The Difference in Flea Medicine for Dogs

Fleas are the number one nemesis for pet owners and yet there is so little we know about fleas or flea medicine for dogs. The following facts will help shed some light on these pesky insects and on what you can do to get rid of them.

Fleas are the number one nemesis for pet owners and yet there is so little we know about fleas or flea medicine for dogs. The following facts will help shed some light on these pesky insects and on what you can do to get rid of them.

Did you know that an average fleas life span is about two to three years and of that life span only 10% of it is spent on your animal. The female flea can lay almost a million eggs in its lifetime and these eggs can live in carpeting for a year until the right moment to hatch turns up.

Fleas like to feed on dogs and cats because your pet is closer to the ground and its body temperature is warm. Of course, if the pet is not available than a fleas second choice would be to live on children especially toddlers, or infants. This is just one more reason why you want to find a good flea medicine for dogs.

A female flea will bite seven times before they find a blood vessel and the saliva they leave can cause an allergic reaction. When she has fed on the blood of her host then she deposits her eggs and flea dirt which is undigested blood. The eggs and the dropping s come off the animals coat and spread through the whole living area.

The flea eggs are not affected by temperature but will lie dormant for a certain amount of time, when the proper conditions exist they will hatch and release larvae, but this larvae is extremely susceptible to flea medicine for dogs, so at the first signs you need to start using that medicine.?A flea life cycle can be as little as?a few months to a few years.

There are many different flea medicines for dogs and these vary in effectiveness, safety, odor and convenience. Whatever flea medicine for dogs you decide to use, you need to include every animal in the household and everywhere the animal goes including the car.

Most people only use flea medicine on the dog which isn抰 all that effective as all home areas and yard areas need to be treated at the same time. There are many different powders, dips, sprays etc you can use.

Flea Powders

Most manufacturers believe that powders are safe on dogs that are at least 8 weeks old and the powder can be applied every three to four days. The problem with flea powders is that it only kills the adults and not the larvae.

The Flea Sprays

These are alcohol based although some can be organic. Some of these sprays also include an insect growth regulator to kill flea eggs. The only problem with this flea medicine is that your pet doesn抰 like it very much.

The flea dip

This kills fleas for several days and weeks but is very toxic and should only be done once in a while. You should wear gloves if you decide to use this method.

As you can see there are several methods to kill fleas, you just have to find the right method for your needs.