It’s that time of year. April showers and May flowers are on the horizon. Unfortunately, along with the beauty of spring comes the consequence of flea and tick season. If you live in the southern-most area of North America, flea and tick season is year round. The further north you live, flea and tick season can begin as early as March when the temperatures warm up.
We have two dogs and three cats. All of our cats are indoor only. The two dogs are mostly indoor, but they do play in the yard and go on daily walks throughout our neighborhood. Our home is on the outskirts of our neighborhood, so we are very close to uninhabited land which means fleas and ticks go uncontrolled in those areas. It is very hard to not take the dogs through, or near, that area as they like to explore. This means our dogs are at a higher risk of bring home hitchhiking pests.
A few years ago, we had a severe flea infestation here in Texas. We had a very mild winter and if I recall correctly, we didn’t have a deep freeze, which I am told helps control the flea and tick population in the spring. We have always used top-of-the-line topical flea preventative, and it wasn’t working. We were taking our dogs to the dog wash weekly to provide some relief. It was unsettling how many fleas we would see abandoning ship once the flea shampoo hit their skin. I am embarrassed to admit that even our home had a flea problem which spread to the cats. I started doing research on different types of flea and tick preventative, and what I learned is there are generally two types. There are topical preventatives that include medications applied directly to the skin, shampoos, and powders. Then there are oral medications. I was very turned off by the though of giving my dog poison internally. That just sounds very wrong to me. I also read horror stories of it killing pets due to adverse reactions. So, for our family, oral medications were out of the question. That left us with topical solutions that were failing us. Then, my co-worker mentioned she purchased Seresto collars for her pets and it was Godsend, so we gave it a go.
Within a day, the dogs stop scratching. I am not even exaggerating. WITHIN A DAY. Within a week, our flea problem, including in our home, was gone. Within two weeks, our dogs wounds from hot spots and scratching were healing. It was the best decision we made.
What I love about the collars is that, unlike topical medications, the Seresto collars also repels, not just kills, ticks and fleas. Imagine an invisible barrier around your dog. Seresto also kills lice which may be important to you. I don’t believe they are the same type of lice that affects humans, but it is still nice knowing they won’t be bringing those into your home. Another positive is with the Seresto collar is there is a lower potential that it will harm your pet’s skin. When we were using topical medications, sometimes, the medication caused a skin reaction. Because the medication on the Seresto collar is low dose over time, it hasn’t affected our dogs’ skin at all. It really is as simple as putting on a collar and letting it work.
I have been using Seresto collars on my pets for a couple years now. They advertise that they last 8 months, but we tend to replace our pets’ collars at the 6 month mark. It has seriously been the best investment for our pets. If you live in warmer climates where fleas and ticks are a bigger issue, try a Seresto collar.
As with any product, your pet may have a reaction. If you’re worried about any potential reactions, please visit with your vet and discuss your concerns.
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