Quote:
Originally Posted by apple718  He's in my bed 24/7, so if there's any "other" fleas I think they would have bitten my on my leg or something. But then I also wash and change the sheets every week anyways.
As for the tapeworms, I don't think it's that bad. He eats like a pig and is very plump as you can see in the pics there. Like I sd, I'm in S ca not in the midwest or east coast where there are serious fleas/ticks, tapeworms and heart worms. Ive seen those crazy buggers on Animal police shows. The ones we get here are always those tiny specs that are about the size of crush black pepper. |
When fleas start biting humans that means the infestation has become pretty severe. So them not biting you is no indication of them not being in the house. This is what happens...a flea jumps on dog and takes a blood meal. Then she lays her eggs. The eggs are not sticky..they roll off the dog into your carpet, furniture, wherever dog is. The eggs hatch out into larvae and the larvae will crawl to dark places. They will then go into the pupa stage. They can stay in this stage a long time if there is no meal nearby. The adult flea hatches from the pupa. So, if fleas are biting your dog then they are laying eggs and the eggs, larvae and pupa are in your house. The life cycle continues.
Tapeworms....yes, your dog may be fine now. If left untreated, Tapeworms will continue to get worse. By the time you see outward signs your dog is in trouble. There are fleas, tapeworms and heartworms everywhere! Actually, warmer climates(like southern Cali) have more serious problems with these pests because there are no true seasons...there's no killing frosts and cold winters to help kill off the pests and what they carry. And I don't know what fleas you saw on TV but the ones I've seen here on the east coast are pretty tiny!!
My opinion is that it's always better to prevent a problem than treat it. Especially heartworms!!!! The treatment for that has risks and it is very expensive......not to mention the damage that may be done by the heartworms before treatment is received.
ETA-I use flea and heartworm preventative from April until the first really good killing frost. Southern or other warmer climates should use year round. I know some people who use year round in my area because we can get the occasional freak warm spell......