The arrival of summer often comes with the promise of vacations, relaxation, and all manner of outdoor fun. Unfortunately for pet owners, the height of summer is also the peak of the flea season. This not only brings uncomfortable itchiness to your pets but may cause some health problems to them as well.

Fleas are a problem throughout the entire year, but their life cycle ramps up in summer because of the heat. Fleas, eggs, and larvae love warmth and moisture, so any temperature above 86 degrees Fahrenheit(and especially with high humidity) will encourage them to multiply furiously.

How fleas infest your pet

Keeping your home spick and span does not necessarily prevent your dog or cat from catching fleas, especially if they are free to wander outside. Flea eggs are not sticky, which means they will easily drop out of the fur of any host animals. These eggs will hatch, infest the environment—a park, garden, someone’s home—and at the right opportunity, jump onto your pet. Before long, you would be struggling to get rid fleas in your dogorcat, and house.

Treating your pet for fleas in summer

With the increased flea activity in summer, there are two things you need to do to ensure you kill fleas during this time: prevention and treatment.

Prevention

The Seresto flea collar repels fleas and ticks, protecting your pet from picking up fleas (and ticks) for up to eight months, keeping your dog or cat safe throughout the summer season. Both the Seresto dog collars and Seresto cat collars are also effective in killing fleas (and ticks) and its larvae.

You can also use products such as Bravecto, RevolutionorFrontline Plus to give your pet continuous protection against fleas. Give your pet Bravecto chews (for dogs) or Bravecto topical (for cats and dogs) every 12 weeks, or monthly for Revolution or Frontline Plus, to prevent new flea infestations.

Bravecto Chews

Revolution

Seresto

Treatment

With the increase in flea activity and the frequency with which you and your pets are outdoors, there is a very high likelihood of your dog or cat playing host to fleas in summer. Bravecto, RevolutionorFrontline Plus are all good products to effectively get rid of fleas in summer. These products kill fleas, eggs, and larvae. There is also NexGard for dogs (and puppies as young as eight weeks), which offers your pet 30 days of protection from fleas, on top of killing fleas, eggs, and larvae.

If you require fast-acting treatment, Capstar can be given to both cats and dogs, as it kills adult fleas within 30 minutes of administering and is safe to be used up to once per day.

NexGard Chewables

Frontline Plus

Capstar

Getting rid of fleas in your home in summer

If you do have a flea infestation in your home in summer, there are certain steps you can take to get rid of fleas in your house. However, avoid using a flea bomb during a heatwave, as it will encourage all the adult fleas to emerge, exacerbating the problem. Vacuum and wash, but use a flea bomb only during the cooler months. Be sure to pay attention to your yard as well, as any fleas outside can easily be brought into the house through your pet or your shoes.