Fleas are one of your pet’s greatest enemies. These tiny, wingless insects jump onto cats, dogs, and people and ingest their blood. Fleas flourish worldwide in moderate humidity and temperatures; only extreme, prolonged cold weather kills them. Their complex life cycle includes several microscopic stages including egg, larvae, and pupae. Fleas can live for several months.What are the Dangers to My Pet from Fleas?
Fleas aren’t just a nuisance for you and your pet; these pests can cause the following medical problems:

Tapeworms — If your pet eats a flea, which is likely during self-grooming, he could become infected with the immature tapeworms fleas can carry. These long, flat parasites can cause weight loss and diarrhea, and can be contagious to you and your family. One sure sign of tapeworms is the “white rice” you may find on your pet’s coat underneath the tail. These are tapeworm segments, and they also can be found on your pet’s bedding. If you see them, take your pet to your veterinarian right away to get rid of these pests.

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Pedro and Michelle Rivera live on the rural outskirts of Madison, WI. Far from the city lights, fast-food drive-through restaurants and bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic, they share 65 acres with three spirited cats and four playful dogs. These critters bound in and out the front and back doors frequently during the day, all year long.

“None of our pets have fleas. Not a single one,” declares Michelle Rivera, a licensed massage therapist and herbalist. “They have been flea-free for years.”

What’s their secret? A constant, all-out chemical warfare assault of flea dips, bombs, sprays and topical medications? Far from it. The Riveras attack fleas safely and naturally.

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Courtesy of the Rhone-Merieux Company, makers of Frontline

Do not use any of the “mythical” methods of removing ticks such as petroleum jelly, cleaning fluid, burning matches or cigarettes. These may irritate the skin and kill the tick, making it difficult to remove intact. Ticks are difficult to remove because their mouth parts are barbed. They also secrete a glue that holds the mouth parts in place while feeding, guarding against easy dislocation.

1. Using tissue or tweezers, gently grasp the body of the tick and pull directly away from the point of attachment. Do not jerk or twist.
2. If the mouth parts break off in the skin, use a sterilized needle to remove as you would a splinter.
3. Wash the bite area with soap and water and apply an antiseptic such as alcohol or hydrogen peroxide.
4. Wash your hands thoroughly.
5. Mark the date of the tick bite on the calendar. Watch for symptoms of disease in the upcoming weeks.

It happens every year: Those tricky ticks appear in early spring, hang around until midsummer, then sometimes return in early fall and linger until cold weather sets in. If you live in an area with a regular rainy season, expect to find these pests on your pet during that time as well.

These days, ticks are showing up in growing numbers and in a widening geographic area. They love to feast on the blood of pets — from cats and dogs to snakes — and in so doing can spread illnesses such as Lyme disease and, less frequently, Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In addition, they may cause temporary paralysis in an animal while they are attached.

Although Lyme disease has usually been associated with the tiny deer tick, recent evidence shows that the larger, common tick may carry the disease as well. It makes sense to treat all these pests as enemies. (Even those that don’t carry disease are pretty disgusting.) Here are some ways to make those ticks take a tumble.

For Pets in General

Check Mate

During tick season, check your pet every day for ticks. If your pal is a reptile, examine his skin, especially in areas with folds. If your friend is furry, run your fingers through her coat, checking for any little bumps. If she has long hair, comb it; your comb may catch a creature or two. Examine all around her ears — inside and underneath. Check the area where her front legs join her body, as well as skin folds, under her back legs, and anywhere else a tick might be able to burrow. Watch for Hitchhikers

During the season, perform a tick inspection anytime your pet returns from being outdoors. Experts once advised people to cut their lawns so that ticks couldn’t hide in tall grass, but even manicured estates aren’t safe anymore. Ticks seem to be everywhere. So if your pet has been outside, assume that the animal may have given a tick a ride home. Stay Out of Dangerous Neighborhoods

Ticks especially like wet areas such as marshes, swamps, and reservoirs, so it’s smart to avoid those spots — or at least to check especially carefully for the pests after returning from a jaunt to such a location. Don’t Let Them Move In

Although ticks don’t breed in your home the way fleas do, they enter your house clinging to pets, clothes, patio furniture — anything you bring in from outdoors. You need to check your home regularly for ticks. Pay special attention to the laundry hamper, carpets, upholstered furniture, even bedding. And, of course, check the areas that your pet frequents. Tick Them Off

To remove a tick from your pet, dab a little rubbing alcohol on the tick with a cotton ball or swab. Wait two to three minutes. Then, with tweezers or a tissue, grasp the tick as close to the skin as you can without pinching your pet and gently pull the tick out. Don’t flush the tick down the toilet. It won’t necessarily drown and may even climb back out. Instead, drop the pest in a glass jar with a tablespoon or so of rubbing alcohol, then close the jar tight. That will kill the tick. A Little Dab’ll Do Ya!

Another way to remove a tick from your pet — particularly if the pest has not yet locked on too securely — is to rub petroleum jelly on and around the tick, including the head. This suffocates the pest. Or use dishwashing liquid, which has the same effect. Wait a few minutes, then pull the tick out with tweezers or a tissue. Don’t worry about separating the tick’s head from its body, leaving the head embedded in your pet’s skin. Contrary to popular belief, this rarely happens. Get Yourself Some Extra Pull

If you just can’t bear to get near a tick, don’t try to detach it from your pet by burning it with a lit match or lighter! You’ll only succeed in burning your pet and probably yourself as well. Instead, buy a tick remover and keep it on hand. Tick removers come in several versions. One type, made of metal, is about the length of a nail clipper and has a slit in the end designed to grasp the tick while you pull. It’s a good, safe tool to have on hand.
Copyright © 1999 by Rodale Press, Inc.

Fleas are an itchy subject for every pet owner. You’re afraid of finding evidence of even one of the loathsome creatures in your home or on your pet. But the only way to keep fleas totally out of the picture is to keep all your pets indoors all the time — nearly impossible for dogs and not desirable for every cat. Keeping just one pet inside won’t solve the problem either, because an outdoor pet is bound to bring a few fleas into the house, where they’ll jump to an indoor pet. You need to go on flea patrol, hunting them down and knocking them dead. And you need to do it early in the season — not, say, in September, when an unchecked flea population may have reached the millions.

Wage the war against fleas on three separate fronts:

(1) Shampoo your pet with flea shampoo and spray the animal between shampoos with flea spray.

(2) Collar your pet with a flea collar.

(3) Treat the outdoor environment into which your pet ventures.

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See that itsy flea on your itchy pet? Well, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Within the next month, that flea (with a little help from her girlfriends) could fill your house with up to 250,000 descendants.

What’s more, for every flea you see on your pet, you can bet there are up to 100 more, in one form or another, that are not on your pet — they’re in the yard, on the floors and in the linen, says Michael Dryden, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary parasitology at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Manhattan, Kansas. “It can be quite daunting.”

The little pests can be incredibly difficult to get rid of. In fact, you may never be able to eradicate them 100 percent from your house or yard. But you can still prevent your pet from going buggy from fleas. “You have to realize it’s a never-ending battle, but if you’re diligent, you can win,” says Philip Kass, D.V.M., Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Here’s what you need to do.

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Most pet owners in the United States will have to deal with fleas at some point. When warmer weather approaches, flea populations boom. Fleas can leave your pet with annoying bites, allergic skin irritation, tapeworms or anemia. Many products are available through stores and veterinary clinics to help a pet owner win the war on fleas. Holistic remedies are also available.

Combs
Great for puppies and kittens who are too young for chemicals.

Collars
Made with insecticides to kill adult fleas or insect growth regulators (IGR) which prevent flea eggs from hatching. Used alone, it’s often not enough to keep fleas under control.

Powders
Most have insecticides that kill adult fleas, but can be messy to use.

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So you’ve found some fleas on your beloved dog or cat and have treated them with the latest flea-killing products. Did you know you are missing a huge part of the puzzle? For every flea you find on your pet, there may be up to 100 more living in your carpet and yard.To effectively rid your premises of fleas, you must treat these areas as well. Here’s a look at some products available for this purpose.

Indoor Treatments:
Foggers and Sprays
Most foggers and sprays, whether over-the-counter or veterinary sold, contain a pesticide to kill adult fleas and many contain a second ingredient, an insect growth regulator (IGR), to prevent eggs from hatching.

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The tick, a relative of the spider, is a common external parasite. Ticks carry a number of diseases including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. They can cause serious health problems for both you and your pets. Tick infestations can be controlled with available products using an integrated program focusing on your pet, your home and yard.

A Little About Ticks
Dangers to Pets
Dangers to Humans
Controlling Ticks Around You and Your Pets
Stopping the Tick Cycle

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You know it’s shedding season when you find pet hair everywhere — on the couch, on the carpet, on your clothes. Most dogs and cats shed their winter coats in the spring, although some indoor pets continue light shedding all year. Even if your pet is shorthaired, expect some shedding to occur. You can’t stop the fur from falling out, but you can stop it from flying around the house. A regular routine of combing and brushing will go a long way toward promoting a healthy shedding process, as well as cleaner carpets and upholstery.

Dogs and cats aren’t the only animals that shed. Birds molt (lose their feathers) every six months or once a year, depending on the species, and reptiles such as snakes and iguanas shed regularly as well. Although shedding is a normal process in these animals, sometimes glitches occur that cause pain or even harm. It’s a good idea to learn something about the shedding processes of these animals so that you can help them along if need be.

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