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Flea and Tick Control

by Jeff Grognet, DVM, BSc (Agr) and Louise Janes, BSc(Agr), DVM

Fleas create skin irritation, cause anemia, and carry tapeworms. Ticks, on the other hand, take very little blood but they are well known for transmitting infectious diseases. With fleas, we have ways to control and prevent them. Our success with ticks is rudimentary in comparison. Control of these parasites begins by understanding them.

FLEAS: Let’s start by looking at the flea life cycle. When fleas find a host, they feed and mate. Female fleas start laying eggs 24 hours later; 40 to 50 eggs every day. They lay thousands over a lifetime. But, where do these eggs end up?

We used to believe that fleas jumped off their host to lay their eggs in dark crevices in or about the house. Now we know fleas don’t leave the dog. Laid in the fur, the slippery eggs – some call them Teflon beads – roll off the dog. They end up in the carpet or outdoors, wherever dogs spend their time.

Flea eggs can also be seeded into your dog’s environment by stray dogs, cats that wander through your yard, and wildlife such as raccoons, rabbits, foxes, and coyotes. Shady areas such as under decks and shrubs are places where fleas are likely to survive and finish their life cycle.

Flea eggs hatch within a few days of being laid and develop into larvae. These larvae feed on flea feces (which is mainly blood) and other organic debris. After a week or two, they spin a cocoon and hide away as pupae.

Pupae can stay dormant for six months or more, depending on the weather. They can overwinter and erupt with the warm weather of spring. In suitable warmer weather, fleas hatch from their cocoons in one or two weeks. They are now adults.

The important thing to remember is that when you see fleas, on your pet or you, they did not come directly from another animal. They came from eggs laid three or more weeks ago.

The flea species we see on dogs is the cat flea. It thrives best on felines, and this gives us a clue to its control. If you want success in multiple pet households, every dog and cat must be treated every month for at least three or four months.

With this knowledge, you now know that flea control is not just a case of treating once and thinking your problem is over. Continued treatment is needed because there will be more fleas hatching.

The biggest problem fleas cause is itchy skin. Some dogs suffer horribly from fleas with red, hairless, infected skin due to flea allergy dermatitis (FAD). When fleas feed, they inject a tiny amount of saliva which the dog reacts to, creating an intense itch. It takes just a few fleas to maintain the symptoms of FAD.

But, the good news is that advances in flea control over the last two decades have been amazing. We used to rely on collars and sprays containing toxic insecticides. Now, we have tablets, spot-ons, and sprays, and they contain much safer medications.

For example, Program tablets contain a molecule that inhibits chitin production, a component in the outer coat of the flea and the flea egg. By preventing their development, it effectively blocks the flea life cycle without being an insecticide. Methoprene, a growth hormone, blocks flea development by interfering with the flea’s growth.

We have a host of topical insecticides for killing fleas on dogs. Designed to last a month, some are more water repellent than others, which can be an issue with dogs that swim or get bathed often. As an alternative, there are tablets that kill fleas. One lasts just a day or so; another lasts for a full month.

There is no excuse for poor flea control on your dog.  Ask your veterinarian for advice.

TICKS: Unfortunately, you are going to be disappointed with the lack of advancements in the field of tick control. A lot is due to our inability to manage reproduction in the ticks. We can’t go out to the field and stop ticks from mating and producing the next generation to infest dogs or wildlife hosts.

The exception is the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Though it is technically a three-host tick, most of the life cycle of this tick is on dogs. This means we can use acaricides (tick killers) and stop them breeding.

The other issue with ticks is that one season can be dramatically different from the last. Your dog may not see a tick one year yet have significant infestations the next year.

The best advice is this – if ticks are a concern, use a tick product, but also do “tick checks” daily and remove any you find. Doing this can stop their feeding, which is the best way to prevent disease transmission.

What Fleas and Ticks Carry

Fleas and ticks are common parasites on our dogs. Most owners just consider them to be a nuisance or inconsequential, but that is far from the truth. These insects can transmit several diseases to your four-legged friend. And, the worrisome part is that you may never know it.

Fleas are (historically) known for carrying bubonic plague. Thankfully, this (primarily) human disease is rarely seen these days. With dogs, our concern is tapeworms. By eating the flea, the dog ingests the tapeworm hiding in the flea. Stomach acids digest the flea, releasing the tapeworm. The worm grows into an adult and you subsequently see tapeworm segments in the dog’s stool or in the hair around the anus.

Ticks can transmit several nasty diseases. Best known is Lyme disease, which can trigger joint pain and fatal kidney infections. Anaplasmosis and Ehrlichiosis are blood infections that cause loss of platelets and anemia, among other symptoms.

 

For more information contact Dr. Jeff Grognet or Dr. Louise Janes at

Mid-Isle Veterinary Hospital
5-161 Fern Road West
Qualicum Beach, BC
Tel (250) 752-8969

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