ve rooted them out, only for another round of eggs to hatch. The eggs can go dormant for months at a time before being activated by vibrations in the carpet.

    As such, spraying in often-unused rooms is advised. That way, any hidden, dormant eggs can be killed by the spray. This prevents the eggs from reactivating when you or a pet enters a low-traffic room!

    Diatomaceous Earth

    Also known as D. Earth, this naturally occurring mineral deposit works wonders as a pesticide. If you’re having trouble with a particularly nasty flea infestation, consider this mineral. Make sure you purchase food grade diatomaceous earth, as it’s pet safe. Sprinkle it around your carpets and near the thresholds of your doors and windows. Earth works by compromising the lipids in fleas’ exoskeletons. The chemical interaction causes the fleas to become dehydrated, as their bodies can’t lock in water anymore. As such, they die of dehydration shortly after contacting the mineral. Don’t worry, though, the mineral doesn’t affect anything bigger than a small bug. The worst it can do to a pet is dehydrate them slightly, so just avoid getting it on your animals if you can!

    Flea Pills

    Flea pills for pets generally have the highest success rates for preventing and treating fleas. Pills come in chewable tablets or capsules that must be swallowed, usually with food. These oral medications for fighting fleas require a vet prescription, and usually fight flea adults or eggs, but rarely both at the same time. Flea pills, like other medications, come with side effects; it is essential for pet owners to ask what these side effects may include. The two most popular feel pills include Capstar and Comfortis, and both start working within hours of being administered.


  • Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Few situations are more annoying to pets and their owners than a infestation of fleas. Fleas are mean, evil, awful little bugs. They get into your carpets, lay eggs and stick around for interminable lengths of time.

    Quickly becoming a problem, fleas can infest homes in very short amounts of time, posing health risks and frustrating living conditions for both people and their pets.  All the while, they pester your animals, making them itchy and uncomfortable. What’s worse, some pets even have allergic reaction to the pests!

    While there are many products that can be used to combat flea infestations, it’s vital to choose the right products that are appropriate for severity of your pet’s flea problem — otherwise you’ll end up wasting time and money as the flea problem gets worse. Today, we’re looking at the best ways to fight fleas.

    Best Ways to Fight Fleas

    Flea Collars

    Flea collars are a great first line of defense to keep your animals safe from the tiny pests. Using a combination of pesticides that are harmless to animals and scents that disgust fleas, these collars have a high success rating. While your animal might not like having to wear an odd-smelling collar, it will help them avoid the worst of the flea infestation! This is just one part of the fight, however.

    Flea Sprays

    Spraying your carpets and furniture for fleas is another effective strategy. A number of high-quality flea sprays are sold in pet stores and online. Such sprays not only kill fleas but also help to kill their eggs. The trouble with fleas is that you will often think you’ve rooted them out, only for another round of eggs to hatch. The eggs can go dormant for months at a time before being activated by vibrations in the carpet.

    As such, spraying in often-unused rooms is advised. That way, any hidden, dormant eggs can be killed by the spray. This prevents the eggs from reactivating when you or a pet enters a low-traffic room!

    Diatomaceous Earth

    Also known as D. Earth, this naturally occurring mineral deposit works wonders as a pesticide. If you’re having trouble with a particularly nasty flea infestation, consider this mineral. Make sure you purchase food grade diatomaceous earth, as it’s pet safe. Sprinkle it around your carpets and near the thresholds of your doors and windows. Earth works by compromising the lipids in fleas’ exoskeletons. The chemical interaction causes the fleas to become dehydrated, as their bodies can’t lock in water anymore. As such, they die of dehydration shortly after contacting the mineral. Don’t worry, though, the mineral doesn’t affect anything bigger than a small bug. The worst it can do to a pet is dehydrate them slightly, so just avoid getting it on your animals if you can!

    Flea Pills

    Flea pills for pets generally have the highest success rates for preventing and treating fleas. Pills come in chewable tablets or capsules that must be swallowed, usually with food. These oral medications for fighting fleas require a vet prescription, and usually fight flea adults or eggs, but rarely both at the same time. Flea pills, like other medications, come with side effects; it is essential for pet owners to ask what these side effects may include. The two most popular feel pills include Capstar and Comfortis, and both start working within hours of being administered.