Flea Collar: Birth Control For Fleas
You’ve sprayed the house, powdered the yard and bathed the dog, but you still have fleas! What’s going on?! The problem is that you were able to kill off the adult fleas, but you still have to stop the flea eggs from hatching. Here’s where the flea collar comes in.
Flea collars can be an effective weapon in the battle against fleas, but it is extremely important to use the right kind of dog flea collar. There are a number of different kinds on the market, including electric and traditional, store-bought one’s. Let’s take a look at the two.
Electronic Flea Collars
This type of flea collar works by emitting a high frequency sound that, in theory, will drive the fleas crazy, thus driving them away from your dog. There’s a couple of problems with this, though. First off, that same noise, though we can’t hear it, will likely drive your dog mad, too! Your poor dog will have to suffer through this high-pitched buzzing sound, too. Another reason not to use these expensive flea collars is that there is no evidence whatsoever that proves that they are actually effective! Why pay good money to annoy your pooch and not make a dent in the flea problem?
Traditional Flea Collars
Unlike their electronic counterparts, these collars have been known to kill off a flea or two. However, it will not affect the eggs or flea larvae that is bound to become adults that need dealing with. An even more important reason not to just run out and pick up a cheap flea collar is that you are essentially wrapping some pretty toxic chemicals around your favorite pup’s neck. These insecticides can be harmful to your pet.
Choosing A Safe, Effective Dog Flea Collar
As stated above, not all flea collars are created equal. There are some good one’s on the market, though. You just have to know what to look for. You need to find a flea collar that contains one of these ingredients: pyriproxyfen, methoprene or fenxycarb. All of these are what’s known as insect growth regulators. They act as birth control for fleas by supplying fake hormones that cause the flea eggs and larvae to dry out and die. Not only are the collars that contain some form of IGR safe, but they are effective for as long as the package states.
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