Fleas multiply fast, like math savants, and they leave nothing to waste. Even their bloody fecal matter still provides nourishment for their young ones.

Fleas love hanging out in your pet’s fur. It’s a warm place with fresh chow. They love it when you don’t take care of your pet well.

There’s no one-time solution to dog or cat fleas, but it doesn’t mean you’re not going to try at all. The costs and hassles of flea control come with pet ownership. So before you start itching all over or acquire any of those diseases transmitted by fleas, you have to take action until the flea problem gets under control.

It can be tempting to think that flea-control product manufacturers are happily cashing in on fleas so they don’t really want to fix the problem once and for all. But seriously, preventing flea infestation is as impossible as preventing a hurricane. That’s just how nature works.

Flea infestation may be impossible to avoid, but there are several ways to reduce its impact, making it inconsequential. And that is so doable. There are now a variety of vet-recommended flea-control products in stores.

While most pet owners are used to topical solutions (flea dip, flea powder, flea spray), some of the dog owners among them have already discovered the convenience of regularly giving their pets flea pills.

Given orally to dogs (there’s no oral tablet for cats yet), flea pills are medicines that kill fleas by turning the dog’s blood into a poison for these bloodsucking hitchhikers from hell. If taken on a regular basis, they prevent fleas from reproducing. Some manufacturers guarantee a 30-day efficacy for their pills. It’s a load off some distressed pets and their owners.

This is how it happens: the pill’s flea-killing ingredient is absorbed in your pet’s bloodstream, catching those voracious bloodsuckers off-guard. When they had their fill – and they can suck blood up to 15 times their body weight – the active ingredient which is toxic only to fleas gets immediately into business, paralyzing the fleas until they die.

This flea-control breakthrough does the job with little fuss. Little time and effort are required and flea pills leave no chemical residues in your home, unlike flea foggers and sprays. Flea pills also break the fleas’ reproductive cycle by preventing flea eggs from hatching.

Medication is a lot more convenient for the owner compared to other flea-control products. Flea pills are taken orally so they can easily be added to pet food. In fact, most manufacturers recommend this. Some of them even produce flea pills in the form of food additives.

Flea pills are less costly than other flea-control products but you can’t just give your dog any medication. You have to carefully choose which flea pill to give. Some flea pills have short length of efficacy. Some are designed to kill flea larvae and foil these pests life cycle but can’t kill adult fleas, especially if the fleas have already reached reproductive maturity before the medication.

If children find oral medication nightmarish, most dogs feel the same way. Some flea pills may also ruin your pet’s appetite. Dogs have acute sense of smell and taste, and medicines usually don’t taste nice. But you can opt to buy beef-flavored flea pill. Your dog won’t sense the difference if you mix it with real beef.

Take note, however, that flea pills are just supplemental. They are not the ultimate weapon in your anti-flea arsenal but are only good at temporarily halting the fleas’ activities and productivity. The best thing to do is just incorporate its use into your pet’s anti-flea regimen, which includes topical solutions. Removing fleas require a multi-pronged approach and the pet owners’ commitment to it.

The task of controlling fleas is something you don’t take lightly. It demands time and a small part of the household budget. That is probably the reason why some dog owners would just give their pets flea pills. But that won’t significantly reduce the problem.

If you find the task too tedious, think of the threats these fleas bring (flea allergy dermatitis, dehydration, anemia, typhus, and tapeworm). Your pets give you joy. A little effort to keep them flea-free won’t hurt, does it?