How To Prevent Fleas, Ticks, & Heartworms
First off, it’s important to realize that preventing fleas, ticks, and heartworms is much easier and less costly than trying to manage them after the fact. By utilizing select products, you can effectively prevent outbreaks of fleas, ticks, and heartworms from affecting your pets.
Believe it or not, fleas and ticks can be found around the world as they are able to live in just about any environment and climate. Typically, fleas live on wild animals such as boar, skunks, raccoons, birds, mice, rats, and foxes. What’s most impressive about fleas is their ability to jump quickly at very large distances and be undetected – which is why it’s so hard to pinpoint when your pet may have contracted fleas. But once they’re on, they are not easy to get off. That’s why prevention is so important. Even if a flea lands on your pet’s coat, the prevention medication will ensure additional eggs do not hatch.
Why Is Flea & Tick Prevention So Important?
If your pet ends up with a flea or tick infestation, it can cause a lot of discomfort, scratching, and biting. While this may seem harmless, it often results in wounds, hot spots, and can cause very severe allergic reactions in some cases (in both pets and their owners). The real danger comes in the diseases that may be transmitted through the fleas or ticks. As mentioned, they often live on wild animals, so it’s no surprise that the fleas or ticks may, themselves, be infected with potentially life-threatening diseases.
Prevention Works
The good news is that preventing fleas, ticks, and heartworms is very manageable with preventive treatments that can be administered on a regular schedule. Your veterinarian will help ensure your pet stays up-to-date with their vaccination and preventive treatments. By preventing flea, tick, and heartworms your pet will avoid dangerous, and potentially fatal illnesses such as:
- Allergies to fleas
- Hot spots on their skin
- Skin infections
- Tapeworms
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Lyme disease
- And much more