Fleas And Worms Oh My!

[Guest My2GreysRGreat]

Fleas are TERRIBLE this year in my area. We just moved into a new house in a kind of woodsy area. We are probably moving again in a couple weeks (long story). Our greys and other dogs and cats are covered in fleas and nothing we have tried will get them to go away. The house is not infested but outside is. The property manager had the perimeter of the house sprayed because we had a new heating and cooling system put it and the workers were being attacked. It did NOTHING. We get the fleas under control for a night and the next time the dogs go out to potty they come in covered.

 

The fleas have led to a tape worm infestation. I have treated them several times with good wormer but then after a short time I see signs of worm in the stools (which for some reason they keep doing in the house grrrrrrrr)

 

We need to move in a couple weeks and we do not want to bring this problem with us. What would you do? I don't want to treat right away and have them reinfested before we leave but I also do not want to be in the middle of treating for worms on a 20 hour road trip! My poor doggies are itchy and I don't care to catch their worms!

[Guest kydie]

In my opinion,,, you need to treat NOW,, for both,,, I could never live with fleas or worms,, O.K.,,,, I am a cleaning freak,,,, but if there were either in my house,, I would have an all out war on them,,, I wouldn't go to work until this was cleared up,, not to mention the anemia and malnourshiment these pest cause

[Batmom]

What flea products are you using on dogs, in house, in yard? Best for dogs may be Comfortis; for house and yard I like Knockout.

 

 

What wormer are you using? For tapeworms, you need something with the active ingredient praziquantel. Nothing else will kill them. People can't catch dog tapeworms, nor can dogs catch them from each other. Dogs get tapeworms by eating an infested flea.

[OwnedBySummer]

I'd treat for both right away. BTW, if the pets have fleas... your house does indeed have fleas.

[JJNg]

The fleas are your main problem - take care of the flea infestation first, then deworm for tapeworms. Tapeworms will no longer be a problem once the fleas are gone. While the worms are gross, they don't make dogs sick, and you don't have to worry about getting them.

 

Unless you can get the fleas outside eliminated, you won't be able to get the problem under control. The good thing is that you're moving, and there are some great products you can use to prevent taking the flea infestation with you.

 

As Batmom mentioned, Comfortis is probably your best bet for the fleas. It kills them quickly and lasts for a whole month. Or you could give a dose of Capstar the morning of your move to make sure all fleas on the dogs are killed, but that won't help you in these next 2 weeks. An additional product to use for protection is Program (same active ingredient also in the heartworm preventative Sentinel), which prevents flea eggs from hatching. So if any fleas manage to avoid being killed and hitch a ride when you move, any eggs that it lays won't hatch to start a new infestation.

 

I probably wouldn't even treat for tapeworms until you can be relatively sure they aren't going to get more fleas. As long as they keep getting fleas, it's very likely that they'll just be re-infested with tapeworms. If you can't stand the idea of them having tapeworms, treat now, and get another dose of dewormer to give again right after you move.