As the summer months roll around, the potential for your pet to contract heartworms greatly increases. Humid weather conditions and high temperatures are the perfect breeding grounds for heartworms. Heartworms can also easily make their home in foods that are left outside, especially during the warm months, and many pets, being as attracted to garbage as they are, tend to consume dishes that are laden with heartworms. Luckily, there is a myriad of different ways to protect your pet from the deadly parasite known as the heartworm. Included in this brief article is a list of different ways to protect your pet.
Monthly Heartworm Preventive
There is a good chance that your local vet will prescribe your pet a monthly heartworm preventive. These are especially common in areas of the country that are known for being breeding grounds for heartworms, especially areas in the south that are laden with mosquitos.
Mosquitoes are known for easily carrying heartworms from one host to another. A heartworm preventive is a form of medicine that counteracts the presence of heartworms and will make it difficult for them to make a home in your pet's body. Usually, these pills take the form of an oral capsule, but can exist in other forms, such as a monthly shot or a suppository.
Mosquito Control
Mosquitos being what they are, which is to say, pesky insects that can easily carry heartworms from one host to another, it makes perfect sense to get rid of them as soon as possible. Areas of your home might be susceptible to mosquitoes and allow them to flourish in an environment that is acceptable to them. One such area is your backyard, which is also a prime spot that many people allow their pets to play in without supervision or a leash. Consider using an insect barrier spray around the perimeter of your backyard. This will mainly keep mosquitoes out of your domain and allow your pet the safety of a play place.
Remove Standing Water
Another breeding ground for mosquitoes, and as such, heartworms, are areas where standing water makes its home. Take into consideration areas of your lawn where standing water tends to appear for long periods of time. Gardens are a prime suspect when it comes to standing water pools. It's important to clean up these areas as many pets, especially cats, tend to love gardens, as they are attracted the fragrance of the flora, as well as the prospect of delicious vegetables to feast their fangs upon. These areas can easily be cleaned up with the right amount of know how and elbow grease.
Keep Your Pets Indoors During Dusk and Dawn
During the summer months, note that your indoor pets should stay indoors during the hours of dusk and dawn. Mosquitoes flourish neither in the bright light of midday nor the blackest hours of the nocturne moon. Rather, mosquitoes love a low light situation. So, despite the beauty you might find in dusk or dawn, realize that mosquitoes find these hours to be prime feasting time. As such, it is important to make sure your pet is not put into a situation where they can easily be bitten by a mosquito, enabling them a chance to receive heartworms. Let your pets roam free during the day, rather than these hours.
The prime carrier of heartworms, as you have garnered from the above list, is the deadly mosquito. Keep your pets away from mosquitoes and make sure to destroy the conditions in which mosquitoes flourish and your pet will not contract heartworms. It is important that your pet not become subject to heartworms, lest he or she could suffer from extreme illness, or worse – potentially, death. Go to sites for more information.
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