Flea and Tick Prevention

What is flea and tick prevention?

Flea and tick prevention includes a variety of products that control flea and tick infestations on your pet and prevent infestations inside your home.

Fleas are small, parasitic insects. They feed on the blood of animals, including people. Ticks are a type of arachnid (like spiders, scorpions, and mites) that are also parasitic, feeding on blood.

How can my pet get fleas or ticks?

Fleas and ticks are found worldwide. Fleas can survive a variety of environmental conditions, but they are most active in warm temperatures. They jump onto your pet from an infested animal or environment. They can also be carried by many wild animals, such as foxes, skunks, raccoons, birds, and rodents. They can easily jump onto you or your pet as you walk by.

Likewise, most ticks are active in warmer temperatures, although several species can survive the winter cold. Ticks often wait on long grass or brush and transfer onto pets as they walk by. They can be carried by a variety of animals, such as deer, horses, and rodents. Ticks can also spread between pets when several pets are housed together, like in kennels or shelters. People can accidentally bring ticks inside, exposing their pets.

Why is flea and tick prevention important?

Fleas and ticks cause two problems:

• Their bites can cause discomfort and skin irritation. In some cases, they can also cause severe allergic reactions in both pets and people. 
• They can carry diseases and cause illness in pets and people. Some of these diseases can be deadly and others can cause severe, long-term, or lifelong illness. 

Prevention is key to avoiding these problems. Prevention is also important because fleas and ticks can infest the home. Treating an infestation is much more difficult and costly than preventing one.

Fleas and ticks are present year-round in some areas of the world, while others have flea and tick “seasons”. However, year-round prevention is recommended when possible, because both fleas and ticks can survive in a variety of microclimates as well as inside your home and on your warm pet.

What kinds of illnesses can fleas and ticks cause?

Fleas and ticks can spread infectious diseases, and what they spread depends on their species.

Fleas can spread:

• Murine typhus
• Flea-borne spotted fever
• Cat-scratch disease (bartonellosis)
• Flea tapeworms
• Salmonellosis
• Plague
• Rodent tapeworm
• Murine trypanosomiasis
• Dwarf tapeworm
• Hemoplasmosis
• Tularemia

Ticks can spread:

• Lyme disease
• Ehrlichiosis
• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Rickettsiosis
• Tularemia
• Cytauxzoonosis
• Hepatozoonosis

How can I check my pet for fleas and ticks?

Fleas and ticks are small and can sometimes be difficult to see on your pet. Checking your pet’s skin and coat is the easiest way to identify signs of fleas or ticks. Using a flea comb can help you find adult fleas or flea dirt. Flea dirt (droppings) looks like brownish-black, grainy “dirt” that dissolves and turns red when placed on a wet paper towel. Fleas prefer the head and neck area of cats, and the rump and tail area of dogs.

Ticks can vary in size, depending on their stage of development and whether they have fed. They can be as small as a pinhead or poppy seed, or as big as a pencil eraser. They become larger as they fill with blood. Ticks can attach anywhere on the body, but prefer dark and hidden areas like the ears, armpits, groin, tail, and between the toes.

Sometimes finding a flea or tick is difficult, especially on cats, because they are constantly grooming. Sometimes the only sign of fleas and ticks is skin irritation. In these cases, flea and tick prevention is used to help find the cause of the irritation.

What are the different kinds of flea and tick prevention?

There are many products available to prevent fleas and ticks. 

• Some products are sold over the counter and some require a prescription. 
• Some products are used alone, and some are used in combination with other treatments or medications. 
• Some products are applied to the skin, some are worn as a collar, and some are given by mouth (orally). 
• Some are given daily, some are given monthly, and some can last for several months.

Some products contain ingredients called adulticides, which kill adult fleas and remain active between scheduled doses (e.g., imidacloprid, fipronil, isoxazolines). Others contain insect growth regulators (IGRs) that prevent larvae from developing into adults (e.g., pyriproxyfen, methoprene, lufenuron). Newer products combine the benefits of adulticides and IGRs.

Your veterinarian will help you choose a product that works best for you and your pet based on your lifestyle, your pet’s lifestyle, and your needs and preferences. 

Can flea and tick prevention be harmful?

Flea and tick prevention products are generally safe when recommended by your veterinarian and when the manufacturer’s directions are followed. Rarely, side effects can occur and may include:

• Skin irritation where a product was applied to the skin
• Vomiting or diarrhea 
• Tremors or seizures (more likely to occur when a product is used on the wrong type of animal or too much is given) 

In most cases, the risk of side effects from an appropriate preventive is much lower than the risk of disease. Ask your veterinarian for a recommendation specific to your pet, taking into account your pet’s current health and medical history.   Talk about your concerns and let them help you determine what is safest for your pet. 

Always tell your veterinarian about any products you are using on or around your pet, because combining products can increase the risk of side effects. When flea control products are used as recommended, side effects are rare and do not affect all pets.