Flea control can be a frustrating job

Getting fleas under control can be a major headache. Sometimes it seems like no matter what you do or how many fleas you kill, there seems to an endless supply to replace them. If you are in this situation,  you really need to take a step back and make sure that you are covering all of the basics. Here are a tips:

1. Make sure you are using a high quality flea product.

Using a supermarket brand flea control product might save you a few dollars in the short term, but  in the long run you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Most of these products have had minimal testing to prove that they are effective in the field.

Trying to control fleas using flea collars or shampoo is also a bad idea, as these simply aren’t effective enough.

When you are dealing with a difficult flea problem, you need to make sure that you are  using something with a high level of proven effectiveness.  I would recommend choosing one of the following products: Frontline Plus, Advantage, Revolution, Comfortis, Capstar, Advantix or Advocate.

2. Treat every animal in your household (even if only one has fleas)

It can be tempting to treat only the animals in the household that you can find fleas on. Unfortunately, if you do this, then you are bound to fail. If there are fleas around, they will be present on every pet in the household.

This is especially true for cats. Cats are much more likely than dogs to go wandering to different places during the day. On their little trips, they are much more likely to pick up fleas. If your cats aren’t on flea control, then they will bring their fleas back home to share with the rest of the pets in the family.

To make sure that you prevent ongoing environmental infestation, you need to treat all animals in the household.

3. Block off access to high-risk areas

There are some areas around your home that are perfect breeding grounds for fleas. Moist, sandy, dark places where your pet hangs out offer everything a growing flea could ever want while growing up to be an adult flea. This means that there is a high percentage of flea eggs that survive to be adults. These then jump on your pet and perpetuate the cycle.

If your pet has access to the ground under your house, block it off. Just doing this one thing can sometimes be enough to tip the balance in your favour and get fleas under control again.

These few tips make a good starting point to get back in control of fleas at your house. If you have tried all of this, and are still struggling, tell me about your troubles in the comments and I will try to help you out.

To a flea-free pet!

Simon.

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