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Fleas and ticks are prevelant in Columbia, SC. Here is a 101 guide to tell you the difference between the two, and how to manage them. | Dog Training In Your Home Columbia

Flea and tick season is almost here – are you ready?

Let’s talk about fleas and ticks 101 – what is the difference between the two? Do you even know? Here is a quick guide to help you understand the pests you could be dealing with, and ways to help manage them.

The difference between Fleas and Ticks:

Fleas – let’s talk about these first.  Most likely, the type of flea you will find on your dog is the cat flea.  It has four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.  Eggs are laid on the dog, but fall off within a few hours onto whatever the dog is laying on – a bed, carpet, or couch for example.  After the larvae emerge, they feed on adult flea feces, organic debris, eggshells, and other flea larvae.  They develop into adult fleas by cocooning themselves in a pupae.  After 8-28 days, the adult flea emerges if conditions are favorable.

Ticks – While there are several species that you might find on your dog, it is usually the ixodid, or hard, ticks.  Again, they have a few life stages: larva, nymph, and adult – but they molt and feed off a different host between each stage.

Both types of pests can be managed – with flea and tick prevention you can get from your vet.  These can be topical or oral types of treatments (wait for  next week’s blog!)

Related: How to Prevent Lyme Disease In Your Dog

Managing Fleas and Ticks

Ticks:

  • Check for ticks daily – especially if you live in wooded areas, areas prone to tick infestation, or if you’ve just taken a walk in the woods.
  • Keep grass and weeds cut short.
  • If you can, remove grass, weeds, and brush piles between fences, along property lines, and near buildings.
  • Landscape with plants that do not attract deer.

Fleas:

  • If you’re already infested (which you are if you find just one flea on your dog), treat all you animals in your house so fleas can’t reproduce.
  • Treat the indoor environment to remove all traces of eggs, larvae, and pupae by vacuuming daily and washing bedding regularly in hot water.
  • Treat your yard to reduce the population of bugs outside.
Summarized from Dog Fancy Magazine

Related: Heartwoms: What you Need To Know About Them To Keep Your Dog Healthy

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