An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure

"Dr. Keeker, can Fluffy come in the house now?  Are the fleas gone outside? My mom doesn't want any fleas in the house!"  Every year about Thanksgiving I would get the same phone call from my friends son. He and his brothers and sister would want the cat to come inside as soon as possible....they couldn’t wait for colder weather...they got to have Fluffy come inside...but only if there were no fleas! We've gotten a little more sophisticated than that...but not much. This December was probably the warmest on record! Needless to say, a mild start to the winter season.  After a few hard frosts the fleas, larvae and eggs outside in the yard are killed.

This eliminates the risk of your pets getting fleas when they go out to potty. Fleas overwinter on wildlife and can persist in your home no matter how cold it gets outside. Continuing to use Frontline, Advantage and other flea products well into the early winter, helps assure you that your home won't become infested.

We are constantly battling the issue of when to stop heart worm prevention. Obviously when its zero degrees out there are no mosquitoes!   Here's a tip....don’t stop your heart worm prevention. Invariably weather patterns change and it reaches the 60's unexpectedly.  While mosquitoes may not be present in huge numbers, they will hatch and be active in indoor spaces, garages, greenhouses and small spaces.  Call it global warming or call it what you want....warm weather equals the potential for mosquitoes which spells  risk of your dog getting exposed to heart worm disease. Use heart worm prevention all year long!