You usually become aware of the need for dog flea control once your dog has fleas. Your first job is to to get rid of the existing fleas and then maintain a regular flea prevention program.

Lifecycle of the flea - there are 4 stages and the whole cycle can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to several months depending on the environmental conditions.

1. Egg - up to 50 eggs a day may be laid by the adult female flea in your dog's coat. The eggs are not designed to stay on your dog's coat and will fall onto the carpet, your dog's bedding, your bed, the soil outside etc.
   The egg will hatch anytime within two days to a few weeks of being laid - eggs hatch more quickly in warm, humid conditions - and the flea larva will emerge.
2. Larva - flea larva live off flea dirt and any other organic matter that is in your carpet, dog's bedding, yard etc. Given sufficient food and a warm environment the lava will spin a cocoon within 5 to 18 days of hatching.
3. Pupa - the flea can lie dormant in its cocoon for months, even years.
   What stimulates the adult flea to emerge is the detection of vibrations, increased carbon dioxide levels and a warming of the environment - the presence of your dog will trigger all these stimuli.
4. Adult flea - when the flea emerges from its cocoon it will find your dog within seconds and start feeding on his blood within hours of emerging from the cocoon. The flea will start to breed as soon as possible, and the life cycle starts over again.

How to eliminate fleas from inside your house

Start by moving all your dog's toys, bedding, your bedding and everything else your dog lies on to one place and thoroughly wash them, preferably with hot soapy water. If you can see that the items are infested with fleas you might want to consider destroying them - put the items into a plastic dustbin bag and securely seal the bag.

Vacuum the house thoroughly to pick up as many of the eggs, larvae and pupae as you can. You'll probably eliminate 50% this way, and you'll also be removing the food source the larvae rely on. Remove, seal and destroy the vacuum bags as soon as you've finished vacuuming.

Eliminate the remaining eggs and larvae by using a spray or fogger in the house. To be effective these need to contain an adulticide (for example, permethrin) to kill the adult fleas and an insect growth regulator (for example, methoprene). The pupae are not destroyed by insecticides and you will need to encourage them to pupate in order to eliminate them.

Sprays are effective because you can control where the product is applied to, and you can pay particular attention to the areas where your dog lies. Foggers are set off in the center of the room and so are less targeted in their coverage; the advantgae of using a fogger is that you inhale less of the product as you can leave the room as soon as it's activated. Your vet will be able to help you select the appropriate products to use.

When using sprays and foggers pay close attention to the instructions for use and ensure all pets and family are outside the house when the product is applied. Follow the product instructions as to when it's safe to return to the house - it's usually a few hours after the product has been applied.

After spraying or fogging continue to vacuum daily for a couple of weeks as this encourage the pupae to emerge from the safety of their cocoons, ingest the insecticide and die.

Don't forget to treat all the rooms in your house that your dog uses, plus dog carriers, your car and any other place your dog spends time.

 

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How to eliminate fleas from outside your house

Fleas like warm, shady and moist conditions so focus your attention on these areas, and where your dog spends his time when he is outside.

Remove all rubbish and debris form these areas and then scrub dog kennels, dogruns, patios and other hard surfaces your dog uses.

Finally, apply an outdoor insecticide that will kill eggs, larvae and adult fleas. Your vet will be able to recommend a suitable product - the active ingredient is likely to be Pyriproxifen rather than Methoprene because it lasts longer outdoors.

 

How to eliminate fleas from your pet

Start using a flea product as soon as possible either when you see a flea or as a prevention year round. 

Now that we've taken care of the fleas in your home and treated the "hot spots" in your yard, it's time to eliminate the fleas that are on your pet. There are a number of flea control products for use on pets, including once-a-month topical products, oral. With any product applied directly to the pet, please remember that you may see some live fleas on your pet for a short time after an application. In order for the fleas to die, they must come into contact with the insecticide, and absorb it.

Keep in mind that until all of the fleas in your home have died, you will probably still see some fleas, even on a treated pet, since some immature forms may continue to develop. This is especially true if you had a big flea problem to start with. Persistence is the key here. It is essential to keep following an effective flea control program for a long enough time to get rid of all of the fleas, in all life stages. This may take several weeks to 6 months or more, depending on your particular situation.

 

We recommend Comfortis or Frontline.

 

Comfortis: is a monthly pill and is 99% effective and Frontline: is a topical used once a month.