Heartworm and Parasite Prevention At Hamilton Road Animal Hospital in Columbus, OH
Parasites such as fleas, ticks, and heartworms can dramatically lower the quality of life for your pets. That’s why it’s so important to seek out appropriate flea prevention, tick prevention, and heartworm prevention solutions. Hamilton Road Animal Hospital in Columbus, OH is here to assist you in all of these areas. The life cycle of fleas is quite short, and a whole new generation can emerge in just days or weeks. That’s why it’s so important to address the problem aggressively or prevent it from happening in the first place.
Experienced Parasite Prevention
If you have a flea infestation in your home, in addition to treating your pet with an appropriate flea treatment and preventative, all the bedding, carpets and furniture should be thoroughly washed to minimize eggs from hatching and growing into adult fleas. In a best-case scenario, pets treated with these medications from your Columbus veterinarian will not fall victim to these parasites in the first place.
There are 4 stages to a tick’s life cycle, egg, larva, nymph, and adult, and it may take up to 3 years to complete their full life cycle. Ticks are especially a problem in the spring but tick problems can occur at any time. Keep pets away from tall grasses, bushes, and wooded areas to minimize their exposure to ticks.
Disease Prevention is Key to Health
Heartworms are transmitted between dog to dog by mosquitoes. A mosquito bites an infected dog and ingests some heartworm microfilaria, baby heartworms. The heartworm larvae mature into an infective stage in 10 – 14 days. The mosquito then transmits the infective larvae when it bites another dog. The larvae enter the dog’s bloodstream and migrate to the heart and lungs and can grow 10 to 12 inches in length. While treatment and management of this condition are possible in some cases, the best defense against heartworm disease is prevention.
Contact Our Hamilton Road Animal Hospital in Columbus, OH Today!
When you bring your pet into your Columbus, OH, veterinarian at Hamilton Road Animal Hospital, we’ll assist you in prescribing flea, tick and heartworm medications to prevent these problems from occurring in your pet. Call us today at 614-239-0027.