Stolley Park
Veterinary Hospital

It’s flea season again! This is predicted to be a pretty big year for fleas in our area due to the amount of moisture we’ve had this summer. As temperatures cool, fleas will come out to play.

These conditions, a “Perfect Storm” for fleas, provide a good opportunity to discuss parasite treatment and prevention options. As we learn more about the flea life cycle, more effective therapies have become available to attack the cycle BEFORE it becomes a problem.

1) One of the key elements of integrated parasite control is to interrupt the flea life cycle before a flea can even reach the adult stage. This generally involves an oral monthly preventative. This medication sterilizes flea eggs and kills flea larvae (maggots), thus preventing their development into hopping, blood-sucking insects.

2) You may already be familiar with oral Heartworm medications that also kill internal parasites like Hookworms, Roundworms and Whipworms. Some of these medications have been combined with an oral flea control, thereby providing further convenience in monthly dosing for your pet. As an aside, as our current heartworm treatment is unavailable, monthly heartworm prevention has become that much more important!

3) Another element to integrated parasite control is the topical flea preventative/treatment that is applied “between the shoulder blades.” These topical treatments are primarily adulticides, meaning that they kill the adult form of the flea. Due to the effectiveness of the previously mentioned treatments, this is now recommended on an “as needed” basis, when adult fleas are seen. When necessary, it is recommended to use a topical product that kills ticks, too.