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#5 When Treating Your Pet, Don’t Ignore Their Favorite Hangouts

One of the biggest mistakes people make when they discover their pet has contracted parasites is to immediately apply a spot treatment on their pet, but then ignore their pets’ favorite hangouts. This is especially true when it comes to fleas. If the spot-on or cleansing treatment you apply to your pet only kills adult fleas, guess what happens when they lay down in a flea-infested pet bed? Treat your entire home as well as your pet for pests to successfully get rid of them.

#4 Don’t Assume a Holistic Product Won’t Harm Your Pet

When it comes to combating pest infestations, there are a lot of alternative methods to choose from. But you should always check with a veterinarian before administering holistic products, such as essentials oils, on your pet. Cats are especially prone to accidentally ingesting potentially harmful substances due to their grooming habits.

#3 No Visible Pest Problem? No Problem!

Keep your pet’s vaccinations up-to-date and maintain a vigilant eye for such potential health hazards such as ticks, waterborne bacteria and canine parvovirus (a highly infectious virus transferred among dogs, especially during summer months). Don’t ignore signs your pet is ill because you don’t see any pests on them.

#2 Don’t Let a Pest Infestation Become Intolerable Before Treating It

Some who have a pet in their home simply decide to "wait out" a pest infestation and hope that the cooler months will serve to eradicate a parasite problem in and around the home. By choosing to ignore a pest problem, you’ll only ensure that you won’t get rid of it. Just as ticks thrive if unchecked in a wooded environment outside the home, ridding the home of fleas takes several weeks. Don’t think that the cool weather will take care of the problem for you.

#1 Don’t Administer the Same Pest Control Products to Cats and Dogs

Besides the obvious difference you’ll find in size, cats and dogs are two different species. Their differing physiology means, among other things, that medications you use on your dog should not be used on your cat, unless specifically instructed to by a veterinarian. This goes not only for internal medications, but external ones as well. Cats groom themselves by licking and ingesting loose fur; this puts felines at higher risk to accidentally ingest a poisonous product.

Always take your pets to their regular veterinary checkups so their vaccinations are up to date. Besides keeping your pet healthy as their first and best line of defense, your veterinarian will be able to give you pointers on how to avoid these common pest control mistakes.

Image: Eunice / via Flickr