If You Own a Pet - Flea Control is a Fact of Life
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Fleas are a fact of life if you own a pet. If your pet spends time both indoors and outdoors fleas are inevitable. There are over 2400 different types of fleas and thankfully only a small portion of that population is bothersome to you and your pet. Effective flea control is a must.
The best type of flea control for your dog is not a flea collar – despite all the marketing hype to the contrary. The best chemical flea control method is the monthly application of the ointment – the most respected is the Frontline ™ brand. Avoid the Hartz ™ brand, commonly found in Walmart. Reason being as there are numerous individuals that have reported their pets experiencing adverse reactions.
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Flea control goes beyond treating your pet. Genuinely effective flea control includes ridding your home of them as well. Various chemicals address the various life cycle stages of fleas. They can prevent their eggs from hatching, or from their exoskeletons from maturing or a combination of the two. The more comprehensive approach you take towards flea control the better – because fleas can live for months without food, and can lay as many as 50 eggs a day!
The chemicals recommended by veterinarians most often for flea control are Advantage flea control, Revolution flea prevention and Frontline flea control. There are some natural alternatives to consider, provided your needs are not dire and immediate. That’s an important point worth making for flea control. Don’t panic and poison yourself or your pet. It’s easy to do with all the flea control marketing hype. Some of the fogger variety of products can cause liver damage. One home remedy is to sprinkle salt on the areas of your carpet and let it stand for an hour hour so. It is said to dry out and kill fleas – as it does slugs, and you can vacuum it up after an hour or two. Alone it will not solve a big problem, but it is one approach to take
One of the latest chemical approach involves a drug called Nylar. It also goes by the name Pyriproxifen. This chemical is claimed to provide flea control for up to seven months. In university studies it lasted as long as eleven months. It works by stopping eggs and larva from maturing. Combined with the effective control of adult fleas, this is the latest and most effective method for flea control available.
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Last Updated 02/07/2009
