Controlling Fleas on Ferrets

Fleas are pesky parasites and have adapted very well to living in our houses.  In fact, houses are at the perfect temperature and humidity to become hatching factories for fleas. I no longer recommend flea control just in the spring and summer, but prefer to use flea control on pets all year round. It is better to prevent a flea infestation that try to eradicate one.  One flea can hitch a ride on your pants leg from visiting a friends house, and if this flea is a female, chances are she already laden with thousands of eggs. Fortunately, fleas prefer to feast on the smaller critters rather than humans, because our pet’s body temperature is a few degrees higher than ours. But if the dog, cat or ferret are not present, then fleas will indeed bite a human.

To control fleas, you must have an understanding of the flea life cycle and the points in that life cycle where they are vulnerable to eradication. You also need to know what products that will kill the fleas and which ones are safe for your pets. Because some people may have more than one species of pets in the household, you do not want to use a product on a dog  that may be potentially toxic to a cat or a ferret.

So for the next week, I will delve into fleas and other parasites on ferrets with emphasis on prevention, control and eradication. For the record, there are currently no products that are FDA labeled and approved for use on ferrets, but there have been some studies done on some of the products and their use on ferrets is considered safe.

So on with the show.

We will start with the life cycle of the flea.

• A female flea begins to feed on her host as soon as she hops a ride. Her blood meal  nourishes the eggs and egg production begins within 20 to 24 hours after her first feeding.

• Female fleas can lay 20 to 50 eggs a day and 2000 in her lifetime.

• The female flea consumes 15 times her weight in blood a day.

• A flea bites your pet 400 times a day.

• The “flea dirt” found on your pet is the flea feces made of your pet’s blood. You can tell it is flea dirt if you put a small amount on a white paper towel and apply a small amount of water. As the dirt dissolves it will turn the paper towel red.

• The eggs are pearly white, oval and about 0.5 mm in length.

• The term “salt and pepper” refers to the flea eggs that are about the size of a grain of salt and the flea dirt that falls off of the pet. It is most notable on the bedding of the pet or where ever the pet lays.

• The eggs are laid on the pet and roll off the pet into the environment.

• Depending on the temperature and humidity, fleas can go from eggs to adults in as little as 13 days to as long as 8 months.

• The flea eggs hatch into flea larvae which look similar to small maggots covered with tiny hairs.

• The flea larvae do not like light and will crawl through the carpet to seek darkness under the furniture, in cracks and crevices of cushions and in other out of the way areas.

• This is one reason why traditional “flea bombs” are sometimes ineffective. The spray goes up and comes back down, and does not reach where the larvae are hiding and feeding.

• Flea larvae feed on the adult flea blood feces dropped off your pet and other organic matter in your carpet.

• The length of the larval stage of the flea is dependent on the temperature and humidity of the house.

• The next stage of development is the pupae or cocoon.

• The larvae builds the cocoon and uses some of the debris in the environment such as carpet fibers into the shell of the cocoon.

• The shell of the cocoon is now “glued” into the carpet and impossible to vacuum up.

• The shell also provides protection from the elements and also insecticides.

• Fleas will emerge from the cocoon when the temperature is around 24° (75.2° F) and a relative humidity of 78%.

• The flea can remain in the cocoon for up to 30 weeks.

• The flea will emerge from the cocoon when stimulated by:

1. Mechanical pressure or vibrations- such as someone or a pet walking by.
2. CO2 – Carbon dioxide from the pet or person breathing.
3. Increased temperature.

• Homeowners away for a vacation can sometimes experience the sudden hatch out of thousands of fleas that were in the cocoon state ready to emerge. The vibrations of the owners returning and the exhaled carbon dioxide coupled with the air conditioner turning back on will stimulate the fleas to emerge and start to bite anything that is near. This sudden hatch out can also occur in vacant houses that have just been moved into.

Now that you understand the life cycle of the flea, let us find the points that the flea can be killed.

• The first point is on the pet. There are newer products available that are safe to use and will kill the flea with in the first 24 hours of the flea jumping on the pet.  Why is this important? Remember that the flea does not start laying eggs until 20 to 24 hours after her first blood meal. If you can kill the female flea before she begins to lay eggs, you are a giant leap ahead of controlling your flea population.
• Point number two. Intermittently applying flea control products will result in gaps in your flea control that will result in female fleas laying eggs that can hatch out a year later. I recommend that you use the flea preventative products once a month all year round. Consider the flea not as a seasonal critter, but an indoor monster waiting to hatch out of your carpet and suck your pet’s blood.
• Point number three. The eggs and cocoons have a protective shell that make them resistant to the insecticides. The larvae and the adult fleas are the only stages that can be killed by insecticides.
• Point number four. Insect growth regulators are effective to keep flea eggs from hatching, but are difficult to apply in the areas that the flea eggs are hiding.
• Point number five – Frequent use of insecticides in your house and yard can build up and may cause toxicity to you and your family.For these reasons, I do not like insecticide  foggers or bombs in the house. They do not get in the areas that hide the fleas and they contain insecticides that can build up in your house.

So, what products are safe to use on my ferret?

None of these products are labeled for use on the ferret, but have been used by the veterinarians and ferret owners with good results. Occasionally, any animal can have an adverse reaction to any product so consult with your veterinarian for further recommendations.

ADVANTAGE

- The advantage product by Bayer (Imidacloprid) has been used on ferrets for the control of fleas. The small cat or advantage orange can be used. The general rule of thumb on dosage is about 1 drop per pound of body weight.  Apply it on the back of their neck and try not to let the other ferrets lick it while it is wet. The advantage itself is not harmful when swallowed, but the alcohol carrier can make the ferret drool excessively. Rarely, a skin irritation can also occur at the point of contact.

Advantage has unique crystals that are not harmful to mammals, but totally incapacitate the fleas. There is a 99% kill rate within 12 hours after applying the advantage. The obvious advantage is it kills the female flea before she begins to lay her eggs, thus breaking the life cycle. The other advantage is the imidacloprid crystals that are attached to the hairs of the pet fall off the animal into the environment, i.e. the carpet, etc. As the larvae emerge from the safe confines of the eggs and come in contact with the crystals in the carpet, the result is another dead flea within 2o minutes. So by applying the advantage product to your pet all year round, you are also effectively treating the environment as the fleas are hatching out.

ADVANTAGE-Multi

- (imidacloprid/moxidectin) In a study done in Germany and reported in the Journal of Parasitology Research Ferrets were treated with .4cc of the advantage-multi. (The Cat orange) and then infested with fleas on varying times during the study.  On day 1, the therapeutic efficacy was 100%. The preventative efficacy was 100% at 1 and 2 weeks post treatment, and it was >97% and >90% at 3 and 4 weeks post treatment. No local or systemic side effects were observed in any of the ferrets treated.

Advantage – multi also is effective against ear mites, and protects against heartworms that can also infect ferrets. Advantage -multi is only available with a prescription but is well worth it for what it covers.

Revolution

(selamectin) In a paper published Intern J Appl Res Vet Med • Vol. 5, No. 3, 2007

Efficacy and Safety of Selamectin (Stronghold®/Revolution™) Used Off-Label in Exotic Pets (click here for full article)

Revolution is considered safe and effective against fleas, heartworms, sarcoptic mange and ear mites.  The selamectin crystals also fall off in the pet’s dander and help to control the fleas in the environment.

The recommended dosage for flea and heartworm prevention is to use the puppy-kitten dose of 0.25 ml (15 mg ) applied once a month all year round.   (See the above article for complete dosing instructions). Doing a search through my Veterinary Information Network, (VIN.com) the majority of the veterinarians that work with ferrets prefer the Revolution for the flea and heartworm prevention.

Because heartworms and ear mites can also infect ferrets, using the prescription products, advantage-multi or revolution on a year round basis is a sound recommendation in areas where heartworms are endemic. It only takes one bite from one mosquito to infect your ferret with heartworms and prevention is a lot easier that treatment. Discuss with your veterinarian if heartworms are in your area.

There are other flea products that have been used on ferrets, but I would stick with one of the above 3 and use it on a regular basis to prevent flea infestations or get your flea population under control.

I hope this post helps you choose a product to control fleas on your ferret. You can also check with your veterinarian on products that seem to be working well in your area.

Debra Garrison, DVM

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