Fleas
Take your dog for a walk in a grassy park and you may spot a flea leaping or crawling along your dog's back or side. If a dog is allergic to flea saliva, one bite can send him into a scratching frenzy, known as pruritus, that will last for weeks. This itching is so severe that it may lead to hair loss, inflammation, and secondary skin infections.
Cold does not harm adult fleas, which can live on your pet through the winter. Female fleas can lay a whopping 2,000 eggs in their lifetime. Flea larvae, which hatch from eggs in one to six days, flourish in carpets and in shaded areas outside.
The bite of a flea can also transmit tapeworm, which can lead to serious anemia and weight loss. Besides, fleas bite people too!
Life in the Flea Lane
The flea has a four-stage life cycle lasting from two weeks to eight months. It needs a warm, humid temperature — 70°F–85°F and 70 percent humidity — in order to survive, and thrives in warm, moist winters and spring.
Life begins when the female flea lays eggs on a dog. Some of these eggs may fall on the ground or where the dog sleeps. Two days to two weeks later the eggs hatch into larvae.
The worm-like larvae remain in dark areas and take a week to several months to mature. In the meantime they feast on digested blood from adult flea feces, dead skin, and hair. While maturing, they weave a silken cocoon that sticks to pet hair, carpet, dust, and grass.
They can survive the winter in this stage, but typically adult fleas emerge five to fourteen days later. An adult flea can only live about one week without a blood meal.
Avoiding a Flea Circus
For a healthy dog, an occasional flea shouldn't cause much of a problem, especially if you pick it off quickly. But fleas are especially attracted to weak, sick, or malnourished dogs or puppies whose immune systems aren't functioning well. A poor diet, stress, and unsanitary conditions will worsen the slightest flea reactions.
How do you know if your dog has fleas?
To look for fleas, separate the hair on your dog's belly, lower back, and anal region. Fleas have a flattened body, are black to brownish-black, are one-twelfth to one-sixteenth of an inch long, and have six legs. A flea comb can help you look for fleas on a thicker coat or on pigmented skin. If you see or feel dark grit in your dog's coat, take some off and put it on a white paper towel. Add a drop of water. If the grit dissolves and turns red, you know it is flea feces.
While you can fight fleas with insecticides, nematodes, and hormones (discussed later), improving your dog's underlying condition is the best defense. Feeding him a natural diet boosts his immune system to resist all parasites.
In warm weather you can prevent fleas from moving in on your dog by not taking him out to exercise in large grassy areas that may be flea infested. Think twice about going to the dog park because fleas love to hop from one warm dog to another.
Other Remedies
Powders, sprays, and bathing products containing pyrethrin, which is made from chrysanthemums, and vinegar, garlic, citrus, or ginger are good therapies too. Pennyroyal, citronella, and eucalyptus oils are reliable flea repellents for adult dogs, but these topical remedies may be toxic to puppies.
There are a few other things you can do to prevent fleas:
Groom your dog weekly, especially in warm weather. Look for any fleas while you're bathing and brushing him.
Comb your dog with a fine-toothed flea comb. This comb is available in pet supply stores and traps any fleas and flea eggs.
Wash your bedding as well as your dog's bedding weekly in hot water. Cedar-filled dog beds help repel fleas.
Steam clean carpeting and clean upholstered furniture and draperies before flea season. Once a week, sweep between cracks, crevices, along baseboards, and under rug edges, furniture, or beds to catch any flea eggs, larvae, and adult fleas.
Keep your lawn mowed and watered. When grass is short, sunlight kills larvae. Tall grass and leaves are favorite nesting areas for fleas.
Getting Rid of Fleas
If your dog already has fleas, they need to be eliminated quickly. Chances are any other animals in the household have fleas too and must also be treated. The fastest way to kill fleas is to use a chemical insecticide or dip and a natural therapy. Today there are new products that safely prevent and sterilize adult fleas. These are less toxic than older remedies and can be administered orally or topically once a month.
Make a homemade flea control spray by mixing two drops of pure lavender essential oil and two drops of pure cedar wood essential oil. Add to a spray bottle filled with warm water. Shake well. Spray over your dog's fur, but don't get any in his eyes or ears! This evaporates quickly, so reapply it often.
But a pill or a liquid isn't enough to kill fleas. Your dog also needs a flea bath. Water destroys the eggs and adult fleas, but new ones from the carpet will hop right back on as soon as she leaves the tub. Spritz her with a flea control spray. To help soothe your dog's itching skin, add a lavender, aloe vera, or calendula herbal rinse after bathing.
Common conventional flea preventives contain chemicals. While manufacturers insist they are safe, it's important to realize that although most dogs tolerate them well, some dogs may have adverse reactions to the artificial ingredients they contain. If you have a pest invasion, you may decide to use whatever means necessary to ease your dog's suffering, but once the situation is under control, consider natural alternatives.
Wash your dog's bedding and loose rugs in hot water. Vacuum upholstered furniture, all wall-to-wall carpeting and floor areas of your home. Sprinkle flea powder, such as a borate product made specifically for flea control, around the floor edges of every room. Or, hire a commercial flea extermination company to come over and do the job.
Next, rid your outdoor environment of fleas. While dangerous pesticide sprays were once the only way to wipe out fleas in the yard, today you can apply natural diatomaceous earth around the garden. Nematodes are another antidote. These microscopic worms naturally live in soil and consume flea larvae and other garden pests. They are more effective than any chemical. Harmless to people and pets, nematodes eat a few hundred different types of pests that live in the soil. You can purchase nematodes at your veterinarian's office, garden centers, and through organic garden catalogues.
