Protect Pets from Citronella Candles and Mosquitoes this Summer

Summers in the South mean mosquitoes. Protecting yourself and your family from these insect bites also needs to extend to your pets. Many will use citronella candles to ward off mosquitoes, but these can be deadly to pets, says Angel Newman with the Oconee Humane Society. “Those citronella candles and insect coils, things that you burn to keep mosquitoes away can be very toxic to pets. So, keep them away from anything that keeps bugs away.” Protect pets from mosquitoes with a heart pill each month, adds Newman. “Mosquitoes can carry heartworm, which is deadly to dogs. So, we encourage you to give your pets a heart pill each month. A heart guard, it is usually a chew but something that is going to protect them against that heartworm, so you don’t have to deal with that and your pet doesn’t have to suffer. Check with your vet, get a prescription, you can buy them online and in the big box stores, but you can get heart guard relatively inexpensive. So, get your pet on that each and every month they need to be protected and it is year round here because we don’t get cold enough to avoid mosquitoes from transmitting that deadly disease.” In addition, remove any objects that might hold water in order to eliminate breeding sites for mosquitoes around your home.