Your pet's constant scratching and digging at fleas and ticks is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the problems these pests can cause. Fleas can carry tapeworms and cause allergic dermatitis; ticks transmit Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other infections. Fortunately, you have a choice of remedies to help control these insect troublemakers.
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Natural Remedies
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Your choices of natural flea and tick remedies are many, according to the Humane Society of the United States. They are also equally effective for both dogs and cats. Begin with a flea comb and a tick removal device, both available at your local pet store.
Fill a jar with warm, soapy water. If your pet has long fur, brush him first. Then comb him, dipping the comb in the water after each swipe to drown the fleas. The flea comb also will pull up unattached ticks.
Use the tick removal device to grab the tick as close to its head as you can, and gently pull it out. You may not be able to remove the entire head, but your vet can extract it if an infection develops. Don't touch the tick, which may carry disease.
Vacuum your carpets, drapes and upholstery daily during peak flea and tick season to remove flea eggs and droppings. Empty your vacuum's dust cup or dispose of its bag outdoors. At least once a week, pick your pet's bedding up by its corners to keep fleas and eggs from dislodging, then wash it in hot, soapy water.
Sprinkle food-grade diatomaceous earth, available at your garden supply store, around your pet's bedding and snooze spots, and add it to water to make a natural flea and tick yard spray.
Commercial Remedies
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Fipronil, permethrin and selamectin are commercial topical treatments effective against both fleas and ticks. Permethrin, however, is toxic to cats.
Buy topicals in packages of vials appropriate for your pet's weight. Apply them once a month by spreading the fur at the base of your pet's neck behind her head and emptying the contents of a single vial onto the exposed skin. Applying the medication to a large dog may require you to divide the vial's contents on two or three spots along her spine.
Dr. Sally Gardiner, a veterinarian from Petshed.com, says that selamectin is effective only against the American dog tick, and in years of heavy infestation may require a second treatment only two weeks after the first. Despite their name, American dog ticks also feed on cats and can infect them with cutauxzoonosis felis, a fatal parasite.
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