Photo: PóDeTalco

One of the reasons that people find flea control so difficult is that they don’t have the right information. If you are operating under false assumptions, it is bound to end in failure. To help you understand your enemy and win the battle on fleas, here is a list of 8 common myths about flea control.

1. Dogs and cats are infested by different species

It is true that there are many different species of flea (almost 3000 in fact). There are species named after the dog and the cat (Ctenocephalides canis and Ctenocephalides felis respectively). However, these names are misleading, because almost every flea infestation in a dog or cat in Australia is due to the cat flea. In fact, there is some debate as to whether the dog flea might actually be extinct in Australia!

2. Fleas jump from one pet to another.

Once a flea has jumped onto its host and had a blood meal, they must continue feeding or they will die within a few hours. Rather than risk death by a mistimed jump onto another pet, fleas will remain on one dog or cat for their entire lives. It might seem like a flea has jumped onto your pet from someone else’s sometimes, for example after a visit to the dog park. What really happens though, is that fleas who have hatched in the environment have jumped onto your dog while it was playing (this takes less than a second!).

3. Indoor pets don’t get fleas.

Just because your pet is inside doesn’t mean it is immune to infestation. People can bring “hitch-hiker” fleas into your home. These fleas jump onto a human, mistaking it for a dog or cat. Once they realise they have made the wrong choice (our blood tastes funny), they will drop off and find a more suitable host. This is one situation where fleas will jump from one host to another. Screen doors also don’t present much of a barrier to fleas. If there are wild animals dropping flea eggs around your yard, and some land right near the door, then those fleas can easily make it through the screen mesh.

4. If your pets have fleas then your home is dirty.
Fleas are often associated with filth and vermin, and certainly can be found intimately associated with them. And sure, a lot of dirty, unkempt pets have fleas. But that doesn’t mean that your home is dirty if your pet has fleas. You can have a spotless house and still have fleas.

5.  Flea products will repel fleas, kill all of them in seconds, and you will never see fleas on your pet again if you treat them.

I like to call this the “magic bullet” myth. While I wish I could tell you that there is a product that does all of the above, the reality is that this level of efficiency is impossible. Some flea product repel fleas (eg. Advantix), but the majority of them don’t. Some products kill fleas pretty quickly (eg. Capstar), but even then it takes a few hours to kill all of the fleas on your pet. And even if you are using every single product under the sun on your pet, there is still a good chance you might see a flea from time to time. It takes less than a second for a flea to jump onto your pet as it walks by, so unless you and your pet live in a glass bubble, you will see a flea every now and then.

6. Putting your pets outside will help the problem.

This sounds like a good idea in theory – the pets have the fleas, so put them outside and the fleas will be gone. There is a slight flaw in that thinking – without pets in the house to jump onto, they will choose the next best thing – us! The better option is to apply a good flea control product, and keep the pets inside. As fleas emerge they will jump onto your pets and be killed.

7.  Treating the yard with insecticides should solve the problem.

Adult fleas are the main source of a flea problem. While they make up only 5% of the total flea population, it is the adults who lay eggs and continue the infestation. Only treating the environment might kill the eggs, larvae and pupae, but the adults will keep laying eggs and contaminating the environment. Treating you yard may be helpful, but it is only a small part of the solution.

8.  Once a flea problem is solved you can stop treating your pets.

If your pet has had a flea infestation before, chances are they will have it again. Fleas are present in your yard, neighbourhood, parks… basically anywhere an animal can get to, there will probably be fleas.All it takes is a couple of fleas to jump on and start laying eggs. Two weeks later there are several hundred fleas around and you have to start all over again.

Being informed is one of the best weapons in your flea control arsenal. Hopefully busting these false myths has helped you to understand your flea problem better and given you some ideas to help get rid of them.

To a flea free pet!

Dr. Simon

Photo: PóDeTalco

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