Fleas

Few creatures can inflict more misery, ounce for ounce, than fleas. These tiny, almost-invisible pests can make life miserable and disrupt your household with a vicious cycle of biting and scratching. Fleas may also cause a skin condition called flea allergy dermatitis in some pets and may be carriers of dangerous diseases.
No matter what the weather is like outside, the climate inside your home is always perfect for supporting an entire population of fleas. That's why your dog or cat needs prevention every month, all year round for control of these pests.
Flea control has always been a challenge for veterinarians and pet owners because the adult fleas cause the clinical signs, yet the majority of the flea population (eggs, larvae and pupae) are to be found off the pet in and around the home.  The ideal flea control program utilizes products that target the various stages of the flea life cycle, not only the adult fleas on the pet.
In order to help you to select the most appropriate products to achieve a flea-free existence for the whole family, we will start by telling you about the life cycle of the flea. Although fleas can be a problem for your pets all year, flea populations typically explode about 5–6 weeks after the weather starts to warm up.

EGG STAGE

The female lays about 2,000 eggs in her lifetime. In one day, a single female flea can lay up to 50 eggs. The eggs aren't sticky – they quickly fall off your pet and into areas of your home. In 2-10 days, the eggs hatch.

LARVAL STAGE

After hatching, the larvae head toward dark places around your home and feed on "flea dirt" – flea feces containing partially digested blood from your pet. The larvae grow, molt twice, and then spin cocoons where they mature.

PUPA STAGE

The immature fleas spend approximately 8–9 days in their cocoon. During this time, they continue to grow to adulthood, waiting for the signals that it is time to emerge.

ADULT STAGE

Full-grown adults detect heat, vibrations and exhaled carbon dioxide from inside their cocoons, telling them a host is nearby. The adults leave their cocoons, hop onto a host, find a mate and begin the life cycle all over again.
The entire life cycle can be as short as 2-4 weeks.

 

 

TODAY’S FLEA CONTROL PRODUCTS

Today, veterinarians have some great flea control products in our arsenal. There are now several highly efficacious, long lasting and very safe new products to choose amongst. 
Program® and Sentinel® (Lufenuron) from Novartis (ORAL)
These prescription drugs are available as a once a month flavored chewable (soy and pork) pill   to be given with a full meal for dogs or a six-month injection for cats. Female fleas that feed on pets treated with lufenuron produce sterile eggs. The product does not kill adult fleas. It is a very easy way to break the life cycle but pets remain fully susceptible to the emergence of any fleas from pupa already present in the environment. Therefore, 4 to 7 months may pass before the flea free state is reached. In order to stop the life cycle, every animal in the patient’s environment must receive lufenuron.  Pets should be treated for fleas with an adult flea-killing product during the first few weeks of starting Program®.
Capstar® (nitenpyram) from Novartis (ORAL)
Capstar is a prescription tablet for dogs and cats as young as 4 weeks of age.  It offers extremely rapid and complete killing of adult fleas on the pets after administration.  It is safe enough that the tablets may be used as needed, as often as once per day, whenever you see fleas on your pet.  This is designed to be used in combination with an insect growth regulator to knock out fleas when these slower products are being used for long-term control.  It can also be used when the pet has visited a flea-infested environment for rapid protection. When given every-other-day, it is a useful flea control for single cat households.
Frontline Plus® and Frontline Top Spot® (fipronil) from Merial (TOPICAL)
Fipronil is a broad spectrum insecticide available as a spot on. Fipronil binds chemically to the hair and is absorbed through the hair follicle by the sebaceous glands. It is labeled for puppies and kittens of 8 weeks (10 weeks for Top Spot®). It is also affective against ticks. The product is labeled to be applied no more than once a month. Frontline Plus® contains the insect growth regulator, S-methoprene and so provides control of eggs and adult fleas.
Comfortis® (spinosad) from Lilly (DOGS ONLY) (ORAL)
Comfortis is the first FDA-approved, chewable (beef flavored) once monthly tablet that starts killing fleas within 30 minutes. It can be given to puppies at young as 14 weeks and weigh five pounds or more. This tablet will continue to prevent flea infestations for one month. It is extremely convenient and well tolerated by most dogs. The active ingredient, spinosad, targets the insect nervous system with no crossover to mammalian nervous systems. Fleas are killed before they can lay eggs, preventing future infestations.
Advantage® (imidacloprid), K9 Advantix® (with permethrin), Advantage Multi® (with moxidectin) from Bayer (TOPICAL)
These products are available as a spot ons for either dogs or cats. Advantage Multi® is a prescription drug that also is a heartworm preventive. Advantage® seems to be very well tolerated by sensitive cats. It provides flea knockdown in about 8 hours. 100% killing can be maintained for at least two weeks. It is susceptible to wash off, therefore outdoor active dogs and dogs that swim or that must be bathed because of dermatitis must be re treated frequently or use another topical. (Weekly re treatment is allowed with Advantage only®). Imidacloprid has no efficacy against ticks, but K-9Advantix®, with permethrin does. K9 Advantix is only labeled for once a month, and ONLY FOR DOGS.
Revolution® (selamectin) from Pfizer (TOPICAL)
This prescription drug is designed as a once-a-month heartworm preventive and flea preventive for dogs and cats as young as 6 weeks old.  It also kills adult fleas and can be used to treat sarcoptic mange, ear mites and ticks.  It also helps control roundworms and hookworms in cats. The product is placed on the skin at the back of the neck, but is absorbed into the body to have its effect when female fleas ingest it with a blood meal.  Adult fleas will die slowly, but more importantly, female fleas stop egg production as soon as they are exposed. It is most useful as a preventive for flea infestation and in the presence of a flea problem in an allergic pet, but it is an excellent flea control product for cats.

About Traditional Insecticides / Over-the-Counter Flea Control Products

Ten years ago, we were controlling fleas the old fashioned way: fogging and spraying the house, powdering, spraying and shampooing the pets. The pets hated it. It smelled funny. It was hard work and yet it hardly worked and there were some problems as well.

• The high concentrations of chemical, permethrin, needed are extremely toxic or even fatal to cats. This causes a huge health issue for families with both dogs and cats.
   
• Permethrin is not waterproof. Bathing or swimming will wash it off.
   
• Permethrin has been in use for over 20 years and many flea populations are resistant to it. This manifests as the product seeming to last only 2-3 weeks instead of the full 4 weeks. In many homes, permethrin has virtually no flea-killing ability at all.

The following steps can also be taken to clean up the environment:

Vacuuming - Frequently vacuum the areas your pet is around, especially carpeted areas in your home, any furniture that is frequented by your pet and in your car (if your pet rides in your car). This will clean up as many immature fleas (eggs, larvae and pupae) as possible. Dispose of the vacuum cleaner bag outside of the home and repeat this procedure in two weeks.
Washing - Regularly wash your pet's bedding, blanket and other washable items in the hottest water possible (check the laundering instructions to make sure that washing in hot water isn't a problem).
Yard Work - Mow your lawn and rake up any leaves, brush or clippings. Check with your local hardware store for recommendations on treating the yard. Please read the warnings carefully to avoid exposure of people or pets to the product used.