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Best Flea And Tick Prevention Methods

 

Flea and tick preventative treatments and methods can reduce the difficulties of eliminating annoying critters from your dog and home. A flea infestation can cause various discomfort for your dog that results in significant health problems. Plus, fleas can be extremely difficult to eradicate and take over your home. They can even cause skin issues for you and your family. As for ticks, they can cause infectious diseases that can enter the blood, so it’s good to search your pets for ticks after any outdoor activity.

Various Types Of Flea And Tick Treatments For Dogs:

  • Oral medications are a great choice for treating and preventing fleas and ticks for being safe for you and your dog. You can obtain oral tablets for flea and tick treatments from the veterinarian.
  • Spot-On Flea Treatments: There are various spot-on flea treatments with different effectiveness and spectrums of use. Like sprays, shampoos, combs, etc.

Best Oral Tick-Prevention Treatments

Bravecto Chews for Dogs

Bravecto is a chewable, oral treatment for dogs. According to the vets, the main appeal of this over other oral medicines is that it protects dogs from fleas and ticks for about three months at a time. Bravecto starts killing embedded ticks in less than 12 hours and fleas in as little as two hours. The chewable tablets are meat flavored and available in different sizes for dogs. You can find Bravecto in most clinics or order it online with a prescription from a veterinarian.

NexGard Chewables for Dogs

Nexgard is the best and most effective prescription medication for ticks. It kills or controls American dog ticks, black-legged ticks, lone star ticks, and brown dog ticks. These are the majority of ticks that dogs in the U.S. will encounter. Each dose lasts for one month, which could be useful for mostly indoor dogs.

Simparica Trio Chewable Tablets for Dogs

Simparica Trio kills the ticks and also protects your dog from hookworms, heartworms, and roundworms. Give your dog this tablet every month. It’s available for dogs from 3 pounds up to 130 pounds.

Best Shampoo

Adams Plus Flea & Tick Shampoo

Adams Plus Flea & Tick Shampoo kills fleas and ticks and gets your dog squeaky clean at the same time. This shampoo contains a formula comprising aloe, oatmeal, lanolin, and coconut extract. It’s gentle on both you and your pet’s skin with an amazing smell. The shampoo prevents flea development for up to 28 days as it contains an insect growth regulator (IGR) to kill. You may need to use it every seven to ten days for it to be the most effective. 

Best Spray

Vet’s Best Flea & Tick Pet & Home Spray

Try this plant-based spray for tick and flea prevention. It’s formulated with natural peppermint and clove essential oils to kill fleas, larvae, eggs, ticks, and mosquitoes. While spraying your pet, be sure not to miss their armpits and in between their toes. Spray dogs daily at the start and then spray weekly. Reapply if your dog gets wet. 

Other Treatments

Bayer K9 Advantix II Flea and Tick Prevention

You can safely use K9 Advantix on dogs of seven weeks, and the small pup variety is for pups that weigh between 4 to 10 pounds. The topical works for 30 days and kills ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes. It starts killing fleas 12 hours after application. 

Best Topical Solution: Bravecto Topical Solution

This solution uses the same active ingredient found in the brand’s chewable medication, which means this solution will protect your dog for three months.

Other Precautions You Can Take

Troubleshoot Your Yard

The first step would be keeping fleas and ticks from setting up on your property.

If you have a yard, then keep your shrubs trimmed and grass mowed back. This simple setting moves the opposite of curb appeal to fleas and ticks as they have less place to reside. Next, control wild animals and wildlife from coming into your yard to prevent fleas from coming along with them. Raccoons, feral cats, and opossums are the worst offenders. Don’t let these critters come into your house by leaving bowls of dog or cat food outside. In addition, seal off any openings to crawl spaces, sheds, garages, or under decks, where wild animals or stray animals could nest.

Keep Your Home Clean

If you pay careful attention to some specific areas, you can prevent pests from coming. For example, the main stages of immature fleas often live in carpet or throw rugs. So vacuum and clean at least once a week, and more often if you spot fleas.

Practice Prevention

Various owners use spot-on flea and tick spray treatments on their pets. Run a flea brush or comb through your dog’s coat before they come inside to reduce the pests it carries. If you have a long-haired pet, then it’s easier for pests to hide there. So consider having your pet shaved down for the summer, which makes it easier to spot problems.

If not prevented or treated, flea and ticks can cause various potential health issues for dogs, including:

  • Skin irritation and infection
  • Rashes and red, inflamed skin
  • Transmission of disease to you and your dog
  • Scabs and scales
  • Psychological issues from constant scratching

Fleas and ticks can also result in disease transmission to humans through petting and sharing a living space with a host dog. That is why you must be aware of the health dangers that fleas and ticks can pose. It would be best if you took successive steps to reduce the risk of an infestation. Flea and tick infestation is easily preventable with the right plan and products.

Final Words

If ticks and fleas invade, take steps to rid them from your home and pet. Remember that most flea and tick prevention efforts will take more than one product to be completely effective. So get ready with a multi-pronged approach, and it should increase your chances of a flea and tick-free season.]