My dog has fleas or ticks. Will they bite me or my family too?

Hi and thanks for you question. Nexgard is indicated for the treatment and prevention of fleas and 4 major types of ticks, but not bed bugs. Sorry you are having an issue with bed bugs- they have been making a come back lately! You may want to call your local pest control and they will be able to help you get rid of them. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

There are a few oral products that generally work very well for ticks if you can get them. They are Nexgard and Simparica. They are tablets that you give once a month. Both dogs should be started on this medications your veterinarian agreed. First you will need to speak with your veterinarian to make sure these medications are not contraindicated. Most parents can take them but pets with seizures may not. Make sure to ask your local veterinarian if there are concerns for tickborne diseases in your area. If so, your veterinarian may want to treat the pets prophylactically. Treating the local environment as best you can with insecticides may also help. I hope this gives you some ideas. Best of luck.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Ticks live in the grass and jump on animals/cloths, and then bite and stay attached. Fleas will live in bedding/baseboards and will jump on and bite animals and then jump off. If you get a product such as Frontline, Bravecto, Nexguard, Advantix, Advantage, Revolution, etc. that should deal with fleas. Some will deal with ticks, but some won't. I would check to see if you aren't actually dealing with bed-bugs. Try getting a picture of the creatures that are on Bruno, and are crawling towards him, and we can try to help you determine what they are and what to use. Best of luck with Bruno!

Great question! Nexgard kills the deer tick as well as fleas and American dog tick/rocky mountain tick, and lone star tick. It is an oral pill as well, so I would us that for your dogs. Because Nexgard doesn't protect again heartworms, you will have to give your dogs Heartgard as well, which is available by prescription only from the vet. Advantix is a spot on treatment that treats the same things as Nexgard, but you would also have to use Heartgard as well for the heartworms. These two medications (Nexgard and Advantix) are for dogs only. As for the cats, Simparica prevents five types of ticks, so this may work for your cats :-)

Oh no, I'm sorry Koda has fleas! It is safe to give him his new flea medication now, and keep in mind you need to disinfect the environment as well to kill all the fleas. Wash his bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home.

Fleas live in the environment, not on the dog. They jump on the dog to feed, and then jump off. If you haven't disinfected your home, that will be a continual source of fleas. You aren't failing! Wash Mia's bedding in hot soapy water, and vacuum the furniture and carpet surfaces. You can use a spray to kill fleas in the house, such as Indorex, or a flea bomb would work well to kill the fleas in the home. I hope this helps!

Even though fleas and ticks need to bite a pet in order for Nexgard to work, it kills the parasites quickly enough to prevent them from causing either flea infestations or from transmitting different tick-borne diseases. However, no product is 100% effective. I think you're being very proactive in looking for repellant options to protect Milo on your upcoming camping trip! Topical products like K9 Advantix II (available over the counter) or Vectra 3D (prescription-based), or Seresto collars (available over the counter) are all labeled to repel new ticks and Advantix II also repels mosquitoes. To my knowledge, no products actually repel fleas. Don't worry - they all kill fleas quickly, so an infestation isn't a concern. I often recommend using any one of these products in conjunction with Nexgard if a high-risk situation is needed. However, since I don't know Milo's medical history, I strongly recommend first calling his vet to confirm that it's safe for him to use one of these products. I hope this helps and that you have a wonderful camping trip!