Flea and worm treatment

Fleas:

Cats and dogs pick up fleas from other dogs or cats or from the environment.

Fleas can carry diseases, which they transmit when they bite your pet. Pets can become allergic to flea bites and get very itchy.

We see fleas all year round, as fleas survive in our centrally heated houses in the winter.

Female fleas can lay hundreds of eggs in a few days. These eggs hatch into larvae, which develop into pupae then adults.

The immature fleas can survive in your house for up to a year. It is very important to treat your house as well as your pets.

For every flea you see there may be hundreds in your house that you don’t see.

Fleas can cause allergies and make your dog or cat very itchy.

Fleas can carry immature tapeworms, so when they bite they can transmit tapeworms to your pet.

Ticks:

Ticks survive well in forests, and moorlands – the ideal places to walk your dog!

They attach to dogs and cats (and humans) and feed for a few days.

Remember to check your pet for ticks after they have been outdoors, especially in tick season.

Make sure you remove the whole tick correctly – check to make sure the mouthparts and legs are removed.

Ticks can also carry diseases, some of which are also hazardous to human health (e.g. Lyme’s disease).

Make sure your pet is treated for fleas when travelling abroad – some parts of Europe and further afield have a number of serious tick-borne diseases, which are not found in Ireland.

Worms:

Most pets will be affected by worms at some point in their lives.

There are two types of worms – roundworms and tapeworms.

Roundworms can be passed from a mother to her pups or kittens, so all puppies and kittens must be wormed regularly – ask us about the best product for your pet.

Lungworm (Angiostrongylus) can live in the blood vessels of dogs and can cause heart and lung disease and problems with blood clotting.

Some worms are transmissible to humans and are a real hazard for children, who may inadvertently ingest a worm egg.

If you travel abroad to the EU you need to treat your pet for tapeworms 120-24 hours before returning to Ireland.