Groomed to Perfection - Pet Grooming Done on Your Time!

Three fields of battle can control your fleas: the pet, the house and the yard. Fleas can lay eggs for over a year, and the egg-laying female is usually attracted to dark areas like in-door cracks and crevices, or outdoors in shaded bushes and high grasses. The eggs rarely seen or recognized in nature. Adult fleas actually spend very little time on your pet. They spend most of their time in the environment, in- cluding the carpet, under the furniture and under furniture cushions. They Can hide under the refrigerator and outdoors under the house. One female flea can lay hundreds of eggs. The eggs hatch into small worm-like larvae which molt into a pupa (cocoon) and then emerge as young, active and very hungry adults. Fleas can survive several months without a blood meal in order to lay her eggs. These eggs are resistant to insect- icides. They can lie dormant until conditions are more favorable for them to hatch and complete their life cycle. This explains the rapid, almost overnight increase in flea population in the late spring when the weather conditions are perfect. Sixty to eighty (60-80) degrees Fahrenheit and a humidity are the optimum conditions for fleas to hatch. Adult fleas can develop resistance to insecticides very easily. This explains why one flea product useful one year may be ineffective when you attempt to use it the next year.

Fleas can do two things to your dog (or cat):

• Cause local skin irritation at the site of each bite, causing itchiness
• Produce an allergic reaction to the saliva in susceptible animals, causing sever itchiness

You must remember the importance of controlling fleas which are on the animal and also the fleas in the dogs environment. In the flea allergic pet, control on the animal is often useless without good environment control. Also flea control must be practiced on all animals in the household.

Your pet(s) may be dipped once every seven to ten days. Care must be taken to mix and use the solution properly. Many dips are not approved for use in cats. The eyes must be protected. Pyrethrins are the most commonly selected "on pet" flea control agents mainly because they can be used daily. An ingredient that contains "Precor" is highly recommended. Precor (or methoprene) is known as an insect growth regulator (IGR). It interrupts the maturation process of the baby flea, preventing it from reaching the breeding adult-hood stage, without actually killing it. It's been jokingly called the "birth control" for fleas. A good flea shampoo can be just as effective for killing fleas as a dip. Most shampoos recommend that the dog soak in the solution for at least 10 minutes before rinsing. The only time we like to use dip as opposed to the shampoo is for a dog that is very infested. We really feel the shampoos are very effective and safer for the pet. There is absolutely no product, to the best of our knowledge that "repels" a flea. So the idea that the dip or shampoo has a residual effect of say 7 to 14 days, is a nice sales promotion, although we feel it to be a slight exaggeration. We feel an excellent product to keep on hand is Adams Flea/Tick Mist. Basically it's main purpose is to "Kill" fleas that you see walking on the pet. And the killing action is with-in seconds... none of this business waiting around wondering if it worked. Other safe and effective shampoos and dips are the all-natural products that use ingredients such as Eucalyptus Oil, etc.. For dogs that already have been bitten and are itching, a shampoo that contains Melaleuca oil are proving to be highly effective in relieving the problem. At least for the moment, until the next bite.

For every one flea found on your pet, there can be hundreds in the house and the yard. When insecticides are used to kill adult fleas on the pet, the house and the yard should be sprayed thoroughlyÊevery two weeks for three (3) times, and then once a month thereafter during flea season. Why so often, you ask? Because you are attempting to break the breeding cycle. The fleas you kill on the first attempt, are not the pre-adult fleas, which at that time are either in the egg or pupae stage. Two weeks later when you do your second treatment you are now killing that were in the egg and pupae stage during the subsequent treatments. Two chemicals we like to recommend for the outside are 50% Malathion, obtainable at plant nurseries. Two (2) ounces of this mixed in a gallon of water can be used as a yard spray. Dursban liquid is another popular choice for a yard spray...using one under porches and around house foundations, and release the spray in a sweeping motion with your arm, and try to cover as thoroughly as possible. One caution to be sure you follow...Do not allow your dogs or cats to walk on the wet grass as the chemical will get on the their feet and can be toxic. Once the grass is dry, this will no longer need to be a precaution. Usually after a good soaking rain, or heavy morning dew is a good time to treat the yard, as it tends to cling to the blades of grass better. If you stake your dog, it may be best to concentrate your efforts mainly on the area his lead reaches to. There is no need to feel you have to treat an acre of land...only those areas your dog frequents most, and they all have their own special area to lay. Please do not feel that if you have a yard is not fenced and may have other roaming neighborhood dogs, that your efforts will be effortless. This is not so!! Any treatment is better than none at all. And we can guarantee that your efforts will be rewarded if you work diligently at it and follow these recommendations to the letter.

You can use foggers on the inside of your house. Some are better than others. Precor (Methoprene) also comes in foggers, and it will be to your advantage to shop until you find a can that has that ingredient included on the label, as it does break the breeding cycle. Dursban can be used in the house, mixing the same way for the yard. If you have hardwood floors or tile it can be applied with a mop or damp rag containing the flea solution. It is more beneficial to get the liquid Precor and add it to the water containing Durban...there again your objective being to break the breeding cycle of the adult fleas, while at the same time killing the adult fleas with Durban. You may notice that for approximately 24 hours after applying the solution, it seems as though the fleas have begun to attack you as well as the pet and that the effort was to no avail. This is a chemical reaction to fibers in the carpet that could cause discoloration problems. Therefore, it may be safer to use the foggers, unless you want to check your carpet fabric first with Dursban solution in an inconspicious place. It is always wise to vacuum the carpet after the treatment, and discard the vacuum bag directly afterwards. If you have some Sevin dust, you can add that to the vacuum bag afterwards. Foggers are so much more thorough as the mist can go everywhere. It is also important to get one small can for EACH room unless your square footage is very small. Remember to take birds, hamsters, etc. out of the house. Cover fish tanks. Remove couch cushions, push beds in another part of the bedroom. This lets the mist get right in those dark areas that fleas like to harbor in.

Treating for fleas is a chore. But it is something most of us can handle without too much difficulty. If you'd rather not bother, call the professional exterminator. But be sure he does the yard and the house. And also be sure he guarantees his work. Most will make you sign a contract that states he'll be back in 2 weeks for the next treatment, and usually 2 weeks again, then once a month thereafter. Be cautious in believing that one treatment alone will do the trick. Also, the day the exterminator is visiting, make sure pets are being flea bathed or dipped at the same time...not the next day! It must be a systematic treatment program in order to be effective. But whatever you do...don't give up. Remember one adult flea lays hundreds of eggs that will soon be hatching out, and the cycle will continue on and on and on....