As a pet parent, you might be feeding nutritious pet meals, playing with it outdoors, training it regularly, and lavishing it with love and attention. However, your efforts will prove futile if you fail to protect your pet against fleas and ticks.
Fleas and ticks love your pet’s warm skin and fuzzy fur. Ticking off ticks and dealing with fleas becomes an unpleasant chore. But, as a responsible pet parent, you must help your furry companion.
You need to keep these bloodsuckers away from your pet since they are extremely dangerous. They feed on your pet’s blood and pass on diseases like Lyme, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis to your pet. To ensure that your pet stays healthy and happy, follow the below practices.
Safeguard Your Pet Against Fleas and Ticks?
There are many available measures to protect your pet from pests. Please take a look at them below.
Treat Your Pet with Flea and Tick Products
The nasty tiny creatures are widespread in the warmer seasons and thrive in the chilly seasons indoors. As a result, you must put your pet on flea and tick control medicines 365 days. They are necessary in the first place to keep the parasites at bay. These drugs are also efficient at killing fleas and ticks, thereby disrupting their breeding process. You will find several options on certified pet stores like PetCareRx. But make sure you consult a vet first.
Maintain Cleanliness in the House
Fleas are tiny, fast-breeding organisms. Their eggs increase at a rate of 100 every day. Hence, you should remove them before they lay eggs and become a big menace.
Make it a practice to regularly clean your pet’s bedding, sitting area, where it spends the most time, and the blinds, sofas, and carpets in your house. If you use a vacuum cleaner, dispose of the vacuum bags. That’s because fleas may hatch and multiply in it as well.
Don’t only do this in the summer; make it a year-round habit. Yes, I know they are frequent and abundant in the summer, but they can thrive indoors throughout the winter.
Keep Your Backyard Neat and Tidy
Ticks flourish on tall grasses, whereas fleas reproduce in warm, dark, and damp settings. Hence, keeping your backyard clean is imperative. Trim bushes and shrubs; sweep clippings, leaves, and trash; and mow the lawn. These practices will give the nefarious creatures no place to lurk and reproduce.
Discard Old Flea and Tick Items
When the flea and tick period hits, it may be tempting to turn to old products. You must resist the urge and exchange them for fresh ones. They may have expired and hence be useless in saving your furry friend from pests.
Inspect Your Pet for Ticks
Do you take your pet for a play or stroll in a tick-infested area? Then, make it a habit to search their skin, armpits, ears, and under legs for ticks daily. If you notice any, remove them immediately since it only takes 24 hours for your pet to become infected with illnesses like Lyme. If your pet has been bitten, is acting strangely, is weary all the time, limping, or isn’t eating, there’s a good chance that fleas and ticks have passed an illness to it. Please take it to the veterinarian for prompt treatment in such a case.
Groom Your Pet Daily
Invest in a pest comb and routinely brush your pet’s coat to look for hidden parasites. It also helps remove dirt from your pet. You should also get a pest-killing shampoo and bathe your pet at least once a week.
Wash Pet Essentials
Once a week, wash your pet’s crates, food bowls, bedding linen, toys, and carriers with lukewarm, soapy water. Purchase a pet bed that lets you launder and replace the cushions and coverings.
Miscellaneous Measures
- Visit the vet for a regular check-up to rule out parasite-related health conditions.
- Purchase trashcans with lockable lids.
- Pest control your home if fleas and ticks have infested it.
- Animals like raccoons and possums carry fleas and ticks into your garden. It will be best if you, therefore, block their entry.
- Store the pet food and treats in firmly airtight containers.
- Do not put your pet’s food and water vessels outside.
- Insulate the crawlspaces and porches.
- Insulate garages and other openings.
Protect Your Pet Against Fleas And Ticks
These are the finest flea and tick prevention techniques that you must rigorously follow. You will spare your pet, as well as yourself, from the misery that parasites bring. In addition, you will extend your pet’s life and keep it happy. So, start adopting these measures right away.