Your pet is flea-infested. Now what? First, you need to remove the fleas, and eliminate the problem permanently. But, while there are several treatments, they’re not all as effective, and they aren’t required for every case. The choice then, depends on what you need to control.

Flea collars are a convenient solution to killing fleas, but they vary in how effective they are. Some work by emitting a gas that’s fatal to fleas, which means they work best near the neck area, and are less effective elsewhere on your dog or cat. Other flea collars work by placing a chemical into your pet’s tissues that is poisonous for fleas. This collar is more effective than the other kind, but involves your cat or dog absorbing flea toxins over a long term period, which owners might wish to avoid. In all cases, take care to not reduce its effectiveness by misusing it, for example letting it get wet.

An option to help your dog or cat is with a pill. These oral forms of protection usually work on the egg, but not the adult. But by preventing the eggs from growing, the next generation. However, this means you’ll still have to remove the adult fleas from your cat or dog.

Flea shampoos or dips are very effective in killing fleas. One of the biggest disadvantages is in actually getting the dog or cat into the bath! The shampoo must be applied properly to do its job. But when used correctly, the shampoo is highly effective, and leaves behind almost no residual chemicals on your dog or cat. But this plus is also a disadvantage since there’s no long-term protection from the bath, and you must use other methods to totally safeguard your cat or dog from future attacks.

A straightforward solution to apply is sprays, powders, spot on treatments, or something similar. The treatment requires a simple application. The length of time they work varies - powders or sprays usually last just a few days, spot on treatments can last a month, also they can vary in coverage. Powders and sprays can protect also against more than fleas, such as ticks, mites, and more.

So no matter what option you select to get rid of of fleas, you should pay attention to understand thoroughly what each chemical does, how precisely it works, and how it affects your cat or dog. Each option protects differently, and reading the products will provide you find the best solution to solve your flea problem, and help your cat or dog to be safe from fleas.

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