Do dogs need flea and tick medicine in the winter?
In short, yes, your dog needs flea and tick prevention during the winter months. While its true that tick and flea species slow down during the winter when outdoor temperatures drop, fleas can easily find their way in your home and onto your pet during the winter. Fleas can survive outdoor temperatures as low as 33 degrees fahrenheit and many species of ticks as low as 32 degrees — and oftentimes all it takes is a warm spell and these parasites can become active again.
The one factor that is often ignored in this equation however, is cost – these medications aren’t cheap. For a Labrador Retriever sized dog, a top-of-the-line parasite prevention program including year-round flea and tick prevention, heartworm and intestinal worm treatment from June to November, and annual testing for intestinal parasites, heartworm disease and tick-borne illnesses will cost somewhere around $600-$800 per year.
Keep in mind the following if you decide to omit flea and tick medication for part of the year – Fleas and ticks are not only annoying and gross, but they can also spread diseases like tapeworms infections, Lyme disease and more. These health risks should not be ignored, and there’s a lot to be said for the old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That being said, it’s worth mentioning that these diseases are treatable, and in all but the rarest of cases treatment is usually easy and effective once a diagnosis is made.
December through February are arguably the lowest risk months for parasites, so many pet-parents will forgo coverage in those months, and start flea and tick prevention again in March or April when the weather begins to warm. This is not a bad approach if you’re willing to accept some risk, and still other pet-parents may delay restarting these medications even longer…. We just ask that you be proactive with tick checking your pet, and watching for flea-related itching if you take this approach!
Fleas & Ticks Pose More Than Just a Nuisance
The Merck Veterinary Manual says, “Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that attach themselves to animals and people. Once attached to a host, ticks feed voraciously. As they feed, ticks can transmit a large number of diseases.” These include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and ehrlichiosis (a bacterial infection.) Ticks also cause skin wounds that may lead to bacterial infections and can also cause anemia.
There are more than 200 species of fleas affecting dogs, and these can also transmit disease and cause tapeworm infections and anemia. Some dogs are very sensitive to fleabites and suffer from serious allergic reactions of itchy, red, and scabby skin and even hair loss.
Many people believe that their dogs are safe from fleas and ticks after the first frost, but unfortunately, this is not at all true. Some species of ticks, including the ones that cause Lyme disease, can remain active in fall and winter months, too.
Most of the fleas found on dogs and cats are Ctenocephalides felis, also known as cat fleas. Fleas require blood from an animal host to be able to live and reproduce. They don’t have wings, so they can’t fly. However, they are serious jumpers with the ability to jump 100 to 200 times their size.
Fleas have four developmental stages: egg, larvae, pupa, and adult. When it’s cold or there’s no host on the horizon, flea pupae, which is the stage before adult fleas emerge, have the ability stay in their tiny cocoons nestled in your couch or rug until the weather gets warm or they find a host.
A solitary adult female (and many people say there’s no such thing as one flea) starts laying eggs the day after its first ingestion of blood, producing up to 50 eggs per day and about 2,000 in its lifetime. So it doesn’t take long to have an infestation on your dog and in your house — leading to a costly and time-consuming extermination process.
Ticks, unlike fleas, don’t need to live on their host. They live in grassy and wooded areas and prefer a humid environment. Then when your dog walks by, they attach themselves to him. The Centers for Disease Control recommends clearing tall grass and brush from your yard to make it less attractive to ticks.
The geographic distribution of ticks is broadening as a result of climate change, deforestation, and the changing migration patterns of deer, birds, and rodents. Ticks are in virtually all parts of the United States, including some urban areas, and many parts of the world.
Some types of ticks can remain alive in the colder months, especially when temperatures are above freezing. For example, the Blacklegged tick, which carries Lyme disease, begin its period of prime feeding near the time of the first frost. Since deer are the main host of the Blacklegged tick and are active in fall and early winter months, this type of tick survives on the warm body of its host – until it drops off and attaches itself to your dog.