The Big Flea Project – The truth is that fleas are a year-round problem in Guernsey but undoubtedly the warmer months speed the flea’s life cycle and there is more activity and socialisation with our pets, especially the cats.
MSD pharmaceuticals who manufactures one of the best flea killing products on the market (speak with your vet if you have a problem) has just launched the ‘Big Flea Project’ in conjunction with Bristol University. We know that we have lots of fleas and that isn’t the issue but what is far more important is that they can carry diseases that can seriously affect your pet’s health. Most people don’t know that the flea carries the most common dog and cat tapeworm in Britain called Dipylidium. But fleas can carry a raft of other potential pathogens that could kill your pet. The good news is that we are not aware of any of these other diseases being present in Guernsey although the tapeworms are. However, this is an excellent opportunity to assess our Islands disease status without any cost to yourself. If we find a flea on your pet we can send it to Bristol and they will be checking it for all of the possible vector (flea) transmitted disease found in the UK and northern Europe. We will then let you know the result!