Mild winter makes flea tick season worse ,
Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/rhtn/News/802/
Excluding a few cold spells, the mild winter weather has made life easier for ticks and fleas.
Veterinarians have been seeing more tick and flea problems at their clinics. Cats and especially dogs have been hit the hardest. "The ticks were able to survive all winter long," said Veterinarian Nancy Belknap of New Hope Animal Hospital. "We saw them consistently."
Of the 632 dogs tested this year at the hospital on New Hope Road, 35 were diagnosed with Ehrlichia, Belknap said. This disease is transmitted by ticks and can be treated with an antibiotic. If left untreated, the dog could bleed to death.
Also, two cases of Lyme disease and four cases of heartworm disease were confirmed there, she said. These including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are also transmitted by ticks, Belknap said.
Fleas have also been a problem for pets here, said Veterinarian Michelle Richardson of the Animal Clinic of Rogers. "I’ve never really not seen fleas," she said about what she has found on the pets that come into her clinic on Walnut Street. "The No. 1 allergy in dogs is fleas," Belknap said.
Richardson said that the winter has not been cold enough to see a decline in the flea population.
Not only can fleas cause allergies in dog and cats, but they also can transmit tapeworms, Belknap said.
A sign of the flea allergy is a pet that is itching a lot or grooming itself a lot, she said.
Some of Richardson’s customers have been controlling fleas in homes with bug pesticides or "bug bombs," she said.
To control the problem at the source, a flea collar can help a pet, but the best method of control is a liquid drip between the pet’s shoulder blades, Belknap said.
Both Richardson and Belknap recommended Frontline, Advantage and Advantix to stop fleas and ticks. These treatment medicines are available at either clinic and can be applied by the pet’s owner. Advantix, however, is only for dogs because it is toxic for cats.
Belknap said she prefers these liquid medicines because a flea collar must be almost dangerously tight to work properly. A monthly liquid treatment works better because it spreads on the pet using the oils of the body, she said. "You get better distribution over the body," she said.
Both veterinarians cautioned the use of some of the over-thecounter medicines. One, which has been pulled from shelves, has caused cats to die or have seizures, Belknap said.