Heartworms, Fleas, & Ticks

The state of Georgia and its surrounding southeastern states have a climate that causes heartworms, fleas, and ticks to be prevalent year-round. These bugs and parasites can survive in humid climates above freezing temperatures. You can purchase medications that solely treat one issue at a time or you can choose combo medications.

Heartworms are transmitted through mosquitos. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to transfer the larvae into your pet’s blood and heart. It takes 6 months for the larvae to be visible in a heartworm test. Once your pet is infected, it is very time consuming and costly to treat your pet and rid it of heartworms. The best solution is to provide your pet with a heartworm preventative on a monthly basis year-round. There are topical medicines that are put on the skin, oral pills, and an injectible option. All Creatures offers the injection heartworm medication known as ProHeart 6, which is a 6-month preventative that we administer at the yearly and semi-annual exams. Other options include the following: Revolution, Bravecto, blah blah blah (all to link to zoetis or whatever company makes each for more info).

• Signs my pet may have heartworms (will link to a site or PDF about this)
• See below for medication recommendations

Ticks are dangerous for you and your pet, since they are carriers of a variety of illnesses, including lyme disease (link to information on lyme disease). Lyme disease is very difficult to diagnose as well as treat and is incurable once contracted. There are five species of ticks in Georgia. We recommend Simparica (oral medication) or the Ceresto Collar (collar) to prevent ticks, as they are the only medical preventatives that prevent all five tick species.

• See below for medication recommendations
• What do I do if I find a tick on my pet?

Fleas are a nuisance that can be very difficult to remove from your home once they infest your pet and your property. There are many options of flea medications out there. Some only work to prevent fleas, while others are combo medications with other preventatives. We highly recommend Simparica, since it treats fleas as well as all the tick species in Georgia.

• How to remove fleas from my pet (will link to a site or PDF about this)
• How to remove fleas from my home(will link to a site or PDF about this)

Recommended medications for Heartworms, Ticks, & Fleas for Dogs & Cats:

Dogs

Combination Medications that prevent and treat two or more issues:

• Simparica – a monthly preventative COMBO medication that prevents fleas and all of the tick species found in Georgia. Available once the puppy is 6 months old (will link to a site about medication)
• Revolution – prevents Heartworms, fleas, and some ticks. Available at ____ age (will link to a site about medication)
• OTHERS?

Heartworm Medication Recommendations

• Proheart 6 (& Proheart 12 not offered at All Creatures) – Proheart 6 is an injection medication that prevents heartworms for 6 months (Proheart 12 prevents heartworms for 12 months). Available at 6 months of age

Fleas & Ticks Recommendations

• CAPSTAR – an oral flea medication that will immediately kill all fleas on the body for 24 hours

Cats:

Combination Medications that prevent and treat two or more issues:

• Revolution Plus – prevents Heartworms, fleas, and some ticks (will link to a site about medication)

Need more dog care info?

Check out our links on the main Dog page!

Check out our links on the main Cat page!