Many pet owners struggle to keep their dogs and cats away from fleas.
As the fleas can attack in any season and in any weather condition, there are very less options to stay away from them. However, you can use drops, collars, powders, sprays and shampoos that are exclusively made for pets to avoid fleas.
In this way, you can keep them safe and healthy in the long run. In this article, let us take a detailed look into how such flea medicines work to control the problem.
Contents
Why Should You Use Flea Medicines On Pets?
Fleas make the lives of your pets very difficult.
They can cause itching, rashes and also pass on several types of diseases to your pet animals. The worst thing is that they can also transmit diseases to humans when you get in close contact with an infected pet animal.
For this reason, you should control fleas and ticks effectively by choosing suitable medicines.
Depending on the species of your animal and their overall behavior, you can choose the appropriate flea medicine available in the market.
Liquid medications
Topical drops are the most common form of flea medicines available in the market. It offers protection for many weeks once you apply it on the pet.
The good thing about such topical drops is that it does not restrict the activity of the pets and you can bathe your pets without any hassles.
The medicines work even after the pets get caught in the rain and the medicines do not lose their effectiveness once it is applied on the pets.
Such spot-on treatments are best applied directly on the skin of the pets according to the instructions given in the product label.
Topical drops kill fleas by depositing chemicals into their nervous system. All you have to do is to apply the medicine on your pet’s skin, and it will spread easily across the surface through the glands and provide a protective coating of oil on the surface of the skin.
When the fleas attack your pets, the pesticide will affect the nervous system of such fleas, and they can no longer affect your pets.
Such flea medicines may also contain insect growth regulators that will help to restrict the growth of eggs that are leftover on the surface of your pets.
Make sure to use the medication in the right dosage as per the instructions of your doctor to avoid an overdose. It is better to avoid bathing your pets immediately after applying such medicines to retain their effectiveness for a long duration.
Collars
This is the best option to prevent a flea infestation in the long run.
The collars prevent attacks, but they are not so effective when it comes to treating an existing infestation.
For this reason, you can use drops or other methods in the first stage and then put on a collar that can repel fleas for many months.
You can use this along with the regular collar of your pet animals. These collars repel fleas and ticks and protect your animals effectively for many months.
Some collars may also come with treatment options, and they release medicine to the sebaceous glands of the pets, and it gets spread naturally across the skin surface.
In this way, the fleas die when they get in contact with such medicines. It is better to not mix the medicines with other forms of flea control medicines as this can lead to an overdose in some cases.
Oral pills
You can also use oral pills that are ingested by your pets to control the flea attacks on your pets. They can also kill flea eggs along with adult fleas depending on the type of medicine you are using for flea control.
Your veterinarian will prescribe the suitable pills after considering several factors like the age and overall health condition of your pets.
The good thing about such oral medication is that they provide immediate relief, and the action begins within a matter of a few minutes.
This is the best option for many pets when you do not want to use external medication to treat the flea attacks.
Sprays and powders
The advantage of sprays and powder medicines is that they can also be used in other areas in your house to protect everyone from flea attacks.
You can use them on your carpets, bedding and other accessories that you regularly touch at home. This will protect the family and pets from flea attacks.
You can also rub the powder or use the spray directly on the skin of your pets to protect them from fleas.
However, when you want to apply the medicine directly on your pets, make sure to cover their eyes properly as the medicines can cause irritation of the eyes.
Shampoo
Shampoos are a good way to kill ticks and fleas immediately, and you can use it as a regular petcare shampoo. The only thing you need to be careful is to avoid putting the shampoo near the eyes and ears.
To get the best results, make a foamy lather and let it stay on your pet for a few minutes. In this way, they can effectively work to kill the fleas on the skin surface of your pets.
You can keep massaging the skin surface so that the medicine can spread evenly across the surface. Once you are done, rinse properly and towel dry your pets.
You can use the shampoo once in a week to get good results in the long run. In this way, you can choose the suitable flea medicine according to your convenience and the behavior of your pets.
Some dogs are resistant to using collars, and they may become uncomfortable when you use such control methods. On the other hand, shampoos and spray may not be suitable for a few pets.
Get in touch with your veterinary doctor and get the best suggestions regarding using such flea medicines on your pets.
Remember that the safety of your pets are more important and you have to choose the medicines wisely only after consulting your doctor.
