By Dr. Dalane Epp

Summer has come and with it come the usual summertime pests, fleas, ticks and flies.  While fleas can cause year-round problems, warm and humid weather is their favorite.  As you can imagine, Nebraska summers fit the profile rather nicely.     

Fleas can be picked up almost anywhere other animals which are infested have been.  Contrary to popular opinion, fleas do not spread by jumping from animal to animal.  A flea will live nearly its entire life on a selected host.  The female lays eggs, which fall off the host and then hatch into flea larvae.  The larvae burrow into areas such as carpet or furniture inside, and soil outside, and then pupate until the right conditions for hatching occur.  Once the pupae hatches into an adult flea they quickly try to find a host animal.  If your pet has fleas, it has been somewhere infested with flea larvae.  Flea bites affect some pets more than others but most will itch and scratch with some pets scratching to the point of hair loss and extreme skin irritation.  A second side effect of flea bites can be tapeworms.

Another summertime pest, ticks, are found in grass, brush, shrubs and the like.  They attach to animals (and humans) as they walk by.  Ticks attach and feed on the host's blood.  In the process they can transmit several diseases including Lyme disease.  The more quickly the tick is removed from the host the less likely disease transmission will occur.  Ticks can also cause irritation and severe infestations can potentially cause anemia.  Ticks more commonly infest dogs though cats do acquire ticks as well.  Cats seem to be able to groom themselves well enough to remove most ticks themselves.  Ticks are best removed with a tweezers grabbing as close to your pet as possible.

Fly strike is commonly seen on outdoor dogs especially on dogs with erect ears.  Fly's can also cause maggot infestations which are most commonly seen in long coated dogs and/or cats especially if hair-matting has occurred.

While these pests can all cause irritation and more severe health problems, prevention is fairly simple.  There are multiple flea and tick preventative products on the market.  Some of these products work very well while others do not.  Your veterinarian can recommend the best one for your pet and your situation.    While many flea and tick preventatives are extremely safe, we do see problems most every summer with products meant for dogs only applied to cats.  Some of these dog only products are quite toxic to cats and can cause severe problems including muscle tremors, seizures and even death.  Please remember to read the label on any product you plan to use on your pet.  While we have multiple options for flea prevention, treating a flea infestation is a much greater problem as the flea life cycle must be stopped.  This usually involves treating the environment as well as any and all pets on the premises.  Several products are useful for fly strike and the best preventative for maggot infestations is giving your dog or cat a trim which most any pet will appreciate this time of year.  Hope you and your pet have a wonderful and pest-free summer.