VETERINARIANS SAY THIS IS ONE OF WORST YEARS FOR FLEA INFESTATIONS

Local veterinarians say a mild winter and ideal growing conditions this summer all add up to a bumper crop of fleas that are making life miserable for pets and humans. Some say the flea infestation may be the worst in more than five years.

"For this early in the year, this is the worst flea infestation I've ever seen," said Dr. Bill Langdon of Dogwood Veterinary Hospital. "Fleas hatch throughout late spring and during the summer months, but their peak hatching period comes in late August and early September. In the last three weeks, the number of calls we've received from pet owners about flea problems has really increased."

Dr. Anne Seabaugh with the Cape Small Animal Clinic says the clinic is definitely seeing a lot more cases of flea infestation and the secondary health problems they cause to dogs and cats. Seabaugh said the problem has been on the increase all summer.

She said the clinic is treating a lot of dogs and cats with secondary problems such as skin irritation or allergies and infection problems caused by flea bites and scratching.

Fleas are the most irritating pests of cats and dogs, and eventually, humans, since they often get into the house on the backs of their four-legged hosts.

Unfortunately, fleas are more than just a nuisance to keep dogs and cats busy scratching during the summer months. Besides feeding on pet's blood, flea saliva causes skin irritation that leads to skin allergies, which can cause skin infections and other complications due to the animal's scratching and biting, said veterinarians.

Langdon said when a flea bites an adult dog or cat, the animal licks, scratches and chews on the bite. Since fleas carry other diseases, any open wound on the skin allows staph bacteria in the saliva or on the animal's skin or coat to get into the bloodstream resulting in an infection.

Fleas also serve as an intermediate host for the canine tapeworm and can be the source of these worms if a dog swallows fleas. They can also transmit tapeworm and murine typhus to humans.

Although they prefer to live on dogs or cats, fleas are very mobile, and can hop from one animal to another, live in the grass, a pet's bedding, and clothing.

Langdon says very few fleas die of starvation.

"They can survive up to 125 days without a host. Fleas multiply very quickly, which is why a pet can become infested almost overnight, or in a matter of days," he said. "Because of the life cycle of the flea, just killing what you find on your pet won't solve the problem. To get rid of all the fleas, the immature flea larvae must be destroyed before they hatch."

Langdon said that means treating the animal, the animal's house and bedding, the yard, and in some cases, inside the home.

There are a number of ways to treat a pet for fleas, Langdon said. The best is commercially available flea dips, which are quite lethal to fleas, but normally safe for pets, except young puppies and kittens. He urged those who have puppies and kittens with fleas to contact their veterinarian for special instructions on treatment.

There are also a number of flea spray insecticides that are designed to be applied directly on the animal's coat, but Langdon urges pet owners to read and follow the instructions on the label carefully. Frequent baths in flea dips will provide temporary relief to animals infested with fleas, but Langdon says the only effective way to eradicate fleas is to treat the animal's bedding, dog house, and the yard where they live.

Even then, the treatment may have to be repeated because fleas from adjoining yards, or pets that run loose pick up more fleas and reinfest their house and bedding.

Langdon says dogs and cats should be checked regularly (every one or two days) for fleas. If any are found, treatment should be started at once to reduced the risk of a greater infestation. When checking for fleas, he advises to watch for any signs of open wounds or bleeding caused by biting, scratching or skin irritation. This can include flaking off of the skin along with tufts of hair in more advanced cases. If that occurs, says Langdon, it's time to take your pet to the veterinarian for treatment.

Each year, American pet owners spend an estimated $1 billion on their battle against the tiny pests, but James C. Blakemore, a Purdue University expert who studies fleas says, "We're no further ahead than we were 100 years ago in terms of eliminating fleas."

According to Veterinarian Michael W. Dryden of Kansas State University, "Fleas on dogs and cats serve no other useful function other than to make money for pharmaceutical companies and keep me in research."

Biologists say there are more than 2,200 species and subspecies of fleas worldwide, but it is the dog and cat flea that causes the most problem.

While science has found methods to control fleas, Dryden said the flea infestation problem is growing for several reasons:

- The popularity of shag carpets, which he called a perfect nesting ground for flea larvae.

- The growth of the pet population.

- The growth of the human population in the Southeast, which has the warm, humid climate that fleas thrive in.

- Finicky cats that are difficult to bathe or won't stand still to be sprayed with insecticides.