Top Flea And Tick Pet Meds

The summer months are a favorite time of year for many pet owners, as well as their pets. It’s the perfect time for dogs and cats to bask in the sun, and for their owners to enjoy taking them to the park or the beach. There’s just one problem: the summer heat brings the risk of fleas and ticks, both of which can make life extremely uncomfortable for your pet. A bad flea or tick infestation can even make your pet sick, so these aren’t problems to take lightly. Perhaps one of the worst things that could happen to your pet is for it to come into contact with ticks that carry Lyme disease, which can make them extremely ill and possibly lead to death if not treated properly. Not to mention the fact that if given the chance, these fleas and ticks may decide to transfer their �affections� to you and your family.

Just one single female flea has the ability to lay over 500 eggs, with each of these eggs maturing into adults in only two weeks. These newly adult fleas are then themselves ready to mate, producing even more eggs over the course of the summer. If summer comes around and you’ve started noticing your pet scratching a lot more than usual, they might just be having a tick or flea problem. For the best flea control it’s important that you as an owner start managing the problem in the spring before it actually arises. However, if you are a pet owner that lives in a warm climate, fleas and ticks are a year-round problem and require preventative treatment throughout the entire year.

One of the major problems with fleas and ticks is that they are tremendously difficult to control them once they get a foot through your door. If fleas or ticks do manage to establish themselves on your pet and in your home, it is extremely important that you treat your home and yard as well as your pet as soon as possible to keep the problem under control.

Fortunately, there are a lot of options available that you can use to control ticks and fleas on your pets. Shampoos, sprays, oral medication, and topical ointments are all very good options available for both preventative care and treating infestations.

Flea and Tick Medications for Dogs

Products such as the Preventic Tick Collar for Dogs and the PowerBand Flea and Tick Collar provide up to five months protection for your dog once you place the collar on. This is an easy and popular method of flea and tick control, but for heavy infestations you may need something a little potent.

EctoKyl CA Shampoo and Ecto-Soothe 3X Shampoo are both very powerful and effective brands that work quickly to kill existing fleas and ticks on your pets. The use of either one of these in conjunction with a longer-lasting method of parasite control is a great way to knock out an infestation quickly and easily. For all you dog lovers out there, it is a good idea to protect your pooch with Advantage for Puppies and Dogs, which is a topical solution that provides a full month of flea and tick protection with each application.

Flea and Tick Medications for Cats

Advantage Multi for Cats and Adams Flea Shampoo both provide two different options for treating your cat for fleas and ticks. Advantage Multi is a topical solution, so if your kitty doesn’t like being bathed with Adams Flea Shampoo, you have another option!

For Cats and Dogs

When you have both dogs and cats in the house it’s convenient to use flea and tick control measures that are suitable for both. Frontline Spray Treatment for Dogs & Cats is suitable for dogs and cats of at least two months of age, and its spray formulation is fast-acting. Capstar Tablets is another fast-acting medication suitable for both dogs and cats.

For the Home

To ensure your pets don’t become reinfested after receiving medication, there are several products that you can use to kill adult and immature fleas as well as eggs in your home. Many of these products even continue to repel pests for several months after initial application.

Mycodex Environmental Aerosol Household Spray and Virbac Yard Spray Concentrate both provide long-lasting protection that will kill pests and continue protecting your home and yard for several months. Vet-Kem Siphotrol X-Tend provides outdoor protection against fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes.

Administering Medication

Don’t forget that it’s very important to read the product label thoroughly before you use any medication on your pet, even a modest pest control medication. Make sure that you give your pet the correct amount as many medications must be administered according to the weight or age of the animal. Also, be sure to only use dog medications on dogs, and cat medications on cats. If a product is specifically formulated for one type of pet, it may not be safe to use on any other species unless it explicitly says that it is suitable for both. Finally, if you are treating puppies or kittens, make sure to check that the product you are using is safe for young animals as most flea and tick medications must only be used on animals that are at least three months old.