Fleas, Lice and Ticks...Oh My

Looking further into our season’s finest — lice, fleas, and ticks — I had no idea I’d learn so much about entomology, sexual preferences of nymphs, and how a flea can become a tapeworm inside a cat.

If you have a kid, a dog or cat, or if you are planning on venturing outside any time soon, you’re going to have to look closely at some hair follicles and check for fleas, lice, ticks, bedbugs, and tapeworms. Who said a backyard barbeque couldn’t be fun and educational.

With kids, you’ve perhaps received the delightful little note telling you lice is in the classroom, and please check your child’s head. I was so pleased to find an actual lice comb on sale this week at Walgreen’s that I thought if I owned such a thing it’d be like carrying an umbrella to keep it from raining. Now I've opened up such a can of worms I doubt I'll sleep tonight. So I thought I'd share.

Lice is nice if you are a louse or a nit or a nymph

Cindy Roach, the Shorewood School District nurse, has the low-down on lice. 

“Lice is one of those problems that is always in our community, whether in schools or out,” she said. “Luckily, it is prominent really only amongst young children, because they tend to literally put their heads together, and lessens as children grow into seventh and eighth grade.” 

She recommends buying a lice shampoo if you find the buggers, and not despairing.

But she did also tell me some things I didn’t know at all about lice that you can use to dazzle friends at Bunco.  

“Lice start out as nits, and become young nymphs. A nymph becomes a louse (singular form of lice), which then finds other lice with which (whom?) to mate, and there is frantic louse-to-louse ... networking ... going on in the scalp,” Roach explained. 

So, this ‘lousy sex,’ if you will,  “leads to a fresh new wave of nits, which look like white dots on a single hair that are very difficult to remove.”

Roach recommends snipping the nit-bearing hairs instead of fighting “tooth-and-nit “with the lice pods.

My dog has fleas

Fleas are nothing new to seasoned pet owners, who can tell by the incessant scratching or, worse, the “flea poop” that develops from fleas leaving byproduct on the fur or in the hair of the dog or cat. According to Ger Roe at the Bayshore Veterinary Clinic in Shorewood, “getting a product from your pet’s vet is a way to also have guarantee that if your pet reacts to the chemicals, you can return it for a full refund and try something else.” Popular products are Frontline, K9 Advantix and Vectra3D. Roe says they are frequently asked by resellers to sell off their expired product – so recommends getting a fresh and guaranteed through a licensed seller like they are. 

Sally Gether at Silver Spring Animal Wellness Clinic says she recommends Frontline for animals as well because “it doesn’t go into their bloodstream, and gets fleas and ticks.”

Kylene Dieck, a groomer at Vanity Fur in Shorewood, is a fan of Frontline Plus for her French Mastiff dog, which she buys online or at a PetCo or Pet Supplies Plus. 

“I’ve been using it for years and am very happy,” she said, “but you want to talk with the vet before starting out with something.” 

Her daughter, Cami, has had run-ins with both head lice and ticks. 

“She always says she’d rather have twenty ticks in her armpit than head lice.”

If you prefer a lower chemical dose for fleas, Sherri Losby at the Pet Outpost recommends the Pet Naturals of Vermont repellent towelettes that contain essential oils known to repel fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and flies.

“Wipe the pre-moistened towelette on the pet's fur,” said Losby, “including legs, stomach and work into the coat. Your pet will smell great and this option is non-toxic.”

Roach recommends always checking the cat for fleas as well.

“A cat cleans itself so often, it can pick up a nit that will hatch inside the body and become a nymph (aka tapeworm). Toddlers, too, are at risk, because they put things in their mouths."

Neat. On to ticks.

If you’re new to ticks, stick the tick in a zip for identification

Starting this week, it is important to check pets and people for ticks on a daily basis.  

“They’re early this year,” said Roe, “so people are caught unaware. Always wear gloves, and make sure to seal the bag when disposing of any of these things, because they’ll crawl right back out of the garbage.”

Roe suggests killing them with rubbing alcohol. Based on a few first-hand tales in Shorewood, after being outside at all, check your hair, your baby’s ears, and your dog’s armpits and between their toes. Losby at Pet Outpost recommends a device called the “Tick Key,” which she says beats tweezers when trying not to bust a tick. And if you find a tick, put it in a Ziploc bag for identification at the pediatrician or veterinarian, to rule out Lyme Disease risk of it being a deer tick.

“The treatment for Lyme Disease is a very long process,” said Roach, “and you want to detect it as early as possible.”

Night night, don’t let the bedbugs bite

Roach has one last tip for you. If you travel, never put your suitcase on the floor or on a bed in a hotel.

“Bedbugs like to travel, either on you or in your luggage, and once you bring them home, it can be very expensive and more of a problem than head lice to get out of your house.”