Treat all pets with vet-recommended flea/tick preventive

What to Do

Put every dog and cat in the household on a year-round flea and tick preventive prescribed or recommended by your veterinarian. Options include oral chewables (NexGard, Bravecto, Simparica), topical spot-ons (Frontline, Advantage), or flea/tick collars (Seresto).

Why It Works

Pets are the primary host that brings fleas and ticks indoors. A treated pet kills fleas within hours of contact, breaking the breeding cycle before eggs are laid in your home. Without pet treatment, indoor spraying alone will fail — the source keeps replenishing.

Tips

• Oral preventives tend to be more reliable than topicals since they can't wash off or be applied incorrectly
• Never use dog flea products on cats — permethrin-based dog treatments are toxic to cats
• Treat all pets, not just the one that seems itchy — untreated pets sustain the infestation