Question from
Lynne Callahan
We moved into a new apartment complex and now we have fleas and can’t seem to get rid of them what is the best Flea treatment that we need to use on her. Since Chole undercoat is so thick. And how can we prevent more fleas once we have her under control. We follow all the guidelines with vaccuming and cleaning the carpet but is there more that we can do?
Our Vet Says:
Dear Lynne, In order to win the flea fight you need to do two things at the same
time. You need to treat you pet with a good flea product and treat your
house/apartment as well. For your dog you can choose between topical products
and oral formulations. I would like to recommend a product like Frontline Plus,
Advantix II or Advantage II. They have as active ingredients an insecticide,
which will kill the fleas, and an insect growth regulator, which will stop new
generations of fleas from hatching. They are topical products with monthly
re-application. Pembroke Welsh Corgis have a double coat, so in there case it is
extremely important to apply the spot on treatments as directed by the
manufacturer, directly on the skin. You need to part the coat until the skin is
visible and deposit the full content of the pipette directly on the skin. You
might want to get someone to give you a hand in order to get it right. If you do
not like topicals, you can choose flea preventive drugs available in the form of
tablets and chews. Some of them are: Capstar and Program (advisable to use both
at the same time), and Comfortis. There are also flea and tick collars for dogs:
Scalibor or Adams Plus. On the same day you need to treat your apartment as well
with a good product. Best environmental flea control products will have as
active components an insecticide and an insect growth regulator, just like the
topical for pets. After applying the substance on the carpets/floors, etc you
should not vacuum/wash the floors for at least 2-3 days to give the product a
good chance to work against fleas. Extra attention should be given to the places
where your dog spends more time, like a dog bed, favorite carpet, and so on.
This is where the flea density will be higher. 95% of the flea population is
found in the pet’s environment so this is a step which should not be neglected.
Having done all of the above you need to do it again. You need to re-treat your
house at 2 weeks intervals until the number of fleas is under control, it might
take up to 3 months to achieve that. Dependent of the product used on your pet
you will need to re-administer it as directed by your veterinarian or the
manufacturer. When you have things under control you need to use flea
prevention on your pet all year around and treat your house during the late
spring-summer months. Good luck!