There are SO MANY options when it comes to the warmer months and protecting your pet from flea, ticks and heartworms. While I’m not a veterinarian, I’m going to tell you how the crew has been flea, tick and worm free without any harsh chemicals. Yes there are chemicals for everything these days, spray some round up and get rids of weeds, but maybe expose yourself to cancer? Sure you can protect your pet from all forms of bugs by giving them a simple pill every month, but what is that pill doing? What is that pill made of? Pills break down in your pets body and stay in the bloodstream. Topical medications absorb into the skin and mix with the fluids underneath.
When you are about to go outside in the warm months, you may put on a bug spray, put on a bracelet, but do you take a pill to stop bugs from infecting you once a month?
No.
The reason is, that pill doesn’t stop bugs from biting you, it just kills them if they do. Which means your pet’s blood has insecticide in it. Which when you think of insecticide, would you want that in your body for 30 days straight? What harm would that cause your body? Your brain? A simple search on the internet will lead you to research on flea and tick medications that can cause seizures in pets.
There will always be people out there saying their pets took this medication or that and they were fine, but what if your pet has one of these adverse reactions to these insecticides? It doesn’t matter what happens to any other pet but yours (in this context). How would you feel if your dog had seizures from one of these medications for the rest of their lives? How would you feel if your dog passed away from an adverse reaction to a anti-bug collar? I can’t tell you what you should do for your pets, but I can share what I know and give you more options to choose from.
The natural flea and tick market for pets is beginning to boom, and the reason is more informed pet parents and wanting to make sure we are giving them the best care at the lowest risk. Most of the sprays that I’m including in my search are essential oils, but there is a wide variety of scents that you can choose from! Vet’s Best is a heavy clove scent, while Kin & Kind if a Cedarwood. Different scents work differently so get a couple, or rotate between products and see what works best for your crew! There are also plenty of other options online (different companies, different oils, DIY sprays, Amber collars) but this is what we use so I want to talk about those suggestions specifically.
Sprays (much like the ones we use to keep mosquitos away) work by preventing bugs from biting you (or your pet) in the first place.
Also you can treat your yard with essential oils! These yard sprays will help deter the bugs entering your area. So think of these as part of your holistic approach to keep you and your pets safe from bites. the oral medications work by going into your pets system and then killing the insects if they get bit. I think I would prefer to not get bit in the first place!
For heartworms on the other hand, I do treat the crew in the summer months. We use just plain Interceptor (not plus). On the recommendations of Dr. Judy Morgan we also dose every 45 days instead of 30. Heartworm medication does not actually protect your pet from getting heartworms. The medication you deliver to your pet actually stays in their system for only 3 days, kills the larvae stage of heartworms and then leaves your pet. By doing a monthly or bi-monthly treatment you are catching those larvae before they turn into adult worms and thus ending the life cycle. The first line of defense is always (IMO) a spray that keeps bugs away from your animal, but the second for heartworms is medication.
Read Dr. Judy Morgan’s information on heartworms here.
Interceptor is Milbemycin Oxime it is used to treat heartworms with the added benefit of covering not only hookworms, heartworm, and roundworms, but also whipworms. Milbemycin Oxime is not recommended for dogs containing MDR1 Mutations and if your dog has this mutation you should find a different source of heartworm treatment. Always have a negative heartworm test before starting a preventative treatment.