Types of Flea and Tick Treatments Explained

We know that keeping fleas and ticks away from your pets and out of your home is your priority. There are many different options available to help keep these pests away, and it may be tricky to determine which product does what. Your veterinarian can also help you determine exactly which product will best suit your dog or cat. We’ve put together a list of the different types of flea and tick preventatives and how they work.

Bravecto at VetRxDirectTopical Medications

These liquid medications come in a tube applicator and are applied to your dog or cat’s skin. Topicals or “Spot Ons” are usually placed by parting the hair at the base of the neck or between the shoulder blades. Depending on the product, the topical medications work 2 ways. Some absorb through the skin into the bloodstream and kill the pest once they bite. Others spread across the body with the natural skin oils and kill or repel the pest on contact. For dogs or cats that are difficult to give oral medications, topical pest treatments are preferred by owners.

 

Comfortis at VetRxDirectOral Medications

These medications come in a soft chew or chewable tablet that your dog or cat can eat like a treat. Once given, the medication circulates in the bloodstream, and when a flea or tick bites your dog, it’s exposed to the pesticide and dies. Oral medications may be preferred over topicals for animals who easily take pills. Owners may come in contact with the liquid while applying it or touching their animal.

 

 

CM2 Flea and tick shampoo at VetRxDirectShampoos and Dips

Flea and tick shampoos obviously help clean your dog and cat but more importantly help wash away and kill the nasty pests quickly on contact. Shampoos need to sit for a short period of time before rinsing to allow them to work. Some shampoos stay effective for days after a bath but are ideal for short-term treatment only. Dips are used similarly but are left to dry without rinsing, and are very concentrated.

 

 

Seresto Collar at VetRxDirectCollars

Flea and tick collars are worn around your dog or cat’s neck and come in adjustable sizes. The collars work against pests by releasing their ingredients over the animal’s skin. Depending on the brand, collars can provide 5-12 months of protection before needing to be replaced. Owners may prefer collars as a “hands-off” approach over administering topical or oral medications.

 

It’s Tick Season. Are You Ready?

We’re about to enter high tick season which runs from April through November in most parts of the country. So it’s time to arm yourself with the facts to protect your pets from these parasites.

Deer Tick on my dog Flickr Picture Courtesy of B D

Courtesy of B D / Flickr

Why is tick prevention so important? Ticks carry a variety of diseases that are dangerous to pets — in particular to dogs — including Lyme Disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and ehrlichiosis.

Know Your Enemy

Do ticks live in your area? If so, what kind? It helps to know what you’re up against. Check the tick maps provided by the CDC to learn what ticks live in your area and how to identify them.

Distribution of the Brown Dog Tick During Tick Season in the U.S.

Courtesy of the CDC

It’s a good idea to conduct regular tick checks of your pets, especially if your pet spends a lot of time outdoors. Every day, run your hands slowly over your pet’s body including her head, armpits, and inside her ears. Don’t forgot to check yourself too!

What to do if you find a tick on your dog or cat:

  • Use a pair of tweezers or the Tick Twister to grab the tick by head where the mouth enters your pet’s body, then pull backwards steadily until the tick is extracted from the body. Don’t grab the tick by the body, twist it, or pull too quickly. Disinfect the wound and apply an antibiotic cream approved by your veterinarian. Keep it clean and disinfected until it has healed.
  • If your pet has several ticks or is infested with them, you can try a medicated shampoo or dip to kill the ticks on contact.
  • Watch for signs of tick borne illnesses in your pet. Symptoms may not be evident for up to three weeks. If you think a tick has bitten your pet and she’s behaving differently – loss of appetite, lethargy – talk your veterinarian right away.

Don’t Wait Until Tick Season: Prevention is the Best Medicine

Your goal should be to prevent ticks from ever latching on to your dog or cat. Fortunately, there are lots of effective preventative medications on the market. Your best bet is to talk with your veterinarian about which one is right for your pet and your area of the country. Be sure that the medicine you use repels the types of ticks in your area.

Here’s a quick overview of your options to fight ticks:

Oral Tick Preventatives – The market is full of preventative oral medications you give to your pet monthly to kill adult ticks and prevent eggs from hatching.

Topical Tick Preventatives – If you’d rather not give your pet a pill each month, ask your veterinarian about topical tick treatments that you apply to the skin each month.

Environmental Products to Kill Ticks – Keeping your bushes, trees, and lawn trimmed reduces the area ticks have to breed and helps keep the tick population at bay. If you have a tick infestation in your yard, consider using environmental products or hiring an exterminator to address the problem. Be sure to read the directions and understand how the products affect pets and people before you use them.

Seresto – One of the newest ways to protect your pet from ticks is the Seresto collar. It has a unique combination of ingredients and an innovative delivery system that protects your pet from ticks for up to eight months. It’s available for cats, too.

We stock a full range of tick preventatives and treatments to keep your pet safe and healthy. Which tick products do you use? And how are they working? We welcome your feedback and so do our other pet parents. Share your experiences with ticks by leaving a reply below. Alternatively, please leave product reviews on any of the tick products available at VetRxDirect. Thank you.

Down with ticks!

Wes

Fight Fleas and Ticks with Seresto

Many of us are still experiencing freezing temperatures, so it’s hard to believe that spring is almost here. That means warm days and more trips to the dog park aren’t far away — neither is and flea and tick season. Usually, long stretches of cold winter weather help suppress flea and tick populations, but this year’s relatively mild temperatures mean we’ll probably have a more severe flea and tick season. Learn how to treat your home if you are experiencing flea populations.

Can you believe that just one flea can bite up to 400 times a day? So you can understand just how uncomfortable a pup with a flea infestation can be.  But these parasites are much more than an itchy, disgusting nuisance. Fleas can cause a skin allergy in both cats and dogs and also carry tapeworms that can drain nutrition from your pet.

Ticks are even more dangerous because they transmit a variety of diseases, some of which can be fatal, including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease, Ehrlichiosis, and more.

Protect Your Pet with a Flea and Tick Preventative

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For the best flea and tick protection for your pet most veterinarians recommend year-round flea and tick prevention. And you have a lot of options. Topical treatments are some of the most popular preventatives because they’re safe, effective, and easy to use.  Just a few drops of the medication on your pet’s skin usually once a month provides safe, powerful, waterproof protection all month long.  VetRxDirect has a range of these topical treatments ready to ship.

NEW! Seresto for Eight Month Flea and Tick Prevention and Treatment

We’ve just started stocking a brand new option that’s a great alternative to topical treatment: Seresto. This product features innovative technology blending the convenience of a collar with the long-term performance of a topical treatment.

Seresto Prevents and Treats Flea and Ticks

Seresto is Now Available for Immediate Shipping!

It’s nothing like the old “flea collars” people used to use. Seresto is made of a unique polymer matrix embedded with two powerful active ingredients to kill fleas and repel and kill ticks. The medications slowly releases from the material giving your dog or cat effective, full body, waterproof protection for up to eight months. No mess, no odor, and no monthly reminders since one Seresto collar will last most of the year. Pretty easy and convenient, don’t you think? Plus there is currently a Seresto Rebate. Learn more by visiting VetRxDirect’s Seresto Product Page.

Here’s to being tick and flea free!

Wes