4 Ways That I Keep My Fur Babies Flea Free Year Round #StartSmart #ad

One afternoon several years ago, we drove to the pound to look for a dog. Both my husband and I have had animals growing up and we decided that it was time to adopt a dog. As we were walking around the pound, we saw mostly bigger dogs and then my husband disappeared into the cat room. He found a small dog that was hiding in a cage all by herself. She was the perfect size.

My husband did a few tests to make sure that she had a good temperament and then we went off to the office to fill out an application to adopt her. After I filled out all of the paperwork and paid the adoption fees, she got to go home to her forever home.

We immediately noticed that she had fleas and took her to a portable dog wash. The last thing that we wanted to do was to bring fleas into our home. They are annoying critters and they can be a pain to get rid of once they have taken over. Plus, heavy flea infestations can cause your animals to become anemic, get contact dermatitis from flea bites and infections from constantly scratching, and get tapeworms from ingesting fleas.

Disclosure: If you have a pregnant, lactating, or animal with health problems, contact your veterinarian before using any flea or tick products on your fur baby. Thank you Adams for sponsoring today’s post. All opinions are 100% my own.

About Fleas

Photo Credit: FlickrFleas are wingless insects that have mouths that are designed to pierce the skin and suck blood. They are fairly small but they can be seen by the naked eye. They are reddish brown and have a flat body. They don’t fly; however, they can jump roughly 7 inches vertically and 13 inches horizontally.

How to Determine If Your Pet Has Fleas

If you are searching your cat or dog for fleas, I personally found that it is easiest to look at their belly or part their hair under their collar. Most animals that are infested with fleas usually have evidence of fleas called flea dirt. Flea dirt is simply flea feces. As you are searching for fleas, you can put a paper towel underneath them as you comb them. As you are grooming them, you might notice some reddish black droppings on the paper towel. You can also typically find flea dirt in small clumps in your animal’s fur. The best place to look for flea dirt is on their tummy since the fur is thinner and you can see their skin, too.

Getting Rid of Fleas on Your Pet

A pet with a flea infestation needs to be addressed so that your fur babies don’t suffer health problems as a result. When my fur babies get fleas, I automatically take them to the bathtub and use Adams™ Flea and Tick Cleansing Shampoo. I have used this product for years because I used it on animals when I worked at the vet’s office. It works great on killing the fleas instantly and it doesn’t have that awful chemical smell that you get with some of the flea shampoos on the market. Plus, it is labeled for both cats and dogs. If you are bathing your own animals, you do need to be careful and prevent it from getting into their eyes.

Bathing Your Animals so That you Kill All of the Live Fleas

I learned a simple trick when I was bathing animals for a living. Lather up a small amount of shampoo and start at the top of their head and under their neck. Make sure that you cover all the way around their neck and work your way down towards the tail. With an animal that is covered in fleas, once you start bathing them you might notice that the fleas will try to get away from the shampoo and will make their way up to their face. I have seen fleas try to hide in a dog’s ears or nose because they were trying to get away from the flea shampoo. It is best to allow the shampoo to sit on your animal for a few minutes to make sure it kills all of the live fleas. Depending on the severity of the infestation, sometimes it is best to shampoo them twice.

Don’t Forget to Treat Your Pet’s Bedding and Favorite Places They Enjoy Lounging Around

Once your cat or dog is flea-free, you will need to treat your home including their bedding and their favorite place to lounge around. Most flea and tick shampoos are made to kill live fleas on contact and don’t kill any eggs, but Adams™ Flea and Tick Cleansing Shampoo prevents eggs from hatching up to 30 days. The eggs will eventually hatch unless you treat your entire house. I suggest buying Adams™ Flea and Tick Home spray. You can spray their bedding, your furniture, and anything that you can’t toss into the washer and dryer. Do test the spray on an inconspicuous place before you spray furniture or anything else in your house that you don’t want permanently stained or ruined.

Use Flea Topicals on Your Pet

In order to break the cycle and keep your pet flea free, I highly recommend using Adams™ for Dogs Flea & Tick Spot On® with Free Smart Shield® Applicator (when purchased at Walmart). You simply put the drops on your animal’s fur following the directions. The drops work for 30 days and stop flea re-infestations. The drops are made to break the cycle by knocking out flea eggs and larvae. Adams uses Infest Stop™ ingredient. The Infest Stop™ ingredient is an insect growth regulator called (S)-Methoprene. I love that the drops also protect them from mosquitoes. Mosquitoes are known for causing heart worms and potential other health problems.

Fleas are not only annoying to your pets, they can even feast on humans as well. I hope that these tips can help keep you and your animals happy by keeping them flea-free. I will be sharing some more tips on fleas towards the end of the month, on how to get rid of fleas in your home and yard. Adams™ Flea and Tick Control Products have been sold by veterinarians for over 30 years. You can now find the same products once sold in vet clinics only at Walmart, PetSmart, and other retailers.

Sign Up to Receive Free Adams Flea & Tick Outbreak Alerts

To help pet parents control a flea and tick outbreak, you can sign up to receive FREE Adam Flea & Tick Outbreak Alerts in your zip code plus. To help pet parents control a flea and tick outbreak, you will also receive a $2.00 off coupon and be entered for a chance to win a $2500 gift card(go to www.adamspetcare.com/startsmart for complete details). Flea and tick outbreaks are more widespread when temperatures are over 70ºF and with spring in full swing, flea and tick outbreaks will be starting soon.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Adams™ Flea & Tick Control Products.

Smart Shield, the Adams blue bottle and Infest Stop are trademarks of Farnam Companies, Inc. Spot On is a registered trademark of Wellmark International. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Have you tried Adams Flea and Tick Products?