Did you know there are over 2,000 species of fleas described, but of those, the cat flea (Ctenocephaliedes felis) is the most common one found on DOGS and CATS.
Not only are fleas gross and irritating to the skin, they can also cause anemia, spread pathogens like tapeworms, cat scratch fever bacteria and other bacterial disease that can infect our pets and US TOO!
So how do we prevent these nasty little insects? Well an understanding of the flea life cycle helps to then decide which flea prevention products are best.
The flea life cycle is amazing in that these nasty buggers have such a short life span and can reproduce so quickly, creating infestation problems in no time!
Adult fleas only live for about 5-25 days in total and in order to reproduce, they need a blood meal. This adult phase is the ONLY phase where you would see them on your pet.
Flea eggs are then produced after their blood meal and they can produce 1 EGG PER HOUR. These eggs are so tiny, we cannot see them with our naked eyes, and they are so smooth that they fall right out of our pets coat onto our floors, carpets, bedding and lawns as they walk around with the adult fleas feeding on them.
In 2 days, from those eggs, larvae hatch and for 5-15 days these larvae feed on organic debris or “flea dirt” that is undigested blood from our pets that acts as the main source of food for these flea larvae.
The larvae then turn to pupae which are coated in silk cocoons in which the adult fleas will eventually erupt from.
In total the flea life cycle can last 30-75 days, so almost 3 months!
This is why it is recommended when a flea infestation happens, be sure to treat your pets with a good preventive for at least 3 months to eliminate a current flea infestation.
So now that we have reviewed the life cycle, let’s discuss some of the most commonly recommended products to stop the flea life cycle and to kill and repel adult fleas.
1. Nexgard: This oral product contains Afoxolaner which kills fleas (for 30 days) after they bite by over stimulating their nervous system.
2. Bravecto: There is an oral and topical product that contains Flurolaner which kills adult fleas ( for 12 weeks) after they bite by over stimulating their nervous system.
3. Sentinel: This oral product contains Lufenuron which prevents flea egg development and can end the flea life cycle but this product does NOT kill adult fleas.
4. Vectra 3D: This topical product contains three active ingredients (Dinotefuran, Pyriproxifen and Permethrin) that work together to repel and kill adult fleas.
5. Revolution: This topical product that is absorbed into the bloodstream to kill adult fleas when they bite and prevent flea eggs from hatching. Pupae are not killed with this product and may hatch into adult fleas.