A recent article in the Washington Post is calling this year “a brutal tick season.” The CAPC (Companion Animal Parasite Council) says that tick-borne diseases are up in 2021. Fleas and ticks are more than just a minor annoyance. They can make your pet miserable, or worse, make them very sick.
Fleas and ticks can be active all year long in Florida’s tropical climate. Therefore, they can pose a threat any time–regardless of how clean you keep your pet and their environment. They don’t discriminate between furry pets, but are most common on dogs and cats. Here’s what the veterinarians at Jacksonville Community Pet Clinic want you to know.
What are Fleas?
Fleas are tiny, reddish-brown, wingless parasites that are the most common external parasite in dogs and cats. That doesn’t mean that other mammals and birds are resistant, it’s just not as common to find flea infestations on pets like ferrets and parakeets. Plus, fleas can feed on people, too, if there enough of them infesting your home or yard. The best defense is prevention, because once a flea infestation emerges, it can increase exponentially each day until it’s eradicated.
Each female flea can produce as many as 50 eggs in a day.
The eggs fall off the pet into the environment (your home and backyard). Usually within a few days, the eggs hatch into worm-like larvae, which feed and form cocoons. The immature fleas (pupae) lie in wait inside these protective cocoons until they sense a host, and then they emerge as adults to feed.
What are Ticks?
Ticks are very small parasites that are related to spiders, so they have eight legs. Even adult ticks are only about the size of an apple seed (unless they’ve just fed), which makes them especially hard to spot. They have flat oval bodies that swell when they eat. They feed on the blood of all kinds of animals from pets to deer to humans.
Fallacies About Fleas and Ticks
As mentioned above, keeping your house clean and tidy won’t keep out fleas or ticks. Fleas and ticks will take up residence anywhere there are hosts to feed on, regardless of how spotless the environment or how pampered the pet.
They don’t just hide in carpeting. They can be anywhere. The growing stages of fleas (eggs, larvae, and pupae) hide in bedding, in clothing, under furniture, and along baseboards. They can even enter your home on your socks, backpacks, or cloth bags from another infested place. Ticks can hitch a ride indoors on your pet or on you. Once a tick attaches to a host (human or pet), it can remain there for several days.
If you’ve heard the myth about garlic keeping fleas away, don’t believe it. Feeding pets garlic can hurt them, and there’s no scientific proof that garlic repels fleas.
There is no real “flea or tick season” in Florida. Fleas and ticks can infest your pet and your home at any time of year.
Infestations
Fleas and ticks can survive throughout the year in the right conditions, with your home being a perfect environment for them to thrive and multiply in. Once a flea infestation is established in your home, the parasites can multiply quickly and can be frustrating and extremely difficult to get rid of.
It’s also a time-consuming process because the flea life cycle has to be broken, and that can take weeks or longer. You don’t just have to kill the adults; you have to destroy all the life stages, and that means waiting until the fleas emerge from their cocoons. Immature fleas can’t be killed with insecticides while inside these protective shells. Preventing infestations is far better than having to treat them.
Flea and Tick-Borne Diseases
Fleas and ticks can make dogs and cats miserable:
- When fleas bite, they can cause flea allergy dermatitis (FAD) in dogs and cats. FAD is an allergic reaction to certain components in flea saliva, which is why this condition is also called “flea bite hypersensitivity.”
- Not only can fleas cause intense itching and skin inflammation, but when infested pets scratch, they can damage their skin and cause skin infections.
- Fleas can lead to life-threatening blood loss (anemia) in puppies and kittens.
- Fleas can also cause illnesses like cat scratch diseaseand plague in people, and they can even transmit tapeworms to both pets and people.
- Ticks can cause Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Babesiosis, Bartonellosis and Hepatozoonosis.
- Tick-borne diseases can have serious health consequences for dogs and many can have serious health consequences for people as well.
Unfortunately, just because you don’t see fleas and ticks doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Signs & Symptoms of Fleas & Ticks in Pets
Itching is often the main symptom of flea infestations, causing pets to:
- Scratch
- Rub against furniture
- Shake their head
- Frequently lick, chew, bite, or groom themselves, sometimes to the point where they cause hair loss or hot spots (painful, raw, inflamed areas on the skin that may bleed)
The most common signs of a tick bite in pets is:
- You see the tick
- Your pet has a fever
- Pet has unexplained scabs
- Pet shakes their head
- You feel a small bump or lump
Prevention is Key
Fleas and ticks are a problem year-round in Jacksonville and throughout Northeast Florida. Don’t wait until you see these parasites on your pet to take action!
The veterinarians at Jacksonville Community Pet Clinics can help easily prevent these parasites and the problems they cause by keeping pets on flea and tick control products. As an added bonus, many of these products also provide protection against other parasites. Give them a call to make sure your pet’s protected or to refill your pet’s prescription.
Infestations are FAR easier to prevent than to treat.
Some pets are so allergic to fleas that only one or two can cause a reaction and intense itching. If your pet is scratching or you think your pet might have fleas or ticks, let your vet know so they can check for these parasites and other possible causes of itch—and help get your pet relief.
All Jacksonville Community Pet Clinics carry several options for flea control, including Trifexis, Bravecto, NexGard and Simparica Trio. For rebates and other cost-saving offers on these parasite preventives, check out their specials page.
