Is it okay to not give a dog flea medicine?
Charlie Denesik
2025-08-08 16:14:28
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Scientists now recommend animals should not be treated for fleas unless they have them. Vets often recommend regular flea treatments as a preventive measure, even when dogs and cats do not have the pest. But sources at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said they had commissioned the veterinary medicines directorate to look at options for potentially restricting the use of these treatments. The damage that these products can do is catastrophic to our natural world, and we should be doing more to make sure that these products are not getting into our waterways. Research has found that these treatments enter rivers, killing the wildlife within, and that pet owners using them risk contaminating their hands with the chemicals for at least 28 days after applying the treatment. Cats and dogs are widely treated with topical treatments that include insecticides to prevent fleas. At the moment, the treatments can be bought by anyone in pet shops around the country. There is growing concern about the impact these treatments are having on biodiversity. Imidacloprid and fipronil, for example, are powerful insecticides: one monthly flea treatment for a large dog contains enough imidacloprid to kill 25 million bees.
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