How Do Pets Get Heartworm and How Can You Prevent It?

As a pet owner, you have a lot to consider daily. In addition to taking care of yourself, caring for a pet is work – good work, though. Unlike caring for another human, ensuring your pet is healthy and happy requires a watchful eye that stays keenly aware of behavior changes. From tracking how much your pet eats to monitoring their energy levels, your relationship with your pet is entirely nonverbal. Such awareness is critically important in keeping your furry friend healthy, so you need to know what kind of threats your pets face. For example, your vet probably recommends that your pet takes a de-wormer to make sure your dog or cat isn’t afflicted with heart or gut worms. The question, though, is where do dogs and cats get heartworm from? The answer doesn’t lie in the things they eat. Rather, the answer is probably flying around in your yard right now. That’s right, heartworm comes from the pesky mosquitoes whining around your property. This can be a revelation for people, but mosquitoes are far more dangerous than they might think. When we learn about conditions like malaria, yellow fever, and mosquito-borne diseases mainly found on other continents, we often forget that mosquitoes in the U.S. are also capable of spreading illnesses. Heartworm can be counted among these.

Why is Westfield mosquito control so vital?

Heartworms, when transmitted to your pet via a mosquito bite, will circulate in your pet’s bloodstream as larvae before making their home in the heart, lungs, and surrounding blood vessels. It takes around 7 months for heartworms to mature into adults, when they can then grow up to a foot in length and live for five to seven years. Symptoms of an infection can include reluctance to exercise, fatigue, coughing, unusual lung sounds, and even passing out. Prevention is the best method of protection because even the treatment for a heartworm infestation can cause death via complications as the heartworms break into pieces before leaving the body. Treatment is only possible in dogs – for cats, heartworm is most likely a death sentence. Therefore, preemptive measures are essential.

Mosquito control in Westfield is key to heartworm prevention

Considering the severe risks your pets can face from a single mosquito bite, make sure you take steps to reduce the likelihood of your pets being bitten in the first place. At Mosquito Squad, we take your pet’s health seriously as well as your own! We’ve been defending people and pets alike from mosquitoes since 2005 and have achieved a long track record of success. Our highly trained technicians, paired with our industry-proven barrier protection treatments, can guarantee up to a 90% reduction in the mosquito population on your property. With treatments every 2-3 weeks, you and your pets will stay defended throughout the spring, summer, and fall.

Heartworm in pets comes directly from mosquitoes. Keep these insects away in the first place with Westfield mosquito control from Mosquito Squad of Springfield. Give us a call at (413) 418-3359.