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Use Flea And Tick Medication For Pets
The first and absolutely most important thing you should do is to get flea and tick meds on all your outdoor pets. The flea and tick medication on your pets' skin will repel the pests so they won't hitch a ride on your furry companions.
Any unmedicated pets you let outdoors are basically a flea and tick taxi, carting unwanted hitchhikers into your home. Once there, the pests will nest and breed and be extremely difficult to get rid of. But if you simply medicate your outdoor pets, you'll end that fiasco before it starts.
What follows are some important notes on how to medicate your household animals against pests.
READ THE LABEL!
This is an extremely important warning for the health and safety of your pets. Be very careful to read the label of the flea and tick medication you're considering and make sure it's the correct one for the type of pet using it. This is literally a matter of life and death.
Why? It's because dog medication is lethal to cats. A simple mistake in choosing the product can end the life of a beloved family pet.
So always do your research. Read reviews, read the label, read the instructions before you apply.
How to Apply Flea And Tick Medication
As we said, read and follow the instructions exactly. But, in general, the label will tell you to apply the medication directly on the skin of the animal at the base of the neck where they can't reach it.
You'll start by holding the animal comfortably and parting the fur at the base of the neck. You may want a second person to help with this.
Apply the medication directly on the skin. Keep holding the pet still for about ten seconds so they don't immediately shake it off. Then, the medication will naturally spread throughout the skin under the fur.
For larger dogs, you'll want to apply to more than one spot. In addition to the back of the neck, you'll want to apply it to the skin at a few spots along the dog's back. Remember to part the skin as you did before.
Finish by comforting and reassuring your pet. Wash your hands when you finish, and after each time you pet the animal in the next 24 hours.
But we reiterate, these are general tips. Read the labeled instructions for accurate application directions.
Keep Pets Separate For 24 Hours
After applying the medication, keep the pet separate from other pets until the medication dries. Otherwise, your other pets may attempt to clean the medicine off the treated pet. This would be harmful to your pets and would decrease the effectiveness of the medicine.
Especially keep treated dogs away from cats, for reasons already mentioned. and supervise small children around treated pets for the first 24 hours. In that time period, some of the pest poison may rub off the animal when pet.
Treat Existing Infestations
If the above advice is a bit too late? If you suspect you've already got an infestation on your pets or in your home, here's what you do.
Comb For Fleas
First, get a flea comb and comb your pets to confirm if they're bringing in fleas. If your pet has any fleas, they will get trapped in the comb.
If you see any trapped in the comb, dip the comb in a solution of dish soap and water right away to dispose of the fleas. Repeat this process and comb your entire pet. This will get rid of many of the fleas before they can escape.
Flea Bath
Next, thoroughly cleanse your pet in a flea bath. Use flea shampoo instead of just water for best results.
Clean Your Home
Clean your home thoroughly. Vacuum the entire floor and empty the full vacuum bag right away. Steam clean all carpets.
Afterward, you can use household insecticide if you choose. But first, research the insecticide's potentially harmful effects on kids or pets.
Take Care of Your Lawn
The second best thing you can do to keep fleas and ticks out of your home is to stay on top of lawn maintenance. Overgrown grass gives pests lots of places to hide. So keep your grass short to discourage the nesting of pests.
If you plant shrubs, keep them spaced out—away from your house and each other.
Flea larvae love dark, damp places. Keeping shrubs spaced apart will dry out the area around them. This exposure will kill any existing larvae and discourage nesting.
Prevent Animal Trespassing
Next, you want to keep feral animals off of your property.
You may think it's nice to leave food out for hungry strays. But inviting strays also means inviting any pests they are carrying around.
Remove any food that's laying around outside on your property. If you still want to help the strays, get them to a nearby animal shelter.
If the food is in the form of a garden, keep it fenced off.
Spray for Pests
Obviously, there are a plethora of products you can buy for home pest prevention. Even better, you can hire experienced professionals to use their expert knowhow to rid your yard of pests.
Follow These Flea And Tick Prevention Tips
Like a wildfire, a flea or tick infestation is bad news that spreads fast. Stop it before it starts with these flea and tick prevention tips.
For more flea and tick tips, read 7 Steps You Can Take to Get Rid of Fleas in Your Home.
