Top 10 Advice animals tips
Move slowly
Unless you are adept at documentary, on-the-fly, photography where the animal is moving a lot and you capture the perfect moment of them walking, sniffing, jumping, hunting, etc., learn to move slowly around them while taking their pictures. This is especially important with cats, who are prone to either radically change the expression on their face (and ears) at your slight movements, or split the scene altogether. This is also true of dogs that are in a sit or lay-stay position. When you shift position they sense you are off on a new adventure and want to follow you. If you need to move, and you don’t want your model to move, do so very slowly without making any eye contact. And remember to reach, bend, and lean. You’ll not only have a comical pet photography session, you’ll get a workout too!
Vacuum the house thoroughly
Thoroughly vacuum each room in the house. Make sure you reach behind furniture as well. Also vacuum upholstered furniture. Seal the vacuum bags and discard them outdoors. This is an important tip to remove the source of new fleas.
Use Diatomaceous Earth or Borax
Buy food grade Diatomaceous Earth powder or Borax detergent such as Borax Booster from Wal-Mart or other home depot stores. Liberally dust the powder of your choice all over the carpets. Do not forget to apply under the beds and furniture. You can use a brush or a broom to sweep the powder everywhere. Do not vacuum these areas. Let the powder remain on the surface for 3-4 days. Avoid sleeping in the treated rooms as the dust can be harmful to human lungs. Also relocate pets to a safe area during the course of treatment.
Vacuum again
On the next day, vacuum the house as you normally do. The Borax/DE powder acts as a dehydrator and dries up tissues and organs of fleas. It also contaminates the food sources left by adult fleas for the larvae. This prevents them from feeding and progressing through the life cycle stages.
Use a flea shampoo for bathing your pets
Start by bathing all your pets with a vet approved flea shampoo. Wet the coat and thoroughly apply the shampoo working up a lather. Let the shampoo remain on the pet’s coat for at least 10 minutes. This is necessary to kill eggs and larvae on the pet. After bathing your pet, dry its coat completely. You may need to bathe it twice a week until the infestation is under control.
Use spot treatment
Flea spot treatment or drops are an effective way of flea control. Your vet will suggest the right one based on your pet’s age and weight. Apply the spot treatment medicine in between the pet’s shoulder blades. These medicines remain effective even after bathing the pet or if it swims or gets wet in the rain. However, you need to reapply most products every 4 weeks. Most vet approved flea products contain medicines like Fipronil or permethrin which are considered safe for pets.
Groom your pet frequently
Combing your long-haired pet is an important part of flea control. Use flea combs with fine teeth which can capture fleas, ticks and other parasites. As stated above, bathe the pet every few weeks to prevent fleas.
Clean the pet’s environment frequently
You need to clean and vacuum regularly to prevent flea infestations. Flea eggs can remain dormant in the pet’s environment for a long time. So make sure you seal or cracks and crevices and vacuum the house every couple of days. Also wash all pet bedding and linen to eliminate eggs.
Mow the grass
Fleas tend to hide in grass so, if your pet spends time outdoors, you need to trim it short. This is necessary to prevent flea harborage. If possible spray some Nematode solution on the grass and plants. This is a biologically safe method of eliminating fleas in yards.
Declutter
Declutter the lawn and patio as well as your indoor area. Piles of wood chips, toys, old junk items etc are a surefire way of inviting pests like raccoons etc under your patio desks. Many of these animals carry fleas, ticks and other blood sucking parasites on them. So remove the clutter in order to prevent flea infestations.