The common belief is that fleas, ticks and mosquitoes are only threats to ourselves and to our pets in the warmer months. While there is some truth to that thought, those pesky little buggers aren’t only a nuisance in the summer. Depending on the weather, our pets may benefit from using flea/tick and heartworm preventatives year-round.
Fleas
Fleas are super small, but they can reproduce and infest your home extremely quickly. Each female flea can lay 20 to 50 eggs each day! (1) Fleas bite and cause cats and dogs to itch, which not only makes them miserable but also drives pet owners crazy! If left unchecked, a flea infestation can cause a pet to become lethargic and weak. Fleas can also cause allergic dermatitis or infect your pet with tapeworms. Despite popular belief, fleas do not just disappear when winter comes knocking. They would love nothing more than to cozy up with you and your beloved pet by the fireplace. These little guys don’t discriminate against humans, and when fleas bite human skin, it breaks out in an itchy, bumpy rash. Completely mitigating a flea infestation is very difficult, especially considering how fast fleas reproduce. The best way to avoid the cost and frustration of flea extermination: year-round prevention.
Our recommendations: Not every pet is exposed to fleas year-round. Your pet is more at risk of carrying fleas into the house if you travel down to warmer climates in the winter, send your pet to boarding facilities or daycares where there are other dogs, or spend time outside on above-freezing days. In these circumstances, you may want to consider using Frontline or Nexgard all year, or at least during the colder months when your pet is traveling or staying at the kennel. As for those dogs and cats who mostly stay indoors during the winter… their owners are probably safe to give flea preventatives March/April through October/November.
Our recommendations: Not every pet is exposed to fleas year-round. Your pet is more at risk of carrying fleas into the house if you travel down to warmer climates in the winter, send your pet to boarding facilities or daycares where there are other dogs, or spend time outside on above-freezing days. In these circumstances, you may want to consider using Frontline or Nexgard all year, or at least during the colder months when your pet is traveling or staying at the kennel. As for those dogs and cats who mostly stay indoors during the winter… their owners are probably safe to give flea preventatives March/April through October/November.
Ticks
Ticks are now everywhere in the United States, and not a single state can claim to be “tick-free.” They also can be found crawling around, looking for a blood source, year-round. Even though these Minnesota winters may be tough for us, many ticks like Blacklegged (deer) ticks are outside throughout the winter. We don’t see them as often in the colder months because it takes a lot of energy for these little guy sto move around. If a deer tick is just sitting on the frozen ground, it can’t muster up enough energy to move. Once the sun comes out or temperatures rise above freezing, ticks warm up and start seeking food (you, or your pet).
We never know when a thaw will allow ticks to become more active, so it can be much simpler to just give your pets tick preventatives all year. Ticks transmit several debilitating diseases, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, tick paralysis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (that last one is still rare in Minnesota). For those of you who are lucky enough to live in or visit warmer regions with your pets, it is even more important for you to use flea and tick prevention throughout the year.
Our recommendations: Just like with fleas, your pet’s risk of tick exposure in the winter largely depends on your environment. A dog or cat in a rural/suburbian area with more open space is much more likely to stumble across a tick than a dog or cat in a Minneapolis apartment building. That being said, ticks are found in urban and rural areas. If your pet spends time in tick-friendly environments throughout the year (long grass, woods, etc.), you may want to continue giving tick preventatives all year. You never know when we’ll have a few warmer days! Every year, tick activity is noted during every month in Minnesota, with the occasional exception of January or February.
For more information about fleas and ticks, check out our previous blog posts by clicking here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
We never know when a thaw will allow ticks to become more active, so it can be much simpler to just give your pets tick preventatives all year. Ticks transmit several debilitating diseases, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, tick paralysis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (that last one is still rare in Minnesota). For those of you who are lucky enough to live in or visit warmer regions with your pets, it is even more important for you to use flea and tick prevention throughout the year.
Our recommendations: Just like with fleas, your pet’s risk of tick exposure in the winter largely depends on your environment. A dog or cat in a rural/suburbian area with more open space is much more likely to stumble across a tick than a dog or cat in a Minneapolis apartment building. That being said, ticks are found in urban and rural areas. If your pet spends time in tick-friendly environments throughout the year (long grass, woods, etc.), you may want to continue giving tick preventatives all year. You never know when we’ll have a few warmer days! Every year, tick activity is noted during every month in Minnesota, with the occasional exception of January or February.
For more information about fleas and ticks, check out our previous blog posts by clicking here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
Mosquitoes
We all know the importance of heartworm prevention. Treating Heartworm disease can be traumatic and painful. It involves hospitalization and/or crating, takes three to four months, and costs in the thousands of dollars. (2) In Minnesota, we don’t usually see mosquitoes (the transmitters of Heartworm disease) flying around in the winter.
The American Heartworm Society still promotes year-round heartworm prevention: “For a variety of reasons, even in regions of the country where winters are cold, the American Heartworm Society is now recommending a year-round prevention program. Dogs have been diagnosed with heartworms in almost every county in Minnesota, and there are differences in the duration of the mosquito season from the north of the state and the south of the state. Mosquito species are constance hanging and adapting to cold climates and some species successfully overwinter indoors as well. Year-round prevention is the safest, and is recommended. Remember too that many of these products are de-worming your pet for intestinal parasites that can pose serious health risks for humans.” (3)
Which brings us to our next point…
The American Heartworm Society still promotes year-round heartworm prevention: “For a variety of reasons, even in regions of the country where winters are cold, the American Heartworm Society is now recommending a year-round prevention program. Dogs have been diagnosed with heartworms in almost every county in Minnesota, and there are differences in the duration of the mosquito season from the north of the state and the south of the state. Mosquito species are constance hanging and adapting to cold climates and some species successfully overwinter indoors as well. Year-round prevention is the safest, and is recommended. Remember too that many of these products are de-worming your pet for intestinal parasites that can pose serious health risks for humans.” (3)
Which brings us to our next point…
Intestinal Parasites
Heartworm products like Heartgard serve a dual purpose: they protect our pets against Heartworm disease and they deworm our pets. Like heartworms, intestinal parasites are dangerous to pets. Heartgard treats and controls infections of roundworms and hookworms. Both parasites live in the intestines, but unlike heartworms, these infections can be passed from pet to owner. The CDC estimates that over 10,000 Americans contract roundworms every year! (4) Roundworms and hookworms can be contracted from contact with contaminated soil or stool, or from accidental ingestion. A pet usually is infected with one of these parasites by eating or licking contaminated feces, or by stepping on contaminated feces and later licking their paws. And do you know what’s scary? Roundworm eggs don’t die in freezing temperatures. That’s right, they can infect your pet at any time of the year.
Our recommendations: While mosquitoes may not be as common in our colder climates during the winter months, intestinal parasites remain an issue no matter what month it is. If your dog or cat is spending time outside in the winter, and especially if they are at risk of passing by stools of wildlife or other dogs or cats, we recommend that you keep them on Heartgard throughout the year.
For more information about Heartworm disease, read our previous blog post by clicking here.
Our recommendations: While mosquitoes may not be as common in our colder climates during the winter months, intestinal parasites remain an issue no matter what month it is. If your dog or cat is spending time outside in the winter, and especially if they are at risk of passing by stools of wildlife or other dogs or cats, we recommend that you keep them on Heartgard throughout the year.
For more information about Heartworm disease, read our previous blog post by clicking here.
We get it: flea/tick and heartworm preventatives can get expensive, especially for larger dogs and for families with multiple pets. However, we urge pet owners to look past the monthly cost of Heartgard, Nexgard and Frontline and consider that prevention is much less expensive than the cost to treat flea infestations, tick-borne diseases and Heartworm disease. If you are unsure if your pet would benefit from prevention during colder months, consult with your veterinary practice! At House Paws, we strongly support an individualized approach to pet health, and we know that not every pet needs both types of preventatives all the time. Your veterinary team’s role is to guide you through decision-making processes exactly like this one, so utilize their advice! And if you’re on the fence, just consider this: a year-round preventative plan is safer for our pets, easier for us pet owners to remember, and brings us peace of mind, knowing that our pets are being protected from disease all year long.
References:
- Flea Control and Prevention. Potter, Michael F. University of Kentucky Department of Agriculture. https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef602. Accessed: October 21, 2020.
- The Truth About Heartworm Disease and Your Pet. American Heartworm Society brochure. 2014. Wilmington, Delaware.
- Heartworm in Dogs. American Heartworm Society website. https://www.heartwormsociety.org/heartworms-in-dogs#i-live-in-a-northern-state-how-long-should-my-dog-be-on-heartworm-prevention. 2020. Accessed: October 21, 2020.
- Life cycle of hard ticks that spread disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html. April 20, 2017. Accessed: October 21, 2020.
