I thought I had seen just about everything that anyone can use for flea control. But some people will surprise you at the lengths they will go to ignore the stuff that actually works, and try some random treatment instead.

Dr V. at the pawcurious blog recently had a patient come in whose owner had decided that mayonnaise was the next big thing in flea treatment. How or why they thought it might work is beyond me.

It did nothing for the fleas, and the poor dog ended up itchy, greasy and smelly.

If you have a flea problem, sitck to the tried and true methods. There is a reason that we use them.

Check out the post here: fleas and novel ideas not to try

Photo: The Vista Dome

Technorati Tags: errors, flea control, flea treatment, mistakes

When you are dealing with a flea problem, you need to have things pretty spot on (ha ha get it?). Even the smallest mistakes can end up costing you time, effort, money and flea bites. Here are some of the most common mistakes that people make when using flea control products:

1. Only treating your pet when you see fleas

Flea control is a lot like an iceberg. The fleas you see are only just the tip of the problem. If you only treat when you see fleas then you are going to be treating too infrequently. This will lead to treating your pet too infrequently. If you do this then some fleas will survive long enough to lay eggs and they will be able to continue their life cycle.

2. Only treating the animal who is itchy

Just like some people are more sensitive to mosquito bites, some pets are more sensitive to flea bites. Don’t be fooled into thinking that only the pet who is itchy has fleas. I guarantee you that any pets who live in the same area as the itchy one will have fleas as well.

3. Only treating during the summer time

It is true that fleas are more of a problem in summer than they are in winter. This is because the warm summer temperature means that they can reproduce quickly. And sure, fleas who are outside in the cold winter air may stuggle to survive. But almost every home is heated during the winter period. This means that the temperature inside your house is probably warm enough for fleas to live year round. Not treating during winter means fleas will slowly build up, and once spring hits their population numbers will seem to explode.

4. Stretching the interval between flea treatments

Everyone is tempted to extend their flea treatments just a little longer than the recommended monthly treatment. Flea control products aren’t cheap. Hoping to save a few dollars by spreading things out, sometimes we wait just a bit too long before giving our pet their required treatment. However, as it turns out, you will be costing yourself far more dollars and stress if you leave things too long and you get a breakout of flea infestation.

5. Forgetting a treatment

No one is perfect. Sometimes when we have everything else on our minds, our pet’s monthly dose of flea control manages to slip through the cracks. By the time you remember, it has been 7 weeks since their last flea treatment. Gaps like these allow fleas to complete their life cycle and continue to bother your pet. The easiest fix for this is to set yourself a reminder in your calendar on the first day of every month.

Untreated or infrequently treated pets can be the source of future re-infestations. Fleas that an untreated pet has will lay eggs that can infest any pet, including ones who are treated. Correct, timely application of flea control is essential if you want to win the battle on fleas.

To a flea free pet!

Dr. Simon

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jtyerse/208109946/

Technorati Tags: errors, flea control, flea treatment