FLEAS

[DogGoneGood]

FLEAS

Fleas are the most common cause of itching, scratching, and skin disease in dogs and cats in our area. During the hot summer, flease reproduce rapidly and can infest your yard, pets, and home. Once established in your home they can torment you and your pets throughout the year.

LIFE CYCLE:
Only the adult flea lives on the animal. Adult flease are blood suckers and can survive up to a year if they have a good supply of animal blood for food. Eggs laid by the adult drop off the animal and hatch in the external environment. Grass and sand are the normal places for eggs to hatch and mature during the summer, but carpets, upholsterd furniture, and an animal's bedding serve equally well all year round. Under optimum conditions of warmth and moisture it can take as little as three weeks for an egg to hatch and mature through larval and pupal stages into an adult. If conditions are unfavourable, though, the flea may lie dormant in the pupal stage for up to a year. Once mature, the new adult must find an animal to live on so that it can suck blood and reproduce.

DIAGNOSIS:
Adult fleas are small reddish-brown wingless insects. Their bodies are flattened from side to side, and they have long legs that allow them to jump several feet. They live on the skin surface, and may be found by parting the hair, or by examining the hairless areas on the abdomen. Finding the typical small black coils of flea dromings or "flea dirt" will also prove your animal has fleas.

CONTROL:
It is important to recognize that the flea spends most of its life-cycle off the animal and that they also can lie dormant in the house for a prolonged period. Treatment must be directed at both the animal and the environment. Fleas can usually be controlled by treating the animal and its bedding once a week with an anti-flea spray or powder.

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Shuswap Veterinary Clinic Ltd.
Dr. Gary Cruikshank - Dr. John Sudbury
Dr. Dave Sedgman
Dr. Len Lazzarotto
Dr. James Clark
Salmon Arm, B.C., Canada