April is Heartworm Disease Awareness Month

As the weather gets more conducive for outdoor activities, it means more time outside to enjoy the fresh air and spending time with family and friends. Unfortunately, it also means more interactions with mosquitoes and other biting pests that pose a threat to our family members, two-legged and four-legged alike. One of the fatal diseases pests can spread is heartworm disease. Sadly, this disease affects thousands of pets each year. April is National Heartworm Awareness Month, designed to raise awareness about the deadly threat that heartworm disease represents for our beloved pets.

What is Heartworm Disease?

Heartworm disease is a serious disease that results in severe lung disease, heart failure, other organ damage, and death in pets, mainly dogs, cats, and ferrets. It is caused by a parasitic worm called Dirofilaria immitis. The worms are spread through the bite of a mosquito.  The dog is the definitive host, meaning that the worms mature into adults, mate, and produce offspring while living inside a dog.  The mosquito is the intermediate host, meaning that the worms live inside a mosquito for a short transition period in order to become infective (able to cause heartworm disease).  The worms are called “heartworms” because the adults live in the heart, lungs, and associated blood vessels of an infected animal.    

The Best Treatment is Prevention!

Many products are FDA-approved to prevent heartworms in dogs.  All require a veterinarian’s prescription.  Most products are given monthly, either as a topical liquid applied on the skin or as an oral tablet.  Both chewable and non-chewable oral tablets are available.  One product is injected under the skin every 6 or 12 months, and only a veterinarian can give the injection.  Some heartworm preventives contain other ingredients that are effective against certain intestinal worms (such as roundworms and hookworms) and other parasites (such as fleas, ticks, and ear mites). 

Year-round prevention is best!  Talk to your dog’s veterinarian to decide which preventive is best for your dog. 

Additional Protection Against Heartworm Disease

Another component of heartworm disease prevention is effective mosquito control around your property. Remember that mosquitoes are essential to the transmission of heartworm disease. With a regular schedule of our barrier treatments, especially during the peak mosquito season, you can protect your family and pets from mosquitoes and the health risks they pose.

You can also lower the mosquito population near your home by doing the following:

• Emptying standing water sources. Tires, puddles, bird baths, and even children’s toys can be prime breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
• Clean gutters regularly so water doesn’t build up.
• Cut grass and shrubs short so pests can’t hide.
• Drilling holes in tires, swings, trash cans, and recycle bins so water drains out.
• Repairing leaky outdoor faucets and pipes.
• Keeping your lawn weed-free and avoiding overgrown vegetation.

The average female can lay up to 300 eggs.

Let’s say that 50% are females

Hatch rate usually 4-6 days

Then we could end up with 150 more females 

Laying another 300 eggs a piece

Or another 22,500 females

In 15 days, you can have 3.5 million mosquitoes.

Let’s do our part to protect our pets and our families and call Knox Pest Control to help control those Mosquitoes.